The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

“I did a lot of acting in elementary school, Millie Lin (12) said. I had a lot of energy. Instead of standing in line, I’d be tapping my toes. I don’t know if I have as much energy now, but I do really like having philosophical discussions with people, or just talking with people in general. I think that’s where I use my energy.”

Humans of Harker: Millie Lin devotes her energy to discussions

by Vivian Jin & Melissa Kwan January 18, 2018

On one school meeting last October, Sumati Wadhwa (12) and Joel Morel (10) announced the achievements of the choir program. Photos and photos of Regional Honor Choir students appeared in quick succession,...

People look at my artwork, and then they look at me, and theyre like, Oh, shes not taking anything seriously, Kaitlyn Nguyen (12) said. But I feel like thats not the case. The meaning behind my art is more like, I dont take anything seriously, and thats 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, its important to question and inquire into how you can address this issue if youre 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. Debates 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 isnt the the actual debating, its doing the research about it. Last years 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 Id always be nice to you, hear you out, and support you. At the end of the day, despite what Ive 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 wouldnt mind if Im 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...

Ive 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 theyd all tapped before, and I was completely new and started the class late. Except, at that point in time, I didnt care at all. And I think one of the ways I grew most in high school is that Im willing to look stupid if thats what’s going to help me learn. Ive learned that putting yourself into situations where youre not completely comfortable and when youre 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 its fleeting, Miranda Larsen (12) said. You do the dance once, and its done. There are recordings of it, but you can never see it in person again–thats powerful. People who are there experience it, and everyone else doesnt — its 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...

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