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 like to laugh, and I like to make other people laugh because then they’re happy. When I’m with my friends, I feed off their energy and it makes me happier. Surrounding yourself with good people is very important. If you have people around you who are also happy and don’t put you down, life becomes a lot easier, Syna Gogte (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Heart, happiness and a helping hand

by Ella Yee, Reporter December 7, 2021

The friend you can count on to respond to your texts within minutes when you need help on your math homework. The one people immediately turn to when they’ve had a hard day and need comfort. Someone...

“I’ve always believed that hard work is the key to success. That sounds very cliche, but things don’t necessarily come naturally to me. I’ve had to put in a lot of work to become good at something, but I’m willing to put in that work because over the past 18 years of my life, I’ve started to figure out what I’m passionate about,” Ashley Barth (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A sports sensation

by Anika Mani, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief November 10, 2021

Sunlight streams through the trees on a Sunday afternoon at Los Gatos Creek Trail. Grabbing her soccer ball, Ashley Barth (12) juggles her ball at the entrance of her favorite running trail. The faint...

Sometimes, you dont feel like youre actually living, and youre just going through the motions. If you dont feel satisfied with one of your days, its like youre slowly dying instead of really thriving. That made me change my perspective on how I could actually do things I am happy to do, instead of doing what I think I should be doing according to societys norms,” Alina Yuan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: One panel at a time

by Katelyn Zhao, Reporter November 9, 2021

For hours on end during the summer, Alina Yuan (12) sketches and panels numerous pages, filling up her storyboard. She dedicates every day to her character, Lucian, a boy with synesthesia. With paperclip...

Take every chance that you get, because in life you can take some chances and they could end up taking you much further than you expected. Its a learning experience; if you can, and you dont have much to lose, just do it, Nikela Hulton (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swimming to success

by Smrithi Sambamurthy, TALON People & Seniors Editor November 8, 2021

Nikela Hulton (12) recalls the experience of competing at the Central Coast Section (CCS) swimming tournament in her freshman year. Energetic music blasts in the background as Nikela enters the pool, her...

“Im thankful for jazz because it brought me back to the violin in a roundabout way. Everything youre singing, if youre truly in the moment, its coming out of your music and what you think is right in that moment, and no one can take that away [from] you and no one can be the best at it technically. So that reminded me that I might not be technically the best [at] the violin, but Im the best at my interpretation of music,” Malar Bala (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Getting in tune

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor November 7, 2021

Malar Bala’s (12) eyes light up with joy as she recounts interviewing Leland Blue, an alternative rock band, for an episode of her music podcast, Getting in Tune Pod, which she hosts with close friend...

“[In] freshman year, making new connections and meeting new people was not a priority for me. I’ve realized now that if you actually reach out to people and make the effort to get to know them, [the different perspectives] make every activity worth it. It sucks to do things on your own, Anya Warrier (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Meet me on stage

by Katie Wang, Co-Photo Editor November 6, 2021

Studio cameras, Adobe Bridge, Photoshop. A Canon shutter snaps shut in a fragment of a second. GarageBand, PremierPro, iMovie. Evening hours spent combing through edits of film and podcasts. This is the...

“Dedication is really just self motivation and not making excuses. If you dont like how something is going, you have to be the one who puts in the effort to change it. Whether thats academics or sports, try to not blame others or find other reasons for why youre not doing something when you could be focusing your time on trying to improve it yourself, Cindy Su (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Queen of the court

by Sabrina Zhu, STEM Editor November 5, 2021

Cindy Su (12) chuckles as she recalls an after school basketball practice session. A mess of stools and mismatched cushions build a makeshift fort, and laughter bounces off of the concrete walls of the...

Always go one day at a time. Rather than thinking about hypotheticals and things that are going to happen, think about whats there on your plate right in front of you and handle that. Dont bother thinking [that] crazy things are going to happen, and handle the things you have got to do right now, and everythings going to be just fine, Pranav Varmaraja (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Back on the field, “one day at a time”

by Sally Zhu, A&E and Lifestyle Editor November 4, 2021

One of an athlete’s worst nightmares is suffering an injury that prevents them from playing. Another of an athlete’s worst nightmares is missing an entire season due to unforeseen circumstances. Both...

“Pretty much anyone, given the right circumstance, has the ability to learn, but the willingness and openness to learn and discuss new things and change their views on something [is what I value], Catherine Feng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Connecting through conversation

by Tiffany Chang, TALON Academics Editor November 3, 2021

Around campus, you might find Catherine Feng (12) engrossed in a History Board editors meeting, designing and editing pages for their publication. Or you might find her in upper school English teacher...

Trusting yourself and confidence are one and the same. If you’re not confident in what you’re supposed to do, how are you supposed to trust yourself? Sometimes if I don’t know what to do, I’ll come up with something and roll with the first thing that pops into my head. You move on and believe that you made the right choice at that time,” Kai Due (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Bringing the beat

by Lavanya Subramanian, TALON Student Life Editor October 29, 2021

As the bright September sun shines down on him, Kai Due (12) recalls the day that he stepped onto the amphitheater stage during his first Harker Picnic performance as a member of upper school dance troupe...

Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par

Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par

by Irene Yuan, Co-Managing Editor August 2, 2021

This is the first installment of the Humans of Harker 2021 video series. Through this project, the Harker journalism program aims to tell the story of the senior class, one profile at a time.

Its 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 Im 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

by Erica Cai and Esha Gohil July 27, 2021

Walking up to a bookshelf populated by dozens of novels ranging from Ray Bradbury to Langston Hughes, Brian Pinkston (‘21) runs his fingers along the titles until finally settling upon a copy of the...

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