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
"Part of the reason I wanted to come to the U.S. by myself initially was me just wanting to get away from the family. I wanted to be a man and do everything on my own," Nemo Yang (12) said. "Later I learned that it was so hard. But I learned so much in the process of doing so. I learned a lot from moving from host family to host family and eventually living on my own.”

Humans of Harker: Home away from home

by Andrew Chang, TALON Sports Editor • October 12, 2018

The words that Lizhi “Nemo” Yang (12) remembers hearing from his dad when Nemo moved to America alone four years ago have stuck with him: “The harder you work, the luckier you will get.” Nemo’s...

“Some people call it perseverance, some people call it stubbornness. It’s the same reason that I didn’t drop out of Harker when I came and started suffocating under the new workload,” Hannah Eckert (12) said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, and here I am, in senior year. It does you justice to stick things out.”

Humans of Harker: Creating character

by Delaney Logue, TALON Photo Editor • October 11, 2018

A bright red head amongst a crowd of black, brown and blonde-haired people, Hannah Eckert stands out in stark contrast from her surroundings, her dark clothes creating a striking juxtaposition. Spending...

“Each piece that I play, when I'm playing it, it's more than the music. Every piece has its own historical meaning, especially for classical music. Sometimes the composers were trying to express different sorts of meanings that were relative to the historical context during the time, so I think it's really interesting to study that. Studying music and playing music in relation to history, and especially when I'm on orchestra tours, and being able to play a piece that was composed in that specific country, is extremely cool. For my Mitra topic, I'm doing [research] related to the French Revolution and opera. I've always been interested in the intertwined nature of history and music,” Constance Horng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Beyond the labels

by Sara Yen, Asst. Features Editor • October 10, 2018

Poised and graceful, Constance Horng (12) nods over her bow, signaling the other players in the quartet to start, as she smoothly glides her bow across the strings of her violin, releasing a clear, precise...

"Since I was little, I would follow in my sister’s footsteps — it was just something that I was used to," Stephanie Xiao (12) said. "It was more obvious at the beginning of high school, but now my parents can see that we're two different people and we're taking two different paths. I feel like recently, even though I followed the original steps that she took, I've been able to find my own voice, take the leaderships skills I learned from cheer and apply it to honor council to become a more extroverted person."

Humans of Harker: The frontier of kindness

by Emily Chen, TALON Co-Academics Editor • October 9, 2018

Whether it’s her bright and bubbly personality shining through at Interact Club meetings, her enthusiastic smile radiating across the field when cheering or her selflessness in caring for others, Stephanie...

"I’m kind of an unusual person," Lilia Gonzales (12) said. "First of all, there’s all those stuff about what I like to do in my free time, which is not something first of all most girls like to do and second of all, most people my age like to do. Usually the other people in the hobby [of records and stereo] currently are 50 year old men; it’s kind of funny."

Humans of Harker: Making a sound purchase

by Laura Wu, TALON Co-People and Seniors Editor • October 8, 2018

As the needle scratches to find its groove, a slight static noise fills Streetlight Records, a music store in Willow Glen, before the needle falls into place and the music starts to play. Long rows of...

“Research is effectively ultimately the point where you get all the source for education,” Ayush Pancholy (12) said. “It’s like you are finding out something new that hasn’t been found before. So research is interesting because you get a new perspective on things. You also learn about things that you otherwise wouldn’t learn about, especially with a topic that you didn’t choose.”

Humans of Harker: Where patience meets grit

by Saloni Shah, Asst. Humans of Harker Editor and Columnist • October 6, 2018

Gazing intently at his computer screen, you will find him lost in deep thought about the simulations running for his research project. Quiet, reserved, and a man of few words, senior Ayush Pancholy’s...

"It's a very aggressive stance to be up there and to be shouting and to be a very spirited person," Matthew Hajjar (12) said. "But the way I've always seen it is not me being an alpha force, but rather me contributing myself to the community, saying 'I give myself fully. I give my heart, I give my passion, I give my voice.' I give myself to the community in hopes that I'll get not self-worth but rather a better life experience at Harker."

Humans of Harker: Eagles up and walls down

by Katherine Zhang, Editor-in-chief • October 4, 2018

"Put. Your. Eagles….. UUUUUUUPPP!" We’ve all seen him: springing from one side of the gym to another at school meeting, his face contorted in an effort to achieve a sound that will carry across...

"People now come up to me when they need a mix in songs," Jerry Peng (12) said. "It’s really placed my mark in Harker. I want to be remembered for that guy who did music and made music. That's really all I want. Music has taught me more than just a melody, it has taught me perseverance, dedication, leadership and gratitude — and those lessons spill over into all aspects of my life."

Humans of Harker: Channeling life through beats

by Anjay Saklecha, Senior Copy Editor • October 3, 2018

If you hear a rhythm, you may see Jerry Peng (12) nearby, tapping out the tempo with his heel. His mind focused, eyes closed and head nodding synchronously with his foot. For Jerry, life moves to the beat...

“Knowing that I’m helping other people and other girls feel empowered to make their own money, save money, and be conscientious, and knowing that I’m doing that and even making a small difference in people’s lives, that’s what makes it worth it,” Nishka Ayyar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: When 110 percent effort comes with smiles all around

by Nicole Chen, Editor-in-chief • October 2, 2018

CEO. Philanthropist. Volleyball player. At first glance, Nishka Ayyar (12) appears to be an ambitious person who stops at nothing to get what she wants. In reality though, at her core, she’s your carefree,...

“I think you have to measure your impact and what you’ve done for other people–to know that you’re doing good with what you’re doing. You have to create a world for yourself, with your actions, that you would want to live in,” Ryan Guan (12) said. “For myself, I want to have something that I strive for– and that’s making a difference.”

Humans of Harker: Power in thought

by Prameela Kottapalli, Editor-in-chief • October 1, 2018

Unlike Ryan, the question is unremarkable. But it’s narrow in an attempt to capture his detail-oriented persona: “Why do you wear a watch?” While considering the question, he lounges on a modernist...

"To sum it up in one word, it's empathy,” Kelsey Wu (12) said. “I've always been very interested in learning the stories of other people and helping other people, and what really ties everything I do together would be my goal of empathizing with others and understanding others. From a performing arts perspective, putting yourself in a character is obviously a very empathetic way of understanding others, and then in a student council, service standpoint, serving other people and really digging at what makes them happy—and also what's bothering them—is a really good medium of understanding how people work."

Humans of Harker: Toy libraries, jazz music and “person of the people”

by Kathy Fang, Managing Editor • September 27, 2018

Many students in public service begin their careers in high school or even middle school, stepping first into positions of student government as advocates of later start times, increased snack options...

"I can say pretty happily that a lot of my high school career has been a series of failures or rejections. I think it was Open Lab that really made me realize that you kinda have to keep on doing, because when people tell you no, you just have to find a new way to do things. At the end of the day, the only person you're really responsible for is yourself, and you have to be your own agent for these kinds of things. The series of failures I've had in research and performing arts—all those failures and all those rejections have definitely made me a more persevering person," Rahul Bhethanabotla (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Rahul Bhethanabotla thoughtfully considers others

by Winged Post Opinions Editor, Derek Yen • April 22, 2018

Friends and teachers speak enthusiastically about senior Rahul Bhethanabotla in his wholly different capacities: researcher, performer, musician, or Honor Council member. But in all the separate spheres,...

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