The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
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
“What's helped me get through high school is reminding myself of my own worth. We all are good at something. I'm not necessarily the best at STEM, but I excel in my English and history courses. Everyone has some sort of strong point, so it's unnecessary to compare yourself to others,” Ayla Tanurhan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Life follows art

by Irina Malyugina, Photo Editor • January 27, 2020

Underneath a staircase in the Shah building is a small corner where students often hang their work. Visitors can find student-made creations on racks pushed against the walls, or neon lights illuminating...

“It's mostly storytelling in tangent with emotions. I've always loved telling people stories, so much so sometimes that I forget that I have my own, but I think that's the purpose of art and filmmaking and journalism, they're all a form of art. You see others' feelings out on the page, and you want to express your own,” Nina Gee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Telling stories with a twist

by Arely Sun, Winged Post Co-Lifestyle Editor • January 27, 2020

Sketchbooks of varied sizes, a camera and art supplies lay scattered on a desk. Nina Gee (12), clad in a red, white and black flannel layered over a grey Cambridge hoodie, hunches over an open sketchbook...

An illustration of Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Maria-Onore Bryant, 13. They were among the nine passengers who died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA, Sunday morning

Former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant among 9 killed in helicopter crash

by Aditya Singhvi, Anna Vazhaeparambil, and Alysa Suleiman • January 26, 2020

As more information is released about Kobe Bryant’s death, this article will be updated with the latest news. Check Harker Aquila for more updates. Kobe Bryant, former NBA superstar, died at the age...

The upper school Main office building.

English teacher leaves upper school, handing over classes

by Kathy Fang, Editor-in-Chief • January 26, 2020

English teacher Dr. Anne Douglas will not be returning to the upper school for the second semester. Her two sections of AP English Literature will be taught by English teacher Nikolai Slivka, and her sophomore...

Emergency masks in the upper school office of nurse Clare Elchert. Masks like these are being used in China in public areas, where a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, is rapidly spreading.

New coronavirus outbreak spreads globally, raising public health concerns

by Kathy Fang and Eric Fang • January 24, 2020

The outbreak of a new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, has elevated public health concerns as it spread globally to countries as far as the U.S. and France. The spread of this virus has also...

“I realized that finding fun in things is all I really want to do. I just try to find fun and be competitive in everything I do, because it really gives meaning to my life. Because if I involve myself in the things that I enjoy, instead of just going through the motions and doing things for the sake of doing them, by … investing myself in [things] emotionally, I can create a better output for myself and everyone around me,” Chandan Aggarwal (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Flowing with words

by Kushal Shah, Sports Columnist • January 24, 2020

Dressed in a sharp, two-button black suit and red tie, his eyes glimmer with excitement as he rises to deliver his first speech of the debate on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He...

“When people see my work, I want them to live my experiences and learn a thing or two, whether it’s how to become a better person or just seeing things from a different perspective,” Matthew Jiang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Looking through a new lens

by Sabrina Zhu, Reporter • January 23, 2020

Staring intently through a Sony A7R3 camera, hands steadily gripping a GorillaPod, Matthew Jiang (12) gazes at the scene set out in front of him. He smoothly adjusts the angle to better capture his subject,...

“I’m a pretty spontaneous person. I do things just because my gut feels like it, you know? I would also say I’m a very honest person with myself. If I like something, I know that I like it, and if I don’t like something, I know that I don’t like it, and I know which things motivate me and which things inspire me,” Cynthia Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Re-Searching for new horizons

by Kathy Fang, Editor-in-Chief • January 23, 2020
Attendees at the second annual Student Diversity Leadership Gathering participate in the fishbowl activity. In the “fishbowl activity,” chairs were set up in the center of the room with people of color in the middle and white people forming a ring around them. Featured speaker and organizer Dr. Rodney Glasgow showed three videos to prompt discussion.

Inside the fishbowl: Students explore diversity and race at the Student Diversity Leadership Gathering

by Isha Moorjani and Irene Yuan • January 23, 2020

The Diversity Committee hosted the second Student Diversity Leadership Gathering at the upper school on January 20 from 8 a.m. from 4 p.m., and it was also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day on which people...

Senior Cynthia Chen, who has been named one of 40 Regeneron finalists in the nation. Cynthia was the only Harker student to receive this honor this year.

Senior named one of 40 Regeneron finalists in nation

by Varsha Rammohan and Arushi Saxena • January 22, 2020

Senior Cynthia Chen was selected as one of 40 finalists in the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest math and science research competition for high school seniors.  Cynthia’s...

Senior violin soloist Hanoom Lee leads the orchestra in Pablo de Sarasate's “Zigeunerweisen" during the annual winter concert last Friday. The upper school orchestra was joined by the upper school jazz and lab bands, with all three groups performing pieces from their repertoires.

Upper school music groups celebrate end of semester with annual winter concert

by Sarah Mohammed and Saurav Tewari • January 22, 2020

The upper school orchestra, jazz band and lab band performed in their annual winter concert on Friday in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center, commemorating their work this semester. The orchestra...

“Art is a vehicle for positive change in some way. It's an easy way to spark conversation about topics that are too difficult to maybe address or talk about otherwise. I think that's something I've really endeavored to do. I do my art especially because I'm inspired by other artists who do the same thing, artists who use their art to confront controversies and incite discussion about things that are difficult,” Zara Vakath (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Find your inner artist

by Ritika Rajamani, TALON Photo Editor • January 22, 2020

With a paintbrush in her hand, Zara Vakath (12) stares decisively at the white canvas. After dipping her paintbrush into bright, textured oil paints, she lifts it up to the canvas. Without thinking, her...

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