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
Ella Yee

Ella Yee, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief

Ella Yee (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Ella hopes to continue bonding with the journalism staff and highlighting diverse perspectives within the local community. In her free time, she loves to dance, drink matcha lattes and watch Kdramas.

All content by Ella Yee
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. 

Meet your staff: Re-creating reading with passion and vision

by Emma Milner, Ella Yee, and Minal Jalil
June 11, 2024

End of Year Slideshow 23-24

by Kairui Sun, Aishani Singh, Alison Yang, Ananya Sriram, Ariana Goetting, Brandon Zau, Chayce Milheim, Ella Guo, Ella Yee, Emma Milner, Emma Li, Eva Cheng, Isabella Lo, Jonathan Xue, Kevin Zhang, Lindsey Tuckey, Margaret Cartee, Mirabelle Feng, Selina Xu, Tiffany Zhu, Yifan Li, and Vivian Chen
June 3, 2024
Editor's Note: Two-way streets

Editor’s Note: Two-way streets

by Ella Yee, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
March 20, 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: Network of love

Humans of Harker: Network of love

by Ella Yee, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
January 30, 2024

Our immigrant stories

by Ella Yee, Sally Zhu, Ananya Sriram, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Katerina Matta, Gabe Sachse, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, and Claire Zhao
December 14, 2023
“I’m the type of person who’s drawn to excitement, can’t sit still or always has the next crazy idea. It’s not in my nature, but I learned to sit down and enjoy the process of what I’m doing, the process of tackling issues or looking at unexpected results in a positive way,” Kaitlyn Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: No door left unopened

by Ella Yee, Co-Editor-in-Chief
October 26, 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
Attendance Coordinator Ritu Raj smiles as she reads an email at the front desk in Main Hall. In addition to tracking the attendance of over 800 students at the upper school, Raj promotes wellbeing and supports those around her through resilience coaching.

Meet your staff: Compassion in coordination

by Mendy Mao and Ella Yee
October 1, 2023
Introduction to Journalism studemts listen as Kuhlmeier shares her perspective on fighting for her First Amendment rights as a high school journalist. Prior to Kuhlmeier's visit, Introduction to Journalism students studied court cases like Tinker v. Des Moines and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier to learn about freedom of speech and the press. (Provided by Kevin Oliver)

Be the change: Cathy Kuhlmeier discusses Supreme Court case, teaches Journalism students about press freedom

by Mendy Mao, Charlize Wang, and Ella Yee
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

Photo Slideshow Aug. 22

by Margaret Cartee, Gemma Chan, Mirabelle Feng, Charlie Folk, Vika Gautham, Ariana Goetting, Victor Gong, Katerina Matta, Kinnera Mulam, Chayce Milheim, Aishani Singh, Ananya Sriram, Claire Su, Lindsey Tuckey, Olivia Xu, Jonathan Xue, Grant Yang, Ella Yee, Brandon Zau, Claire Zhao, and Kevin Zhang
August 27, 2023
In honor of joining the Harker community, frosh sign the Harker Matriculation Book during the 2023-24 matriculation ceremony on Friday. “I feel that through matriculation and orientation, I was able to meet new people,” Varun Kaushik (9) said.

Matriculation welcomes community to new school year

by Ella Yee, Brandon Zau, and Aishani Singh
August 22, 2023
Lower school division head Sarah Leonard. "I hope [students] walk away with a love of learning and that on their own, they will want to explore and make new discoveries, and learn more and more about the world," Leonard said. (Provided by Sarah Leonard)

Goodbyes with gratitude

by Felix Chen, Kinnera Mulam, and Ella Yee
August 14, 2023
Stories in motion: Students attend broadcast workshop at JEA convention

Stories in motion: Students attend broadcast workshop at JEA convention

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
April 22, 2023
Fiona Yan (11) strikes a pose in the junior class dance. They danced to “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift, “In Ha Mood” by Ice Spice, “Empire State of Mind” by JayZ, Alicia Keys and Kanye West and “Friend Like Me” by Will Smith.

Day of dance and activities: Junior class champions Spirit Week

by Shareen Chahal and Felix Chen
April 3, 2023
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) members demonstrate how to play the hula hoop game. This game required teams to step through a hula hoop one at a time while holding hands.

Spirit Week starts strong with Spring Sports Rally featuring 7 athletic teams

by Michelle Wei and Ella Yee
March 28, 2023
A redwood tree outside of Dobbins Hall fell in front of the library. Administration called all students to the Zhang Gymnasium following the event.

Tree collapses outside Dobbins Hall, injuries being ‘taken care of’

by Felix Chen, Sally Zhu, Sabrina Zhu, Lavanya Subramanian, Arjun Barrett, and Ella Yee
March 21, 2023
Senior Makayla Aguilar-Zuniga (wearing white skirt) and junior Mariana Ryder (wearing red skirt) face each other during the Latinx Affinity Group's performance of "Baile Folklorico" for the Cultural Performance Assembly on Feb. 27. Organized by the Student Diversity Coalition (SDC), the Cultural Performance Assembly featured dance, music and poetry from around the world.

Cultural performance assembly features dance, music and poetry by students and faculty

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
March 16, 2023
WiSTEM Co-President Eileen Ma (12) and STEM Buddies Directors Michelle Wei (11) and Margaret Cartee (11) prepare an oobleck demonstration to teach lower school students about non-Newtonian fluids. The recent STEM Buddies event featured five stations where participants could learn new concepts through hands-on activities and discussions.

WiSTEM brings educational activities to lower school for STEM Buddies event

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
March 16, 2023
Varsity boys basketball seniors Matthew Chen, Mike Sullivan, Abhi Namala, Gordon Chen, Rishi Cherukuri and KJ Williams pose for a group photo with their families and coaches.

Varsity boys basketball team smashes Eastside College Prep 62-40 on senior night

by Ella Yee
February 18, 2023
Upper school nurse Jennifer Olson processes a COVID-19 test in her office on Friday. "We do recommend daily testing for two to three days as it can take some time for the test to convert to positive once symptoms have started," Olson said.

Upper school COVID-19 cases rise after Winter Ball

by Aryana Bharali and Ella Yee
February 13, 2023
Francis Parker School assistant head Priyanka Rupani and national Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) chair Dr. Rodney Glasgow give a presentation at the fifth annual Student Diversity Leadership Gathering (SDLG) on Feb. 4. The event garnered high school students and faculty from over 30 schools to discuss issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Upper school hosts over 30 schools in fifth Student Diversity Leadership Gathering event

by Edward Huang, Hima Thota, and Ella Yee
February 13, 2023
“Art taught me that I can be good at things in different ways from other people. Art is really subjective, so there isn’t one way to go about it. Once I realized this, I started seriously thinking about art as something I could do for the rest of my life,” Vivian Bi (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Sketching a new self-image

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
February 12, 2023
Lunar New Year decorations spice up a local Gogo Pho restaurant. "We celebrate happiness and success together and hope to have good luck for earning more money in the new year," Gogo Pho waiter Tung Nguyen, who identifies as Vietnam, said.

Lunar New Year welcomes in Year of the Rabbit

by Emma Gao, Ella Yee, and Sabrina Zhu
January 27, 2023
Katie Wang (12), Laurie Jin (12), Zubin Khera (12), Jacob Fernandez (12), Miki Mitarai (11) and Sawyer Lai (12) sing Christmas songs during the Winterfest celebration in front of Manzanita Hall on Thursday after school. “[Winterfest] was a huge success, and that's down to the hard work, the dedication and the creativity of our HSLT,” Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier said. “A lot of our HSLT members didn't even get to participate in the activities, but they got their joy out of making joy for others."

Winter wonderland: Students and faculty delight in holiday-themed spirit festivities

by Felix Chen and Ella Yee
December 17, 2022
An illustration of the debate between subtitles and dubs for foreign language film, represented by Japanese anime characters Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma from "Demon Slayer." Often, fans of foreign shows take a strong stance on one or the other for their optimal viewing experience.

Subtitles vs. dubbing: Lost in translation?

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
November 9, 2022

The Race for CA Governor

by Ella Yee
November 9, 2022
This is the second installment of Midterms Mayhem, a podcast where Aquila staff members discuss the 2022 midterm elections with upper school community members. In this episode, Aquila reporters Ella, Emma and Anika talk with history teacher Byron Stevens, Kashish Priyam (10) and Naiya Daswani (10) about some of the key races in the upcoming elections. 

Midterms Mayhem Episode 2: Key Congressional races to track in the midterms

by Emma Gao, Ella Yee, and Anika Maji
November 8, 2022
Harker Aquila's guide to the 2022 Midterm Elections. This year's midterms were held on Nov. 8.

Harker Aquila’s Guide to the 2022 Midterms

by Sally Zhu, Isha Moorjani, Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Felix Chen, and Kinnera Mulam
November 8, 2022

Key issues precede the midterm elections

by Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Anika Maji, and Sally Zhu
November 8, 2022

Key Congressional races to track in the midterms

by Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Anika Maji, and Isha Moorjani
November 8, 2022
Jason Yi (10) receives a ballot from Jai Vir Mehta (12) at the Harker Student Mock Election registration desk on Monday. "When voting becomes something that we build into our schedules as a responsibility of being a community member, we're more likely to turn out to elections," upper school history and social science teacher Carol Green said.

Harker’s Student Mock Election boasts 48.9 percent voter turnout

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
November 8, 2022
This is the first installment of Midterms Mayhem, a podcast where Aquila staff members discuss the 2022 midterm elections with upper school community members. In this episode, Aquila reporters Ella, Emma and Anika talk with U.S. history teacher James Tate, Emmett Chung (12) and Trisha Variyar (12) about some of the key issues in the upcoming elections. 

Midterms Mayhem Episode 1: Key issues precede upcoming elections

by Ella Yee, Emma Gao, and Anika Maji
November 3, 2022
“With programming, after working for a while, I could see my entire project come to life. Everything happened at once. Once I could see it all happening, it was just a big sense of accomplishment that I couldn't really find anywhere else," Saahil Thoppay (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Archives and algorithms

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
October 19, 2022
Jason Yi (10) receives a ballot from Jai Vir Mehta (12) at the Harker Student Mock Election registration desk on Monday. "When voting becomes something that we build into our schedules as a responsibility of being a community member, we're more likely to turn out to elections," upper school history and social science teacher Carol Green said.

Harker’s Student Mock Election boasts 48.9 percent voter turnout

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
October 16, 2022
Seniors Rohan Gorti and Zubin Khera (pictured on the right) present TuffToy, a dog toy business they co-founded with senior Arin Jain, at a Harker Day booth. All across campus, a variety of stations promoted clubs, organizations and student-run businesses.

Harker community unites in second annual Harker Day

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
October 12, 2022
Dr. Mary Graham from Prevention Solutions, a company that aims to promote health by introducing ways to prevent substance abuse, speaks to the juniors during their LIFE meeting. The frosh and juniors attended LIFE sessions at the upper school campus while the sophomores and seniors met with their Eagle Buddies at the lower and upper school campuses, respectively, on Sept. 23.

A day of festivities and engagement: seniors, sophomores meet eagle buddies, juniors, frosh participate in LIFE assembly

by Anwen Hao and Vika Gautham
October 7, 2022
Divya Venkat (11) explains the goals of Make Our Schools Safe, a nonprofit organization devoted to combating gun violence. “The personalities of the people running the stands [were what drew me in],” Ryder Hewitt (9) said. “I got the vibe of the whole club. When I saw very invested, excited people, it made me more invested in their clubs."

75 clubs share new initiatives at annual Club Fair

by Shiv Deokar and Ella Yee
September 19, 2022
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT), led by president Sawyer Lai (12) and vice president Paulina Gicqueau (12), entered to the song "Classic" by MKTO. Monday's school meeting included announcements by HSLT, TedX, Dance Club and other organizations.

School meeting recap 8/29/22: Student Diversity Leadership Conference, math competitions and spirit kickoff

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
August 31, 2022
One frosh advisory group tries to use several long sticks to lift a rubber ball during the ninth grade field day. Sophomore and junior class trips and frosh field day took place on Thursday with bonding activities for each class.

Frosh class attend orientation, sophomores, juniors embark on class trips to kickstart school year

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
August 22, 2022
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.

Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause

by Erica Cai, Selina Xu, Ella Yee, and Irene Yuan
August 17, 2022
Members of Bel Canto perform at a dress rehearsal for the Choirs In Concert. The concert, themed Peace, Hope, Love, took place in the Patil Theater on April 21.

Bel Canto, Camerata, Cantilena, Downbeat dazzle in Peace, Hope, Love concert

by Ella Yee, Co-Asst. Multimedia Editor
May 3, 2022
This illustration represents the podcast "Research Revelations," which spotlights student researchers with staff members.

Research Revelations Episode 1: Microplastics in fish with Aeliya Grover

by Ella Yee and Selina Xu
May 2, 2022
Guitarist Brian Moran discusses careers in music with members of Music Creation Club through a Zoom meeting on April 1. "Figuring out what it is that gives you joy is really important,” Moran said.

Students hear from guitarist in Music Creation Club speaker event

by Ella Yee, Co-Asst. Multimedia Editor
April 6, 2022
Sophomore students rise in response to youth advocate Charis Denison's opening prompt, "Stand up if in the last few weeks you reacted [to a situation] and then went home and went through all of the things you wish you had said or done rather than what you actually did." In her talk, Denison taught students about how to connect their feelings, thoughts and actions.

Speakers share insights about essential skills in annual LIFE sessions

by Ella Yee, Co-Asst. Multimedia Editor
March 31, 2022
Ashley Hong (10) brings her arms together before making a stroke in the 200 medley event. Ashley's quick time in this event allowed her to qualify for CCS.

Harker swimmers clinch fast times in second meet of season

by Ella Yee, Assistant Multimedia Editor
March 27, 2022
A sticker commemorating the Harker journalism program's FAPFA win on Feb. 24 decorates sophomore reporter Julie Shi's laptop. The FAPFA recognizes schools that uphold the First Amendment by supporting freedom of speech and freedom of the press in student media.

Harker recognized as 2022 First Amendment Press Freedom Awardee

by Ella Yee, Co-Asst. Multimedia Editor
March 26, 2022
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