The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“Bullet journaling for me is a way to have that creative outlet and express myself. It's a fun way to look back in the past and reminisce, like when I go and open my sixth grade stuff. I'm going to be able to look back on my journals in years and recall the experiences I had at the time that I had it, or when I was actively filling in a particular journal — it means a lot to me," Melody Yin ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: Crafts and communication
“Tennis is such a mental game, where if you start to get down on yourself, then you end up playing worse. I feel a responsibility to always keep a positive attitude because I know that energy transfers to your partner as well. Whenever a younger teammate makes a mistake, I always reassure them by telling them that it's OK and reminding them that they're a very capable tennis player," senior Charlize Wang said.
Humans of Harker: Grace behind the baseline
Humans of Harker: Game talk with Gabe
Humans of Harker: Game talk with Gabe
Humans of Harker: Batting with discipline
Humans of Harker: Batting with discipline
"When I first started volunteering, it was really nerve-wracking for me, but the more I did it, I started realizing there's nothing to be afraid of because I knew that I had the knowledge that they wanted from me. The more I did it, the less fear I had in going up to people because there's really nothing that can go wrong. It's ok if I don't know something. All of my shyness and social anxiety goes away when I know that someone needs help. Whatever it takes, I will help them if I can," senior Aryana Bharali said.
Humans of Harker: Answering every call
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
Community Profiles
Chemistry Teacher Ran Tao tends to her Abraham Darby Roses. Over her years as a gardener, she has noticed thematic similarities between gardening and teaching. (Provided by Ran Tao)
Meet your staff: Composure through cultivation
by Wenjie Zou and Nathan Yee
Read Story
English Teacher Eric Hengstebeck paddleboards on Lake Tahoe. After moving to California in 2019, he discovered his love for paddleboarding and now paddleboards often after school and during weekend trips. (Provided by Eric Hengstebeck)
Meet your staff: Paddleboarding toward peace
by William Jiang
Read Story
Mala Raghavan appreciates the chemistry behind traditional recipes, blending the two together to achieve her cooking goals. "Students often bring in complicated formulas to determine limiting reagents, but the limiting reactant is simply the ingredient that runs out first and limits how much product you can make — just like in a recipe," Dr. Raghavan said.
Meet your staff: Finding chemistry in traditional recipes
by Sam Li and William Jiang
Read Story
Whether through theater, technical production, teaching or cooking, Larsen remains committed to storytelling and actively engaging curious minds. "By staying very connected to and focused on the kids that are coming through the program, it continues to be exciting because different people bring different skill sets," Larsen said.
Meet your staff: Bringing stories to life
by Tiffany Zhu and Minal Jalil
Read Story
As a history teacher, Callahan brings her interest in cinema to the classroom setting, whether through the movie posters that decorate her classroom walls or the historical films that are incorporated into her history lessons. Her interest in exploring history through elements of multimedia first blossomed when she studied art history, a major that intersects the two fields.
Meet your staff: Creative connoisseur
by Charlize Wang and Heather Wang
Read Story
View All
Social Justice
Under Trump's administration, many feel that women outside traditional gender norms are less respected. "American culture is founded on the principles of respect, and I feel like that's being eroded," English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl said.
Pulse of the People: Trump administration shifts womens’ gender roles
by Mendy Mao and Elizabeth Zhang • April 15, 2025

As the Trump administration rolls out new policies reducing DEI and abortion rights, many women worry for the future. In a changing political...

Continue Reading
Trump's administration aims to decrease funding to the Department of Education. “If funding for county offices is cut, it's our students who are the most vulnerable," Santa Clara County Board of Education member Tara Sreekrishnan said.
Pulse of the People: Debate and doubt over the Department of Education
by Elizabeth Zhang, Assistant Features Editor
Pulse of the People: Concentrated control over media
Pulse of the People: Concentrated control over media
by Mendy Mao and Lily Shi
Green Team members hold up signs during an on-campus demonstration to bring awareness to the growing climate crisis. Over half of Generation Z has participated in protests at some point in time.
Pulse of the People: Generation Z trailblazes in civic engagement
by Aishani Singh and Hima Thota
As new restrictions on abortion medications arise after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, women grapple with losing the ability to make decisions about their own bodies. The abortion debate arose in the 1800s and continues to shape political and social divides in our country.
Pulse of the People: Reaching for the right of choice
by Vika Gautham and Hima Thota
View All
Spots on Campus
The bear statue next to Dobbins references Jason Berry's nickname "Bear" and commemorates his impact on the Harker community. "You would think he was here forever," English teacher and department head Pauline Paskali said. "It seems his presence is still here with us, and I know we all teach with him in mind."
Campus Compass: Jason Berry’s Bear Statue
by Emma Li, Opinions Editor • March 30, 2025

Students stream out of Dobbins Hall as the bell rings. A curiously shaped installment draws gazes, prominent against Dobbin’s bright pink backdrop....

A bee collects the nectar from apricot flowers in the orchard. The flowers have bloomed and insects have flocked to them in the past few weeks.
Campus Compass: Fresh blooms signal spring
by Alison Yang and Isabella Lo
In the past, groups on campus have also hosted campus-wide ping pong tournaments. Beyond school-wide events, the ping pong tables also serve as a hangout spot for friend groups on campus.
Campus Compass: Ping pong provides platform for competition and conversation
by Victor Gong, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
Seniors add finishing touches to their Disney-themed eagle on Sep. 26. With solid-colored backgrounds of pink, green and black, the sides feature Ariel and Snow White, Ursula and the Evil Queen and Tinker Bell flying over the Disney castle.
Campus Compass: Painted eagles fly high with spirit
by Elizabeth Zhang and Claire Zhao
The new full video scoreboard displays information about the football game and play during the varsity football team's season opener on Sept. 5. The scoreboard replaced the fixed-digit LED scoreboard from previous years with customizable and dynamic features.
Campus Compass: Custom video scoreboard inspires engagement beyond athletics
by Claire Zhao and Emma Li
View All
Customers order Starbucks merchandise at the counter inside the Pike Place Starbucks store. The store offers unique Pike Place-themed cups, mugs, coffee and other merchandise.Pike Place Fish Market fishmonger Hillary Sanger catches a fish in front of a crowd of onlookers.Under Trump's administration, many feel that women outside traditional gender norms are less respected. "American culture is founded on the principles of respect, and I feel like that's being eroded," English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl said.Minal Jalil (11) and her family hosted a Chand raat party the night before Eid on Saturday, March 29th. The party featured a variety of food and dessert, women putting on mendhi, people moon-sighting and games being played between children in the front yard. Chand raat is a South Asian tradition that celebrates the festivities of Eid on the night prior to it.Gender stereotypes ingrain the understanding of gender as a binary category, excluding individuals in society who don’t conform to either. Intersex individuals stand as one such prominent group of individuals.
Amidst a flurry of fake snow, a woman captures a snowflake to show to the children. Snow machines shower guests with small clumps of white foam to simulate the magic of a white Christmas.
Navy veteran and math department chair Anthony Silk recounted his experience during the Persian Gulf War, where he flew the EA6B Prowler aircraft as an active duty military aviator. "For me, when I think of Veterans Day, I don’t think of myself, because I was doing a job and that’s what it was," Silk said.
Programs often distribute merch without considering whether students actually want the items they are offering, instead ordering bulk and distributing until they run out. Departments like performing arts, athletics, and speech and debate provide swag to members every year, especially with every new production and season, resulting in members receiving duplicates if they continue for multiple years.
Spenner relishes the thrill of competition in disc golf, but finds greater fulfillment in the environment. “Disc golf is a way for me to be in a different community and a different physical space—a natural space that feeds my soul," Spenner said.
Navigating political engagement in age of algorithms
The competitive culture Harker students have established exacerbates the pressure they feel when overwhelmed. Often times, this leads to cheating on tests or quizzes.
Due to the rigorous academic expectations in high school and plethora of extracurriculars that students participate in, they can easily get burnt out and sleep-deprived. Staying up all night to study can later harm students’ ability to learn in a vicious cycle.
Ofrendas, or altars, are a recognizable hallmark in modern celebrations of the holiday that act as a tribute for deceased loved ones. At Harker, Spanish teacher Diana Moss collaborated with the Office of DEI to set up altars in Main Hall in honor of Día de Los Muertos.
Spooky style: Students and staff parade their Halloween attires
Senior Rei Binkley paints a diya on Friday. Those who celebrate Diwali typically light diyas to commemorate the holiday of lights.
Sophomore Megha Unny smiles at Head of Upper School Paul Barsky's reaction to her answer to his question. She told him that her current favorite book was "Fake Dates and Moon Cakes" by Sher Lee.
Meet your staff: Musicality meets mathematics
Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is not a product of poor behavior or habits and is rather rooted in the brain’s chemistry. The condition is largely driven by differences in neurotransmitter activity, particularly dopamine, which controls motivation and reward processing.
Co-Editor-in-Chief of Eucalyptus lit Iris Cai (12) peruses her literary magazine's website. “Our team is not only working together to help spread other voices, but we’re also helping each other grow and improve as well," Iris said.
To find inspiration, she surrounds her desk with bright colors, thriller books, old movies and song lyrics. By working in a space that reflects her own interests, she develops ideas for choreography more naturally. 
Aanya Sharma (10) plays a card game with her friends during a break in English class. English teacher Beth Wahl's class also holds legos and a mini basketball hoop for students to use.
Breaking down basics of spirit
Palo Alto High School hosts JEA NorCal Media Day this year. Over 600 attendees across the Bay Area attended sessions ranging from election coverage to features writing and heard from distinguished speakers.
Theater technician specialist Natti Pierce-Thomson works the light board in the Patil Theater. Pierce-Thomson joined the Harker tech crew over 20 years ago, designing and operating the stage light systems.
Film appreciation president Gabe Sachse (12) sketches the layout of film club's poster. Officers met during Friday office hours to discuss the poster's design.
Upper school history teacher Byron Stevens unpacks a box in his classroom in preparation for the new school year. "The most fun is just the anticipation and the excitement as [the start] gets closer, and I have the greatest job in the world because it could start over every August," Stevens said.
Shlurp has not only made its way to customers, but also taken home a top prize of $5,000 at the INCubatoredu National Pitch Competition. After submitting a video pitch, Shlurp was one of five finalists selected from across the nation to fly to Chicago, where they pitched their company to a panel of judges in July.
Harker welcomes several new faculty and staff members to the upper school this year. Many of the new faculty and staff expressed their excitement to step into their new positions.
Meet your staff: Dialogue on diversity
Tucked between Nichols and Dobbins, the giant chessboard is a hotspot for both experienced and amateur chess enthusiasts alike, serving as a bonding activity for students or a battleground for friendly competition.
A former English teacher, Vaughan treasures the impact of teachers inside and outside the classroom, citing it as “real magic going on.” She values them as the community's foundation, facilitating student learning and growth. 
Departing staff reflect on their years of service
Talk Around Campus: Mother's Day
Meet your staff: Spreading smiles through song
Aquila's guide to preparing for AP Exams
View All