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

“[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

by Jin Tuan, Aditya Singhvi, and Saloni Shah July 23, 2020

The sun begins its descent behind the mountains at Rancho San Antonio as Anya Gert (‘20) fiddles with a leaf. A lanyard with her car keys swings from her pocket, jostled as she takes in the different...

“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

by Jin Tuan and Aditya Singhvi July 1, 2020

As music blares in the parking lot after school, a flurry of cards sprays into the air and scatters all over the shining roof of the jet black Mazda6 as Montek Kalsi ('20) — clad in an olive sweatshirt...

“Im 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 theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones 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

by Emily Chen, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief June 30, 2020

Even at a small school like Harker, it’s tough to remember everyone’s names, especially if they’re in a different grade. But there’s one person everyone knows—Alyssa Huang ('20). Whether she's...

Humans of Harker: Grit and grind

Humans of Harker: Grit and grind

by Nina Gee and Sydney Takemoto June 19, 2020

This is the fourth installment of the Humans of Harker 2020 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity

Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity

by Michael Eng and Nina Gee June 17, 2020

This is the third installment of the Humans of Harker 2020 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

“I like being guided by the idea of making the most out of any situation because it is intentionally ambiguous. It gives me the flexibility to define it as I see fit. And then pursue it as I see fit,” Nerine Uyanik (’20) said.

Humans of Harker: Make the most out of every moment

by Jessie Wang, Senior Copy Editor June 17, 2020

“Keep putting out good. It will return to you tenfold in unexpected ways.”  That’s the piece of wisdom found at the bottom of every email sent by Nerine Uyanik ('20). A variation on a quote by...

“Prioritize yourself. I now prioritize my health over any grade. Overworking is one of the biggest things you should not do because the results are not always what you want, which leads to you feeling like you did it for nothing. I feel like taking that breather, and finding why you’re really doing something is really important,” Srivani Vegesna (’20) said.

Humans of Harker: Maintaining equilibrium

by Arushi Saxena, Co-Managing Editor June 17, 2020

Sitting cross-legged in Dobbins Hall, Srivani Vegesna ('20) balances herself evenly on one of the concrete benches, gently setting her phone down beside her. The sun reflects off of her sleek black hair,...

“My ability to adjust to these situations by readily adapting and optimizing the outcome of the unpredictable led to superior outcomes and taught me the power of flexibility and open-mindedness. The unknown used to terrify me, but I have learned to recognize, appreciate and find comfort in unplanned spaces. Rather than remaining married to my plans, I have gained trust in myself to think creatively on the spot and in others,” Aarzu Gupta (’20) said.

Humans of Harker: Story of a STEMinist

by Kathy Fang, Editor-in-Chief June 9, 2020

Aarzu Gupta’s (‘20) journey into the world of coding began on the other side of the fence: in art. Specifically, with a digital turtle who could draw upon command. In elementary school, Aarzu, who...

“Im a firm believer in the idea that you need to have healthy relationships and healthy friendships in order to grow in order to feel confident in yourself. And part of that is understanding what you deserve and how you deserve to be treated, which is really hard, especially when youre going through high school. I think that if you surround yourself with people who are trying to and willing to help you grow and its just a mutually beneficial relationship, you can get through almost anything that life throws at you,” Emi Armstrong (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Someone to talk to

by Esha Gohil, Humans of Harker Managing Editor June 8, 2020

A quiet excitement fills the crowd as the curtains open and the lights begin to shift from black to a blue-violet hue, illuminating the silhouettes of the dancers ready to perform in the Harker’s annual...

Class of 2020: Humans of Harker compilation, part five

by Saloni Shah, Humans of Harker Editor-in-Chief June 1, 2020

Due to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding COVID-19, our seniors cannot experience their spring semester and graduation in its traditional format. Yet, we want to honor the Class of 2020 and celebrate...

“Im definitely still someone around campus that might be regarded as maybe the funny guy or somebody that people know is a specific type of person, but I feel like Ive been able to shift maybe away from being a very specific one-dimensional person that people know as a specific thing and grow into someone people know as a real person,” Nash Melisso (’20) said.

Humans of Harker: The man behind the myth

by Nina Gee, Winged Post Managing Editor June 1, 2020

There’s something of a living legend on campus. You might not even know he’s passed you until he’s halfway across the quad. But you’ll find him, if you know where to look. You’ll hear whispers...

“Ive always been fascinated by stories. For film, I always loved every time I watched a movie or tv show – even when I was little watching ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars – I would love discussing it with my family. Those days I didnt know how to analyze it, and I was just talking about all these facts Id learned from Wikipedia pages. But as I read more in class, I really found enjoyment in using those terms and structures wed discussed in our English classes. Ive been really interested in film the past couple of years,” Kalyan Narayanan (’20) said. 

Humans of Harker: The force awakens

by Lauren Liu, Winged Post Copy Editor June 1, 2020

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Kalyan Narayanan ('20) looked to the horizon, to the light of the twin sunsets of his home world of humble beginnings, with a dream of adventuring throughout...

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