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’m always glad to see people using their talents, their abilities to help others … not to fulfill a graduation requirement, but for the sake of helping. If people saw that both big and small steps can work wonders for the world, the community or even just a friend, we’d be in a better place,” Elizabeth Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Always in heart, never apart

by Katie Wang, TALON Asst. Photo Editor October 28, 2020

In a voice call, Elizabeth Chen (12) and her friends settle down as she clicks the button to queue up another round of social distanced, online One Night Ultimate Werewolf. The cool, muted colors of Elizabeth’s...

“There was this point in sophomore year during Mr. Hurshmans poker tournament, where he asked us about [the point] of school — [it’s] to learn — not about any numbers or anything else. And it just resonated with me. Thats what I want to do. I want to learn … [Go] into classes with the mentality to really learn, no matter what grade you get, youll come out a better person in life,” Kishan Sood (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Parries and counterattacks

by Kushal Shah, Sports Columnist and Podcaster October 27, 2020

“En Garde! Prêts? Allez!” With those four words, the contest of survival begins. On an elevated stage, two fighters, both garbed in silver and white outfits and armed with foils, tense for a split...

“I really like this basic Tumblr quote, it’s called, ‘Reach for the moon, and if you miss, youll land among the stars.’ The way I interpret that is … to set unachievable goals. So Ill try and reach that unachievable goal, and if I make it, thats awesome … but if I dont, Ive still achieved a lot,” Elizabeth Fields (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Striving to serve

by Lavanya Subramanian, TALON Organizations Editor October 23, 2020

A field of grass that goes on seemingly forever. Hundreds of different species of plants. Only a few other people in sight. Elizabeth Fields (12) spends a significant amount of time in places like these,...

“It’s such a big world. Why dont you want to learn everything about it? Theres so much in everything, and I just want to learn as much as I can for learnings sake. There’s wonder and excitement at seeing all these new things in the world that I didnt know about, and [I feel] really overjoyed that I get to learn about them,” Tessa Muhle (12) said. 

Humans of Harker: Discovering the world

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler October 22, 2020

Think about all the places you’ve traveled to in your lifetime. Does that list include England and India, Spain and Belgium, Panama and Austria? Tessa Muhle’s (12) list certainly does, and it doesn’t...

“I only have one year left [at Harker], and I really want to take advantage of it. I know every single person has their unique story [and that] every single person is special in their own way, so I want to get to know everyone. In 20 years, I may not remember everyone, but whether its someone I know well or not, just going to talk to them, having a quick laugh in between classes, those small moments are what I know I will carry on with me,” Bryan Zhang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Leading by connection

by Aditya Singhvi, Co-Managing Editor October 21, 2020

“I’m 6-foot-2 and scared of Disney movies.” When he needs a fun fact to introduce himself — whether to a crop of excited mentees at DECA launch, with his Link Crew advisory playing two truths...

“I like making … art that moves people and makes them think a little bit more. My AP [Studio] Art focus was on my experience with anxiety, so I turned that into understanding how a person feels or how I felt personally with anxiety, like chaos. I replicated that in my artwork, and it was a nice escape for me to understand what I was feeling,” Arya Tandon (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Artistic expression

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Business Manager October 20, 2020

Golden sunlight illuminates Arya Tandon’s (12) face as she sits at Vasona Park and outlines a brain in her sketchbook. A pen in hand, she adds minute details to her piece, concentrating on the page in...

“Everyone is a unique individual person, and you cant shift someone else into another persons mold. That just wont work. If you do, youll feel even more unfulfilled. And then youll feel sadder because youre not living up to be that other person,” Ajay Madala (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Finding purpose through filmmaking

by Sabrina Zhu, Asst. STEM Editor October 19, 2020

A young third grader sits eagerly on a couch beside his mother, staring at the TV in front of him. Dressed in an all yellow suit, a woman appears on the screen, and she grips tightly to a long, metallic...

“[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.

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