The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Drawing with direction
Humans of Harker: Drawing with direction
“Even when I’m doing a character exercise, I’m creating. Sometimes I’m explicitly writing out what I see in my head. I used to be really stuck on writing. In the past, the only writing I could do other than analytical essays would be something like a personal narrative. But now that I’ve learned to embrace this other side of me, I think about it, I close my eyes, type out every plot point and then build off of that," Abbie Samuel ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: Worlds of wonder
Humans of Harker: Balance and drive
Humans of Harker: Balance and drive
“I like having to face challenges and then being able to overcome the challenges. I like it when there's a technical difficulty or there is a task that seems impossible, such as getting the robots to do monkey bars, but then as you work with a group of people and you think about it, you find a solution that seems feasible," Akul Goyal ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: The light in the circuit
“Being part of water polo has made me more disciplined. Part of it is for personal gain, but I also get more joy from helping others than helping myself. Water polo has a major team component that drives me to work harder to both benefit myself and also the team members I’ve known for so long," Oskar Baumgarte ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: Making waves
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
All content by Julie Shi
Lexi Wong (11) reaches for a colorful dessert in Manzanita Hall on Wednesday. “I really like the checkerboard cookies that my intern did,” pastry chef Adam Albers said. “They are layers of multicolored dough that are cut up into squares and then re-put together and then formed into a cookie, so you get a really distinct little pattern.”

GSA and HSLT host pride-themed spirit activities

by Medha Yarlagadda and Julie Shi
April 20, 2022
Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Co-President Aastha Mangla (11) facilitates the bracelet-making activity outside Manzanita Hall on Wednesday. “We believe having communication and listening to your peers' experience with being part of the queer community would be really helpful in spreading a positive message and being more inclusive on campus,” Aastha said.

Students make bracelets outside of Manzanita Hall on Wednesday. The day's activities also included posting handwritten messages on the “Be U” board and dressing up to celebrate Wednesday's spirit theme of LGBTQ+ pride.

Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) Secretary of Competitive Events Paulina Gicqueau (11) writes a message for the "Be U" board on Wednesday. The “Be U” board fostered a space for students to write messages on hearts to spread positivity surrounding LGBTQ+ pride.

Rainbow-colored cakes sit in Manzanita Hall during lunch on Wednesday. Harker chefs also made checkerboard cookies with a variety of colors to celebrate Wednesday's spirit theme of LGBTQ+ pride, a collaboration between Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA).

Nationally-recognized diversity practitioner and consultant and adult session speaker Toni Graves Williamson presents on turning fragility into agility through steps such as self-reflection and being willing to listen to others. More than 50 people attended this year's Student Diversity Leadership Gathering, and attendees from the Harker community were joined by students and teachers from other schools such as Menlo High School and the Kirby School in Santa Cruz.

Student Diversity Coalition holds fourth annual Student Diversity Leadership Gathering

by Julie Shi and Isha Moorjani
March 21, 2022
“School is kind of procedural — everything has a set schedule. But when you’re hiking, backpacking, you can do what you want to do, and use your own skills or knowledge to make that happen," Alex Zhang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Challenges for the mind, expeditions in the outdoors

by Julie Shi, Reporter
March 21, 2022
Eighth grader Tiffany Zhu uses a virtual reality (VR) headset and handheld devices. VR lets consumers play immersive games and visit fictional spaces.

Get your head in the game with virtual reality

by Julie Shi and Olivia Xu
February 25, 2022
Upper school biology teacher Jeff Sutton's advisory watch the school meeting via Zoom this Tuesday. After the meeting, students underwent the first iteration of weekly COVID-19 testing.

School meeting recap 1/25/22: Culture Week, Valentine’s Grams and Chinese New Year festivities

by Julie Shi, Reporter
January 28, 2022
Upper school director of instrumental music Dr. David Hart conducts Jazz Band at the instrumental concert on Jan. 14. The winter vocal concert took place on Jan. 13, both in the Patil Theater of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center.

Choral and instrumental ensembles kick off the year with first concerts of 2022

by Ella Yee and Julie Shi
January 25, 2022
“The way I choreograph tends to be listening to music a whole lot, and not even necessarily dancing to it, just listening to music, knowing the music. Then, it's freestyling and whatnot, and freestyling is where most of the creativity comes out," Brandon said.

Humans of Harker: Free flow

by Julie Shi, Reporter
January 11, 2022
“In football, every single play you've got to run full speed, you’re hitting guys, you’re making a play on the ball, all sorts of stuff is going on. It’s pretty crazy. It’s pretty fun," Adheet Ganesh (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Tackling the game with tenacity

by Julie Shi, Reporter
January 6, 2022
Imogene Leneham (12) poses on Davis Field with gold pom-poms. As captain of Harker's cheerleading team this year, Imogene is in charge of choreographing sections of new routines and teaching them to her fellow cheerleaders.

Apex: Cheerleader defines grit of sport through commitment

by Julie Shi, Reporter
December 4, 2021
Hygrangea macrophylla (hygrangea) flowers bloom as groundskeepers Urdelin Justo and Jose Hernandez prune shrubs in the quad on Sept. 16.

Our garden, our home

by Emily Tan, Julie Shi, and Edward Huang
December 3, 2021
STEM Scene showcases briefs to update our community on the STEM world.

STEM Scene: Dec. 1

by Sriya Batchu and Julie Shi
December 1, 2021
Shayla He (10) and Ella Lan (10) purchase an item from the new vending machine in Manzanita Hall. The new vending machine contains a total of 35 different items, ranging from chips and energy bars to drinks and even hand sanitizer.

Campus Compass: Manzanita Hall’s new and improved vending machine

by Michelle Wei and Julie Shi
November 10, 2021
Aaditya Gulati (12) puts his hand on his heart while the all-school choir sings "The Star Spangled Banner." The game began after the anthem with kickoff from Marina.

Live coverage: Harker hosts Marina High School for annual Homecoming Game

by Vishnu Kannan, Alysa Suleiman, Nicole Tian, Arely Sun, Irene Yuan, Desiree Luo, Muthu Panchanatham, Alena Suleiman, Sydney Ling, Ethan Liu, Brandon Zau, Julie Shi, Medha Yarlagadda, Selina Xu, and Esha Gohil
October 9, 2021
Lachlan Rossi (10) throws the ball into the goal above the outstretched arm of an Gunn defender.

Live coverage: Varsity boys water polo team takes on Gunn High School

by Vishnu Kannan, Medha Yarlagadda, Julie Shi, Brandon Zau, Muthu Panchanatham, and Irene Yuan
October 5, 2021
Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation hosts the National Merit Scholarship Program, a national high school competition meant to acknowledge academically gifted students across the country. 52 Harker seniors from the class of 2022 received the honour of National Merit semifinalist on Sept. 15 after scoring in the top 1% on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) they had taken the previous school year.

52 Harker seniors recognized as National Merit semifinalists

by Emma Gao and Julie Shi
October 2, 2021
“[Cheer has] helped me become more confident [and] be more open to trying out different things, because I did it out of nowhere and tried it … A lot of things that I now really enjoy in life, things I wouldn't normally do, I did on a whim. I found that the [activities] that I did randomly are now some of my favorite parts of my experience,” Anish Kilaru (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Cheer and positivity

by Julie Shi and Selina Xu
May 4, 2021
“[Music] really helps unite people. There's just something really wonderful about how you can preserve that sense of humanity and connection. Even if the person who wrote or performed the music that you're listening to … is disjointed with you on your world views, you can still form this extremely personal connection with them,” Abbie Blenko (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Music, the universal language

by Anika Mantripragada and Julie Shi
January 26, 2021
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