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 really like making people smile and laugh. I want to be someone who brings some light into their days and make them happy. When I bring my football to school and I’m able to get people off their phones, it feels nice to know that I’m changing people’s days even if it’s only for a little bit. Those are the moments that really make me proud, because I’m able to make an impact on someone’s life by doing something nice for them,” Karan Bhasin (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Cultural connoisseur

by Muthu Panchanatham, Co-Sports Editor April 21, 2021

Lively chatter fills the air as students bustle around during the lunch period, relieved to have a break from their demanding classes early in the morning. At one of the dark green tables outside Manzanita...

“I want to be remembered as a person who made people feel more positive. Theres so much going on in life all the time, but when you step back, the most meaningful parts are when you feel happy when someone is there. So I just want people to feel like I made a little happy difference in their life,” Claire Luo (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Making a happy difference

by Lucy Ge, Winged Post News Editor April 21, 2021

During the more stressful months of high school, students can be seen frantically cramming for a test or catching up on assignments. But no matter the season, one cheerful, smiling student can always be...

“Sculpture is a way for me to communicate my ideas and beliefs in a way that resonates with a viewer. I really enjoy the process of experimenting with a bunch of different materials because the medium that I work in, mixed media sculptures, is very open-ended,” Alex Zhai (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Medium with meaning

by Shinjan Ghosh, TALON Co-Student Life Editor April 21, 2021

Adjusting the position of his newest sculpture, Alex Zhai (12) steps back to admire his work. In front of him stands a large sculpture that resembles an eyeball, constructed from scraps of old technology...

“Everyone has a different story. In a café, I’ll imagine everyone’s life as a story floating above their head, like a bubble. I go to places where Id talk to people that I dont otherwise meet. I like to give little compliments because they always make [people’s] days so much better, and that will usually start a conversation. Even if its a five-minute interaction, theres so much you can learn and so much that you can take away from it,” Hari Bhimaraju (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Connections, cafés and creativity

by Anoushka Buch, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief April 21, 2021

A tool that allows the visually-impaired to learn about the periodic table. A friendship formed over a colorful journal and a hot latte. An imaginary world that’s too complex for anyone to understand...

“I was not very connected to a specific religion or my culture, but at Magic, I think that my nothingness had value as a blank slate for all these ideas. It was a very easy, comfortable spot of discourse. Having a clean outlook allowed me to look at all these ideas and let them mix and meld into my own identity, so a fusion of different ideas and outlooks is the way that I see the world now. That helped me realize having no identity is an identity in itself,” Anoushka Buch (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Mix and meld

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Business Manager April 21, 2021

As the sun rises over the Stanford Dish, Anoushka Buch (12) shares a laugh with her fellow volunteers. Together, they water a field of plants and set up Tubex to protect the trees before driving back down...

“I dont want to dog on teamwork because Im a big fan of teamwork for sure—there are a lot of times for it. But to a degree, I really do appreciate the importance of self-sufficiency. I’m a big fan of that, not in a way of ‘you should not need other people,’ but when necessary, you should be able to handle whats thrown at you,” Bayden Yazalina (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Under the hood

by Arya Maheshwari, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief April 20, 2021

Machines are black boxes to most people. They serve a purpose; once they outlive their usefulness, they are readily replaced. But give Bayden Yazalina (12) a computer—no matter how old—and its CPU...

“I hope people will be a lot more accepting of any genre of music. As the Eastern [and] Western worlds overlap with each other, its inevitable that their cultural exports will also intermingle. Its up to us to accept that these genres of music do in fact exist and are in fact valid. Its really nice for me, as an East Asian person, to see other East Asian people become more represented in the media,” Audrey Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: From Beethoven to BTS

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Business Manager April 20, 2021

A single note rings out from the keyboard. As her fingers fly across the keys, Audrey Liu (12) builds the melody in a crescendo, expressing her emotions through her music, and the sound fills her backyard. After...

“Im proud of every moment Ive done well, but at the same time I don’t see one moment over the others. By being proud of a moment too much youre satisfied and complacent — and you cant ever be complacent. You want your proudest moment to be in your future. I feel like the past isnt important; its about what you do in the present and the future,” Eric said.

Humans of Harker: Trust the process

by Aditya Singhvi, Co-Managing Editor April 20, 2021

“Boom Boom Boom Boom!” One of the first memories that arise when you ask varsity boys basketball assistant coach Eric Lee about Eric Zhu (12) is of him playing an entirely different game — Brawl...

“I used to be pretty shy, but I broke out of my shell in high school. I really like getting to know everyone. That feeling when you know that someone trusts you enough to let you truly understand them is so special because it allows for this genuine connection. It makes me very happy to know that people trust me,” Shreya Srinivasan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Creating sunshine

by Anoushka Buch, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief April 20, 2021

Every evening, the sun sets over Evergreen’s hills, casting a bronze glow on the city’s greenery that’s perfectly complemented by a rose-stained sky. And every evening, Shreya Srinivasan (12) can...

“Everyones an unfinished puzzle. And thats part of the reason why I want to connect with different people. I feel that learning about someones different experiences gives me a more complete perspective of the world and of the problems other people deal with. I might not be able to help them, but I can somewhat alleviate their pain and help them through their situations,” Kushal Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Bonds for a lifetime

by Nicholas Wei, Humans of Harker Profiler April 20, 2021

Business psychologists. Biotech entrepreneurs. Medical professors. These are just a few types of people with whom Kushal Shah (12) has formed connections and helped connect others. Whether he is meeting...

“The birth lottery is this idea that says when youre born, you have no determination to decide which family youre born into … Its like a lottery. You can’t control where youre born or what circumstances you end up in, or what you want to do. Id like the ability to change that up — its worth it,” Krishay Mukhija (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Details make a difference

by Heidi Lu and Ananya Sriram April 15, 2021

Dressed in a polished and refined suit accentuated by a striped blue tie, Krishay Mukhija (12) focuses on the boy in front of him who is buttoning the cuffs of a crisp white shirt. Watching the boy fix...

“Being able to convey my emotions to an audience and being vulnerable to a group of people are aspects that Ive grown in regarding dance. Learning how to take risks is a skill that has followed me outside of dance. There have been a lot of struggles throughout my years of dancing, but it has really taught me how to be persistent and resilient even when things get tough,” Karina Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Dual discoveries

by Helen Zhu, TALON Managing Editor April 15, 2021

Minutes before her number is called, Karina Chen (12) puts on her headphones and presses “play.” Listening to the music of her upcoming routine, she envisions herself on stage, deliberately selecting...

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