The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
“For me, discipline can only happen when I try the things that I really like. Since I like basketball and I like guitar, I'm willing to contribute to the discipline. It's not really discipline at that point — it's passion," senior Advay Monga said.
Humans of Harker: Dribble and drive
“Working on Roobi has taught me how to bounce back from failures, and that problems need to be addressed one bit at a time because you can't just tackle huge goals. I learned to not be afraid of failure because every failure is a step towards success. I try not to look back and wish I could change something because I can't. It's the past. Instead, I look forward," senior Daniel Dorfman said.
Humans of Harker: Steeped for success
“With volleyball and Medical Club, I love working with people. I get to work with people who aren't necessarily in my classes or aren't my friends specifically, but we get to work hard and work together towards a common goal. That collaboration aspect is really important to me," senior Navya Samuel said.
Humans of Harker: Cooperation through competition
“Human connection is very important to staying grounded and stable. The people around me are one of the reasons that I'm not fully burnt out, so I really prioritize keeping a good schedule for myself. Being able to prioritize the things in life that give me internal satisfaction is important to me because that's what allows me to have the drive to do good with the rest of my time. Talking to people is a way for me to replenish," senior Kashish Priyam said.
Humans of Harker: Pep in every step
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.
Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity
"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity
“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's been obviously rough, turning on the news and seeing another death, seeing another acquittal every single time … but, ‘How much can I do?’ is the question I'm asking myself. ‘How much can I help, and what impact can I have?’” Brian Pinkston ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: For the future and the present
“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Learning to fall
“You just have to go for it. You think, 'In the future, if I think back and regret it, is that how I want to end up — or would I rather just try something and see what happens?' Usually, it turns out well,” Montek Kalsi (’20) said. 
Humans of Harker: All fun and games
“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Leadership and love
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
"People look at my artwork, and then they look at me, and they're like, 'Oh, she's not taking anything seriously,'" Kaitlyn Nguyen (12) said. "But I feel like that's not the case. The meaning behind my art is more like, I don't take anything seriously, and that's the meaning."

Humans of Harker Video: Kaitlyn Nguyen injects her personality into her art

January 17, 2018

This is the first installment of the Humans of Harker 2018 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

“If you see a problem around you, it's important to question and inquire into how you can address this issue if you're interested in it,” Amy Jin (12) said. “I did a small home research project where I was looking around my backyard and I noticed some weird spots on my tangerine tree in my backyard, and so I did some research, and I realized that plant diseases and blights are really impacting the agricultural sector and the economy and that professionals still rely on naked-eye observation, so it can be pretty inaccurate. I kind of turned to computer science — as I often do in my research projects — and tried to think of a way to apply what I knew to address this problem, so I developed a machine learning algorithm that automatically classifies and detects plant diseases. So that was just like a fun thing that I did one break.”

Humans of Harker: Amy Jin explores intersecting fields

by Rose Guan, Wingspan senior staff writer and designer • January 16, 2018

Sixth graders are not a common sight at the upper school’s annual Research Symposium; you’re more likely to see high school students presenting posters about their research at the event. But when Amy...

Humans of Harker: Emily Chen distinguishes between art and reality

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor • January 13, 2018

The jigsaw puzzle of life consists of an infinite number of pieces packaged in a box with no image to guide whoever attempts to complete it. But Emily Chen (12) intends to solve it anyways. Through the...

“I use the word 'fun' a lot to describe debate, and what that means is kind of a mystery even to me," Jacob Ohana (12) said. "Debate's definitely not a universally agreed upon fun thing. You just get four teenagers in a room to talk really fast at each other for a while, and then somebody wins. For me, most of the fun of debate isn't the the actual debating, it's doing the research about it. Last year's topic was engagement with China... I learned a surprisingly large amount about nuclear arms control agreements.”

Humans of Harker: Jacob Ohana backs up his arguments

by Anvi Banga & Melissa Kwan • January 12, 2018

According to Mona Lee (12), senior Jacob Ohana “dresses like an economist.” That is to say, he wears nondescript khaki pants with a convenient T-shirt — often free swag from an economics competition....

“I work at Best Buy after school," Ethan Grammer (12) said. "I’m the youngest kid there by three or four years. They all lead much different lives than I do, because for most of them, it’s a full-time job. [One of my coworkers is] 30 years old — he rents a room out in Mountain View and he works three jobs. It’s an eye-opening experience to see that he is able to maintain that positive mentality all throughout work. It’s interesting to see the different aspects of people’s lives versus us going to Harker, where everyone generally has it pretty well-off, comparatively. It helps me stay grounded.”

Humans of Harker: Ethan Grammer works to seek out diversity

by Anoushka Buch, Reporter • January 10, 2018

Walk into Mountain View’s Best Buy, and you're bound to see countless gadgets and other electronics. And you may even spot one of their youngest employees, Ethan Grammer (12), helping customers with...

“I personally try to separate golf from me, because I know at times I think to myself, ‘If you take away golf from me, what do I have left?’” Daulet Tuleubayev (12) said. “So the one thing I do want to be remembered for is just that I was a good guy and a good friend, and I'd always be nice to you, hear you out, and support you. At the end of the day, despite what I've achieved or what anyone else has achieved, I just want to be remembered as a good friend. Not just in high school, but even in life. I wouldn't mind if I'm not remembered just as a golfer but a friendly and nice person.”

Humans of Harker: Daulet Tuleubayev strategizes his way to victory

by Anthony Xu, Reporter • January 9, 2018

You might not know Daulet Tuleubayev (12) personally, but you might recognize him from the sleep awareness bulletin board in Manzanita titled “Which Daulet are you?” The interactive flowchart features...

"I've always been kind of outspoken, but I used to be really afraid of trying new things before ninth grade,” Anika Banga (12) said. “I was always afraid that people would judge me, and I didn’t want to be a beginner, since being the least experienced person in the room terrified me. But then I had a conversation with a runner who was super fast, and I really admired her. I realized that she had started running a lot later than I thought she had, yet she was able to overcome the obstacle of losing that time. So, I decided that I was going to put myself out there more and be a beginner. And, prepping for 42nd Street auditions, I took a tap one class, and I was the oldest person in the class. I was sixteen years old, and all my other classmates were between the ages of seven and ten. They were all better than me because they'd all tapped before, and I was completely new and started the class late. Except, at that point in time, I didn't care at all. And I think one of the ways I grew most in high school is that I'm willing to look stupid if that's what’s going to help me learn. I've learned that putting yourself into situations where you're not completely comfortable and when you're the worst person in the room is when you learn the most.”

Humans of Harker: Anika Banga embraces the beginner’s mind

by Emily Chen, Reporter • January 8, 2018

You won’t find a bigger Miranda Sings fan anywhere. With her red “Haters Back Off” sweatpants, her purple kitten T-shirt, and her classic red lipstick exaggeratedly smothered all over her entire...

“I want to play my strengths, but I don’t want to let those strengths define me. I don’t want to confine myself to a little box where people associate me with a select few qualities,” Alex Chen (12) said. “But if I had to pick, I would hope that people would remember me for putting a lot of effort in developing as a musician, as a singer, as well as a drummer, and a guitarist. I’d want to be remembered for my ability to reflect on the world.”

Humans of Harker: Alex Chen finds strength in introspection

by Sydney Takemoto, Reporter • January 5, 2018

The stage lights dim; the music starts. But it’s not from a recording, it’s coming live from Alex Chen (12) and the nine other members of the acoustics choir. A Harker student since sophomore year,...

"I like to start discourse when I feel like I want to," Morgan Douglas (12) said. "If I feel a certain way, I want to externalize that. It’s something I’ve discovered as I became a senior. Definitely, as a freshman and before then, I would just be very silent about the way that I felt about things, and I wouldn’t really try actively to make changes. I just felt that I didn’t have power to do anything, which was, in retrospect, wrong.”

Humans of Harker: Morgan Douglas plays the roles of both student and teacher

by Kat Zhang, STEM editor • January 4, 2018

Morgan Douglas (12) remembers her first tutoring session as a middle school writing mentor in her sophomore year. Her student had been bubbly and eager to talk, but when it came time to put pen to paper,...

"Dance is unique because it's fleeting," Miranda Larsen (12) said. "You do the dance once, and it's done. There are recordings of it, but you can never see it in person again–that's powerful. People who are there experience it, and everyone else doesn't — it's up in the air."

Humans of Harker: Miranda Larsen perfects her dance moves

by Prameela Kottapalli, Winged Post Features Editor • January 3, 2018

Miranda has danced for thirteen years — well over half her life. From participating in a club dance program outside of school to performing with the varsity dance team to choreographing her own routine...

“I wouldn’t say that I ever put on a facade for anyone. I’ve noticed that a lot of people see it as weak to show your emotions, to show that you’re either super happy or super sad, or just need someone to talk to, but I don’t really see that as the case," Lauren Napier (12) said. "If there’s a problem that I’m having, I’m not afraid to talk to my friends about it or my teachers about it. If I’m really stressed, I’m not afraid to admit that my classes are getting too hard or that the workload is too much. So I guess I’m just not afraid to show the emotions that I have to everyone around me.”

Humans of Harker: Lauren Napier stays disciplined

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Student Life and Sports Managing Editor • January 2, 2018

For Lauren Napier (12), the question isn’t whether or not to work out — it’s what type of workout. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, it’s hot pilates. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s cardio...

“I mostly just live my life thinking, ‘Why not?'" Shaya Zarkesh said. "If the possible regret is not probable or not that big, then I’ll do it. I don’t judge things based on importance, I judge things based on how much fun will result out of it.”

Humans of Harker: Shaya Zarkesh doesn’t shy away from spontaneity

by Eleanor Xiao, TALON Editor-in-Chief • December 11, 2017

Catch Shaya Zarkesh (12) humming (or maybe belting) “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas in the hallways, or maybe racing as fast as he can towards any soccer ball that comes in his sight. Maybe...

Load More Stories