The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Piecing together a narrative
Humans of Harker: Piecing together a narrative
“When I was a VP, I had this urge to think, ‘I was a director last year. I know exactly what to do. I'm gonna do it myself, and then the directors can watch and take it on for the next year.' But then I had to realize that it's important to delegate and let them go through the hardship that it took me the year before. Even if they don't understand it, it's also important for them to go through that experience so that they can get to the point where I am now," senior Sanaa Bhorkar said.
Humans of Harker: Directing effort, coordinating action
“My hobbies are a lot of trial and error. With cooking and photography, it takes a lot of patience and messing up, and I kind of love that. I love growing and just getting better at something. There are just some creative outlets that I think are fun ways to spend time," senior Haden Andrews said.
Humans of Harker: Camaraderie, creativity and cooking
Humans of Harker: Biotech and bows
Humans of Harker: Biotech and bows
“I find value in what I do because it makes people feel happy when they see us perform. It makes them feel encouraged. It brings spirit to people, and it brings our team together in the community. Dance — it's a community thing, not just moving," senior Zachary Soraire said.
Humans of Harker: Dancing in the spotlight
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.
Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity
"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity
“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's 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 I'm 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
“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[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
“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
“I'm 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 there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's 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
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Freshmen Allison Zhu and Alexis Nishimura dress as a devil and angel in classic red and white for the costume.

Trick or treat: Zombies, princesses, and e-boys, oh my!

by Alysa Suleiman, Sports Reporter • November 1, 2019

As the clock strikes 8 am on a crisp and windy Thursday morning, the perfect Halloween weather, students scramble into class, greeting each other with shouts of laughter as they view each other’s costumes....

Seniors Rohan Cherukuri, Martin Bourdev, Rishi Dange, Arnav Johshi Nikhil Sharma dressed as clowns in matching red suits covered in white polka-dots, flamboyant red wigs, and classic red noses with white face paint. Not only did their costumes receive appreciation and laughter, but the boys themselves learned juggling as well as enjoyed planning for their costumes together.

Students, faculty celebrate Halloween with creative costumes

by Alysa Suleiman • October 31, 2019

This year's Halloween showcased a variegated barrage of unique costumes. Either humorous, traditionally terrifying or a classic; simple, complex, or colorful, costumes reflected the personalities and spirit...

"I think [my organization] is important because I've always had this sense of duty or responsibility. That was a personal thing. My parents never forced it on me. I like it when I can see what I’m going to do or have to do so I can finish things early," Katie Chang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Motivation beyond the quiet face

by Arely Sun, Co-Lifestyle Editor • October 31, 2019

Perched on tall chairs in the Nichols Rotunda, Katie Chang (12) and her friends focus intently as they quiz each other on biology terms. She whispers some witty words, and the table erupts into a bout...

A forecasted map of approximate regions, highlighted in orange, that may be affected by tomorrow's public safety power shutoff. The shutoff was prompted by warnings of a high-speed wind event that increases risk of damage to power lines and fire hazards.

Lights out, flames rise: As Sonoma County continues to burn, “historic” high-speed, dry wind event prompts PG&E to expand power shutoffs to reduce additional fire risk

by Kathy Fang, Arya Maheshwari, and Nicole Tian • October 28, 2019

As the Kincade fire in Sonoma County continues to burn and “extreme” weather conditions bring heightened fire risks to northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced plans...

Spare the Air forecast for tomorrow's air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area

Fire season in full force as Sonoma fire rages on, wind event pushes smoke into Bay Area and worsens air quality

by Kathy Fang and Nicole Tian • October 27, 2019

This is a developing story. Check Harker Aquila for additional coverage on wildfires and outages. As the Kincade fire in Sonoma County rages on, dry, gusty winds continue to push smoke from the wildfires...

Carrying picket signs and wearing purple shirts that said "Together We Rise," SEIU-represented workers marched outside the Cupertino library. The strike by over 1,000 public service workers across the county started on Oct. 2 and is expected to continue indefinitely.

Santa Clara County libraries close as county workers strike for fair labor practices

by Eric Fang, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief • October 26, 2019

Marching in front of the Cupertino library Saturday morning and afternoon, library staff and other county workers protested what they allege are unfair labor practices by Santa Clara County, including...

Alex Shing (12) hypes up the team ahead of their matchup against Cupertino. The boys came back in the second half to win 12-8.

Water polo teams notch wins on senior night against Cupertino

by Aditya Singhvi and Anna Vazhaeparambil • October 26, 2019

The varsity boys and girls water polo teams both defeated the Cupertino High Pioneers during a pair of senior night games on Tuesday. The boys played first at 4:30 p.m., hosting a short ceremony ahead...

Psychologist Dr. Andrea Letamendi speaks to upper school students about building resilience to combat anxiety and stress. She used her passion for comic books to depict a narrative that many students were knowledgeable about.

Psychology superhero: Fighting crime on mental health stigmas

by Alysa Suleiman, Sports Reporter • October 25, 2019

Psychologist and comic-lover Dr. Andrea Letamendi spoke to the upper school during two assemblies for underclassmen and upperclassmen on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Her lecture, titled “Psychology of Superheroes:...

“When I perform, I feel liberated. I’m focused on the moment and immersed in the music. I love that feeling of being able to just focus on the music and kind of forget everything else. What's really great to see is when people are really enjoying the music they’re feeling it, dancing, singing along. It was really extraordinary to see that,” Max Lee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Playing for a cause

by Carter Chadwick, Humans of Harker Profiler • October 25, 2019

Though the streets are packed with people moving about their day, it is hard not to miss Max Lee (12) on the piano playing with the Jazz Factor. Jazz Factor is a band that has performed at school and...

Cancer immunotherapy researcher Priti Hegde talked to attendees about her work in cancer genomics.

“Under the Microscope:” Harker hosts annual TEDx event

by Varsha Rammohan and Alysa Suleiman • October 24, 2019

Hundreds of tightly bunched red balloons spelling out “TEDX” in giant floating letters greeted students, parents and faculty as they entered the Nichols Auditorium. An event inspired by the world-renowned...

“It’s all about mindsets for me. I try to live on my own terms by doing things that make me happy, surrounding myself with people that encourage my growth and trying to find the positives out of situations. Reflecting on where I am now and how I can be the best current version of myself is something I prioritize instead of the past or the future. It’s more important to live in the moment, focusing on what to do now and how to help make an impact now because otherwise, you’re never going to get anything done in life,” Radhika Jain (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Breathe in, breathe out

by Helen Zhu, TALON Academics Editor • October 24, 2019

Greeted with a “Thanks! You’re all signed in!” by the instructor scanning her membership keycard, Radhika Jain (12) heads into the locker room, takes off her chocolate-colored Rainbow flip-flops...

A map of regions that will potentially be affected by the public safety power shutoff.

PG&E to shut off power in 17 Northern California counties in second public safety power shutoff of the month

by Kathy Fang, Editor-in-Chief • October 23, 2019

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) officials announced today that the utility will be moving forward with this month's second round of public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) today, turning off power...

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