The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“Human connection is very important to staying grounded and stable. The people around me are one of the reasons that I'm not fully burnt out, so I really prioritize keeping a good schedule for myself. Being able to prioritize the things in life that give me internal satisfaction is important to me because that's what allows me to have the drive to do good with the rest of my time. Talking to people is a way for me to replenish," senior Kashish Priyam said.
Humans of Harker: Pep in every step
“It's very important to make sure the people in your life know they're important to you. Whether that's doing small acts of kindness or just being there whenever they need you, having a really strong support system is what gets you through life, and it's a really valuable life skill to have," Sofie Marino (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Pillar of support
“My karate teachers emphasize that as black belts, we should be living up to the standard of our rank and acting as an example for the students who are lower-ranked.' When I’m helping out and someone messes up, I don't necessarily say, ‘You did this wrong, try to do this.’ I take a more relaxed approach and act out what they did a little comically. It's finding the balance between being strict and being more playful with the students," senior Claire Perng said.
Humans of Harker: Playing with purpose
“I have the ability to convey my opinions and ideas through art, which in my opinion, is the most powerful tool I have because not everyone has it. It requires me to, first of all, have an opinion or thought, and second of all, be able to convey it with this medium. Together, that is the strongest calling for an artist," senior Eva Li said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in abstraction
"I like challenging myself to really, really high expectations and then surprisingly, somehow it works, and I think I have the most fun doing that. Rather than making a beginner thing, I wanna be the best .I wanna do the craziest thing first," senior Gabe Li said.
Humans of Harker: B-roll to your beat
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
Claire Yu

Claire Yu, Multimedia Editor

Claire Yu (11) is a Multimedia editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her third year on staff. This year, she hopes to improve her writing, videography and photography. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, reading and playing basketball.

All content by Claire Yu
Live coverage: Harker challenges Anzar High School for Homecoming football game

Live coverage: Harker challenges Anzar High School for Homecoming football game

by Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Eva Cheng, Tiffany Zhu, Sidak Sanghari, Gabe Sachse, Hima Thota, Aishani Singh, Kairui Sun, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Charlie Wang, Suhani Gupta, Claire Yu, Janam Chahal, Mihir Kotbagi, Mendy Mao, Ella Guo, Samuel Tong, Caden Ruan, Sam Li, Lily Peng, Claire Xu, Chelsea Xie, and Katerina Matta
October 5, 2024
Anya Mukherjee (10) hands the microphone of to Chief Evangelist of Pegasus Tech Ventures Bill Reichert. The Startup World Cup planning team also invited the founder and CEO of Poshmark Manish Chandra, who spoke as a keynote speaker.

Business and Entrepreneurship department holds inaugural Startup World Cup Regional event

by Claire Yu
September 29, 2024
Oskar Baumgarte (12) prepares to shoot the ball over a sea of defenders. Varsity boys water polo ultimately lost to Los Gatos High School 8-14.

Varsity boys water polo battles Los Gatos in 8-14 loss

by Claire Yu and Kairui Sun
September 20, 2024
White fungus, tea leaves and Gentian roots provide benefits in boosting immunity. There are almost 12,800 traditional Chinese medicines, ranging from herbs to animal products.

Bridging ancient philosophy with science

by Ashley Mo and Claire Yu
September 20, 2024
Sophie Pellet (11) introduces Film Club to Avanya Glass (12), holding poster of last school years short film production “Maybe Next Time.” Film Club decorated their board with fairy lights and photos.

Club Fair sparks curiosity and engagement

by Claire Yu and Caden Ruan
September 18, 2024
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.

Welcoming new faces on campus

by Isabella Lo, Mendy Mao, Janam Chahal, Claire Yu, and Vivek Moorjani
August 23, 2024
Gabe Li (12), playing Rose, reenacts the rescue scene from "Titanic" with his group. Other groups recreated movies like "Avengers" and "Harry Potter."

Student leaders hit it off at “Spirit of Harker”

by Janam Chahal and Claire Yu
August 20, 2024
“I felt like track was more in my control and from track I learned the discipline of mind body connection and just pushing my body to its limits made me realize any mental stress I put on myself academically is just not worth it and it’s not in my control,” Anjali Yella (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Head up and headstrong

by Samaara Patil, Staff Reporter
May 14, 2024

Talk Around Campus: Mother’s Day

by Charlize Wang and Claire Yu
May 12, 2024
Shayla He (12) poses while having her portrait drawn. The caricature artist station was one of several activities available to attendees.

Music, mystery and memories

by Lily Shi and Jessica Hu
May 4, 2024
Around 40% of the U.S. population unintentionally fall asleep during the day. This problem is prevalent in the U.S. because of the culture to overwork and finish tasks until they are complete.

Medical experts are concerned about the recent spread of measles within the United States and other countries. This year’s cases have been around 17 times larger this year than previous years.

The issue of coral bleaching stems from rising sea temperatures due to global warming. Coral reefs play a vital role in underwater life, so threats to them cause major downstream effects.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected 24 core samples, and scientists hope to bring them to Earth by the 2030s. However, the project is facing setbacks due to cost and delays in time.

Shortstop Joy Hu (10) prepares to swing during the team’s game against DCP Alum Rock. “We improved a lot because in the beginning, only four players actually knew how to play beforehand,” Joy said.

Eagles shut out Downtown College Prep Alum Rock 16-0

by Isabella Lo and Claire Yu
April 15, 2024

Talk Around Campus: Students discuss March Madness predictions and opinions

by Selina Xu and Claire Yu
April 8, 2024
Many are aware of the pain that concussions cause on the court, but the arduous process of concussion recovery behind the scenes is less known. Apart from the initial pain of the hit, symptoms of a concussion vary and have the potential to heavily affect day-to-day cognitive function, emotional wellness and physical health. 

Athletes tackle concussion recovery

by Claire Yu, Co-Assistant Sports Editor
March 28, 2024
Iris Wang (10) poses with her hockey stick. “I just really love all the ups and downs of hockey,” Iris said. “You win as a team, you lose as a team, and although losing can be hard, I like that it's a team experience and everyone lifts each other up.”

Apex: Ice breaking, victory chasing

by Emma Milner and Claire Yu
March 28, 2024
Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes faces off against the 49ers' Brock Purdy. The two teams will play in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday.

Students and staff share Super Bowl LVIII predictions

by Eva Cheng, Claire Yu, and Tiffany Zhu
February 9, 2024
Selina Chen (9) represents her club team while Finley Ho (9) dons a Harker jersey. Both split their time between the varsity girls basketball team and their club teams.

Battling for balance, student-athletes take on club and high school sports

by Katerina Matta and Claire Yu
February 8, 2024
From Chatbots that answer questions and write papers, to programs that mimic the voices of popular celebrities, original works face the risk of replacement as AI begins to fill every facet of our everyday lives.

Deep dive into AI

by Charlize Wang, Jonathan Xue, Ella Yee, and Claire Yu
February 7, 2024
Humans of Harker: Choreography of minds

Humans of Harker: Choreography of minds

by Claire Yu, Co-Assistant Sports Editor
January 30, 2024
At its core, AMR is based on the natural selection and evolution of microorganisms. When exposed to an antibiotic, susceptible bacteria are eliminated, leaving behind a population of microorganisms with genes that are resistant to the antibiotic.

Beyond the microscopic world: antimicrobial resistance threatens global health

by Ashley Mo, Assistant STEM Editor
January 23, 2024
Out of the nest: Enchant San Jose

Out of the nest: Enchant San Jose

by Isabella Lo and Claire Yu
December 30, 2023
An Israeli soldier examines a damaged house in Israel on Oct. 18. The attack by Hamas occurred on Oct. 7, when militants from the nearby Gaza Strip killed and captured numerous Israelis. (Provided by AP News)

Global Headlines (Issue 3)

by Disha Gupta, Janam Chahal, and Claire Yu
November 30, 2023
Perspectives: Abstract art

Perspectives: Abstract art

by Charlie Wang and Claire Yu
November 24, 2023
Humans of Harker: Flash through the past

Humans of Harker: Flash through the past

by Claire Yu, Reporter
November 17, 2023
The cheer team lifts three members into the air during the spirit rally on Oct. 5. With a total of 15 members this year, the size of the team increased fivefold, and their hardworking spirit and close-knit relationships continue on. 

Staying on top: Cheerleading team grows and adjusts to form new memories

by Emma Milner and Claire Yu
November 3, 2023
Setter Keira Chang (10) sets the ball to middle blocker Emily Mitnick (11) as she sets up to swing. The Eagles defeated Eastside in three straight sets.

Varsity girls volleyball annihilates Eastside College Prep in three set match

by Janam Chahal, Shareen Chahal, and Claire Yu
October 31, 2023

Photo Slideshow Oct. 15

by Aishani Singh, Alvira Agarwal, Anika Maji, Ariana Goetting, Audrey Cheng, Chayce Milheim, Claire Yu, Edward Huang, Ella Guo, Ella Yee, Grant Yang, Hannah Jeon, Isabella Lo, Jonathan Xue, Katelyn Zhao, Kevin Zhang, Kinnera Mulam, Mirabelle Feng, Olivia Xu, Ram Batchu, Selina Xu, Shareen Chahal, and Vivian Chen
October 15, 2023
Kathleen Neumeyer, former adviser of the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle, introduces her book "Advising the Chronicle: How I taught high school journalism students to run billion-dollar companies (and you can too)." She presented the session, "J-ism Is Training for Anything,” which emphasized how journalistic skills are applicable to a wide range of fields.

‘Training for Anything’: From Gaza to sports photography to video journalism

by Felix Chen, Katerina Matta, Aishani Singh, and Claire Yu
October 14, 2023
The Harker football team runs through the banner onto Davis Field for the 2023 Homecoming Football Game. The game took place on Saturday at the end of Harker Day.

Live coverage: Harker faces Crystal Springs Uplands for Homecoming game

by Alena Suleiman, Katerina Matta, Desiree Luo, Brandon Zau, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Kevin Zhang, Katelyn Zhao, Ariana Goetting, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Sidak Sanghari, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, Alison Yang, Jeremy Peng, Mihir Kotbagi, Claire Yu, and Tiffany Zhu
October 7, 2023
Iris Fu (12) performs the emergency room scene for "The Laramie Project." This year's fall play will perform from Oct. 26 to 28.

Conservatory kicks off new year with audition action

by Alison Yang and Claire Yu
October 5, 2023
Norah Mehanna (11) prepares to dig a spike by Castilleja. The Varsity girls won the game against Castilleja in three sets.

Varsity girls volleyball bests Castilleja in three set game

by Claire Yu and Ella Guo
September 28, 2023

Photo Slideshow Sept. 8

by Alena Suleiman, Alison Yang, Alvira Agarwal, Angelina Burrows, Ashley Mo, Brandon Zau, Claire Yu, Connie Xu, Desiree Luo, Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Emma Milner, Eva Cheng, Gemma Chan, Grant Yang, Janam Chahal, Jeremy Peng, Katelyn Zhao, Kevin Zhang, Lindsey Tuckey, Margaret Cartee, Mendy Mao, Mirabelle Feng, Ram Batchu, Selina Xu, Sidak Sanghari, Steven Jiang, Tiffany Zhu, Vivian Chen, Yifan Li, and Young Min
September 9, 2023
"Framing is really important. You can take any situation and convince yourself whether you like it or hate it. Approaching things with a different attitude really, really changes what you take out of it. I try to be positive throughout anything that happens. The way I frame things that happen to me affects how satisfied I am with my life overall," Ada Praun-Petrovic (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Power of perspective

by Claire Yu, Reporter
May 10, 2023
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