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

“We have so many opportunities to grow and experience new things so that we can be the next leaders of the world. As humans, we have a responsibility to act as caretakers and the voice of the wildlife we share this planet with, so improving animal welfare has always been my calling, to give a voice to the animals who cannot speak for themselves,” Alex Baeckler (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Call to action

by Esha Gohil, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor May 25, 2021

Standing under a colorful Happy Hollow Zoo sign and clad in a bright orange park employee T-shirt, Alexandra “Alex” Baeckler (12) grins, the familiarity of the location a comfort to her. Alex has been...

“Elon Musk said, If you need inspiring words, dont do it. I dont like doing things that I dont want to do because youre not going to have the drive to actually complete it to the very end. I feel like a lot of people dont have enough passion or interest in things; theyre doing it because other people are doing it or because youre told to. If you want to do it personally, then youre going to do it a lot better than if youre told to,” Jason Kwok (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Drive forward

by Mark Hu, Winged Post STEM Editor May 25, 2021

Eyes focused on the interior of his red Subaru and hands perched on the sides of the shiny hood, Jason Kwok (12) peers into the interior of his modded car, inspecting the individual parts and checking...

“If you focus, concentrate and control your emotions, it could be helpful in any discipline, whether it be school or baseball, or even volunteering for that matter. As long as you focus, put your mind to it and have that drive for it, things will happen better than how they would have been if you just sat there,” Andrew Chavez (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Pitching with intent

by Anika Mantripragada, Alena Suleiman, and Sally Zhu May 18, 2021

With the ball in one hand and a large brown baseball mitt in the other, Andrew Chavez (12) stands at the pitcher’s mound, his eyes on his target. Hands clenched together, he brings one knee up and stretches...

“I always talk about how I feel like Ive had so many full circle moments, where I was once the student and now Im the teacher. It feels that much more special when I remember that I used to be the one running around the playground or forgetting my Hebrew alphabet. It’s a reminder that its scary that were growing up, and I dont feel like Im too old for anything, but it’s still a significant growth,” Zoe Sanders (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The true meaning of home

by Varsha Rammohan, Co-Editor-in-Chief May 18, 2021

In the small community of Weston on the southern coast of Florida, Zoe Sanders (12) grew up surrounded by a cozy congregation of cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents and extended family. Her cousins...

“[In debate] you have to debate things from both sides, and it’s really forced me to look at things from both perspectives, think about things from different angles … I want to be remembered for providing a unique perspective on things, giving some thoughts that make people things or adding some perspective on things that make people think about something in a different way,” Andy Lee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Masterful analyzation

by Claire Luo and Katelyn Zhao May 18, 2021

Andy Lee (12) recalls his proudest moment in his high school debate career. He and his debate teammate had been losing to the same strategy repeatedly throughout the year, an easily discouraging situation....

“One thing that I wish other people cared about was being more conscious and aware about other people and focusing more on learning from other people. Some of my most memorable learning experiences have been from working with other people and learning from them, whether thats communities or my friends, and a lot of people take that for granted and prioritize learning from books or school and not actually learning from experiences or other people,” Zoe Kister (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Exploring the unfamiliar

by Margaret Cartee and Katie Reed May 17, 2021

With hazel ombre hair flowing down her shoulders and a bright smile illuminating her face, Zoe Kister (12) sweeps her right leg up into a scorpion-like position, displaying her exceptional flexibility...

“My most defining experiences all came in middle school since I was able to explore what kind of person I wanted to mold myself into. It was a struggling process, but the effort that I was a bit reluctant to put in ended up being worthwhile. It wasn’t just about finding a balance between school and leisure, but also about finding and fitting in with my own group of friends. Now … I’ve found my crowd and I’ve struck that school and fun balance that’s allowed me to be successful,” Rohan Kannan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Creating the right vibe

by Kushal Shah, Sports Columnist May 11, 2021

Heartily chuckling while in deep conversation with his huddled up friends during office hours, Rohan Kannan (12) points to another friend working alone on a lunch table nearby, checking in with him and...

“Youre never going to be perfect, youre never going to reach your exact goal, but you can keep working towards it, finding those small things that you can change that will make a bigger improvement than you ever think theyll be able to,” Aditi Vinod (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Skiing towards success

by Lakshmi Mulgund, TALON Co-Sports and Social Media Editor May 11, 2021

When scrolling through Aditi Vinod’s (12) Instagram feed, there may be a few robotics or dog photos scattered throughout, but the blinding white snow and skis take over her photos. In one particular...

“You really only do live once. You might as well live your life to the fullest, especially as a child. And as a teen in high school, live your life to the fullest and dont have any regrets. I like to have fun and not really care about what other people think of me. I think thats definitely a way to go with life, because if you care about what everyone thinks, youre really not going to enjoy it to the fullest,” Natalie Vo (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swinging through life

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler May 10, 2021

Natalie Vo (12) leans her head back in thought, vividly remembering the moment she qualified for the Women’s Amateur Tournament last summer, the day that all her hard work paid off and finally revealed...

 “[Coaching] taught me so much about myself as a person, but I’m helping kids develop not only as players but as people, which I think is very important. To help facilitate that change has been something that is very meaningful to me. And to see kids come into the room and grow more confident and supportive [of] each other is really, really cool; that’s why I think it’s really worth it,” Hannah Grannis (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Hurdling over horizons

by Angelina Hu and Kinnera Mulam May 10, 2021

Amid the jerseyed middle school children dribbling soccer balls across the field stands Hannah Grannis (12). Calmly and patiently, she directs the young aspiring soccer players with the knowledge she has...

“I’ve always done my best to keep an open mind and try everything just once. You won’t ever know if you’ll like something if you never attempt it and that’s what I strive to do. At the end of the day, I just want to spend my time pursuing things that I actually enjoy doing. I’m going to do the things that are genuinely meaningful to me — things that give me the outlet I need to impact others,” Ray Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Dribbling with drive

by Kushal Shah, Sports Reporter May 10, 2021

32 seconds. The scoreboard reads 62-61, with the opposing team up by a single point. A whistle’s shriek pierces the air, signaling the inbounding of the ball. Catching the inbound ball, the point guard...

“Being able to report on my community from the sidelines has given me a platform to be able to do something with my voice, to find communities that were not covering and to connect with them, to form a bridge between, quite literally, the people who are on the gym floor playing that sports game and the people in the stands,” Anna Vazhaeparambil (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Pictures for a purpose

by Sarah Mohammed, Asst. Features Editor May 10, 2021

Anna Vazhaeparambil (12) remembers carving a small space for herself on the press stand, hands smoothly adjusting the lens of her black camera, as she takes pictures alongside journalists from some of...

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