Erica Cai (11) is the co-managing editor of Humans of Harker. This is her third year on staff. She hopes to expand her journalistic knowledge and dabble in video this school year. In her free time, she likes to experience Japanese culture and daydream about owning a cat one day.
![“I’m really proud to be a part of a generation that cares and that wants to fight for a better future for all of us. Whenever you’re feeling down, you just be part of that community, you just listen, and you’re re-motivated and reinspired to continue the work of activism. There’s going to be resistance, there's going to be a fight, but it's a fight that we need to fight and [something] that I want to be a part of,” Natasha Yen (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NatashaYen_EricaCai_HoHPhoto-e1613456378196-600x900.jpg)
![“We all have feelings and we all think what we think and have the perspectives that we have because of where we came from, because of our upbringing, our experiences. If we live more in the gray of the world, people would realize that there's more to a person than just what [people] disagree on,” Aditi Bharti (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AditiBharti_EricaCai_HoHPhoto-900x600.jpg)
![“I’ve played many things, from an old lady to a little boy, [and] oftentimes, I [play] characters that are humorous or a little bit strange. You have to really be able to convey this emotion that's very personal a lot of the time ... It was a really interesting experience, just to be able to explore those emotions in a way that I hadn't really been able to before,” Maya Franz (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/MayaFranz_EricaCai_HoHPhoto-600x900.jpg)
![“A lot of people know me as the doughnut guy, but my main thing [is] kindness. The doughnuts were just a part of that. Sometimes people don’t have other people to reach out to or to get the assistance they need or the distraction they need. I want to be able to off-set the negative people in the world. It's easier to complain and be negative than be happy all the time, so I’d rather be the happy person that people can go to,](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GriffinCrook_NinaGee_HoHPhoto-e1590769810742-601x900.jpg)
![“It's impossible to solve one problem with one dart on a target. [A problem is] so multifaceted that if you don't see the humans behind it first, then it’s impossible to solve. Whenever I see a problem that I want to fix, I want to ask myself, ‘Who are the real people behind this, and what do they need.' I think we all get this internal reward from helping somebody else, and when you connect your desire to do good with somebody that is actually affected, you can create a solution that benefits all,” Mahika Halepete (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MahikaHalepete_AnoushakBuch-528x900.jpg)
![“Realistically, [I just want] people to remember that I helped them and made them feel happier and just better in their everyday lives,” Jack Hansen (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/JackHansen_EricaCai_HoHPhoto-e1586966160783-900x542.jpg)
![“[Archery and trumpet] have made me more open because I used to be pretty shy, and I’m still kind of shy, but it’s encouraged me to express myself in different ways and start opening up. I’ve met a lot more people than I would have, especially through the friends I have made through archery; a lot of them I wouldn’t really have known if I didn’t do the sport [since] we don’t have that much in common otherwise,” Lila Gorman (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/lilagorman_hoh_ec_9829-596x900.jpg)
![“[Playing the organ] is sort of my creative outlet. I don’t do any visual art or stuff like that, so it allows me to experiment with different types of registrations. You can arrange entire orchestral works with the organ and still capture the entire character of the piece. That’s what is most compelling about the organ,” Jeffrey Fung (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/jeffreyfunghoh_ecai_4941-900x596.jpg)