The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“For me, discipline can only happen when I try the things that I really like. Since I like basketball and I like guitar, I'm willing to contribute to the discipline. It's not really discipline at that point — it's passion," senior Advay Monga said.
Humans of Harker: Dribble and drive
“Working on Roobi has taught me how to bounce back from failures, and that problems need to be addressed one bit at a time because you can't just tackle huge goals. I learned to not be afraid of failure because every failure is a step towards success. I try not to look back and wish I could change something because I can't. It's the past. Instead, I look forward," senior Daniel Dorfman said.
Humans of Harker: Steeped for success
“With volleyball and Medical Club, I love working with people. I get to work with people who aren't necessarily in my classes or aren't my friends specifically, but we get to work hard and work together towards a common goal. That collaboration aspect is really important to me," senior Navya Samuel said.
Humans of Harker: Cooperation through competition
“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
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
Kairui Sun

Kairui Sun, Photo Editor

Kairui Sun (11) is the Photo editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is his third year on staff. This year, he looks forward to honing his photography skills and providing the best visuals he can bring to the publications. Outside of journalism, he enjoys playing the piano as well as volleyball.

All content by Kairui Sun
A street vendor sells Lunar New Year mementos at a stall. San Francisco hosts a parade and festival annually.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

by Heather Wang, Charlie Wang, and Cynthia Xie
February 12, 2025
People stroll through Chinatown during a day lunar new year celebration. Street vendors display their goods and red decorations hang from the windows of many shops.

A family browses the selection of toys and trinkets sold by street vendors in Chinatown, San Francisco. The annual celebration in Chinatown features extensive merchant corridors as well as a parade.

Dancers perform in "Who Do You Love," choreographed by Kento Vo. This hip-hop style dance concluded the first act.

Love takes center stage at Harker’s annual dance production

by Young Min and Cynthia Xie
February 7, 2025
Junior Mia Tang draws on her Eagle Buddy's face with an orange pen. After the People's Circus Theatre performed, juniors and fourth graders rotated to three stations: face painting, scarf juggling, and feather balancing.

Eagle Buddies program hosts Clown Day and Fifth Grade Musical

by Samuel Tong, Kairui Sun, and Isabella Lo
February 6, 2025
Varsity boys basketball captains Vyom Vidyarthi, Advay Monga and Bowen Xia (12) lead a team huddle. The captains frequently take on the responsibility of motivating the team to improve on-court morale and performance.

Leaders of the pack

by Eva Cheng, Wenjie Zou, and Claire Xu
February 6, 2025
Honors Bioinformatics student Thomas Campisi (11) pours lysogeny broth, a nutrient-rich medium containing the bacteria ampicillin, into a test tube. The class introduces students with varying interests to understanding the vast amounts of data from DNA sequencing.

Bioinformatics elective offers intersection of disciplines

by Nathan Yee and William Jiang
February 5, 2025
Vyom maneuvers around defenders to take a shot. Setting an example for their teammates to follow, captains give their all for every play.

Varsity boys soccer captain Alec Zhang (12) watches the game intently, looking for moments to coach his teammates. The captains all wear arm bands to display their authority to referees and opponents.

“For me, discipline can only happen when I try the things that I really like. Since I like basketball and I like guitar, I'm willing to contribute to the discipline. It's not really discipline at that point — it's passion," senior Advay Monga said.

Humans of Harker: Dribble and drive

by Kairui Sun, Photo Editor
February 4, 2025
Guard Rishaan Thoppay (11) prepares for a layup on a fast break. Harker had 16 steals against the Bruins, which they efficiently converted to baskets.

Varsity boys basketball cruises past Santa Clara 66-52

by Kairui Sun, Disha Gupta, and Samuel Tong
January 11, 2025
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Guard Lucas Huang (9) prepares to be subbed in. Lucas frequently came off the bench in rotation with the team’s older guards, ensuring that the team could keep up their offensive and defensive intensity throughout the game.

Shooting guard Alan Gao (11) stops his drive short and puts up a floater. Alan contributed 8 points to the Eagles despite returning to the court from a sprained wrist.

Bus driver Shellie Maclachlan pulls into the front loading zone at Harker's Union campus. The buses arrived in two waves at around 7:30 a.m. and 7:55 a.m.

Round and round: bus drivers tirelessly transport community members

by Kairui Sun and Mendy Mao
December 23, 2024
Middle school students disembark bus driver Scott Milheim's 7:55 a.m. shuttle. Before stepping out, each student scanned a specialized transportation card to confirm that they had safely made the trip.

After unloading his students, bus driver Steveo Corsello takes a moment to breathe. The sunlight was barely beginning to break through the fog.

Lead bus driver Ray Frank walks back up the aisle after checking if any students left their belongings. Anywhere from one to two dozen children ride each bus.

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Bus driver Charlene Figone's dashboard displays the time as the bus rumbles to life. Waking up well before the sun rises, Figone was at the upper school before 7 a.m.

Figone holds a cup of oatmeal and smiles. "Every morning, that's all I have time for," she said, digging in with a wooden spoon.

Junior Jackson Powell stands up to cheer during the varsity girls volleyball match. Throughout the season, classmates, friends and family members packed the stands to show their support for the Eagles.

Running back Pedro Castro III clings to the football as Cougar defenders drag him down during the season opener match. The Eagles went 5-3 in the Pacific Coast Athletic League.

2024 recap: Fall sports highlights

November 23, 2024
Varsity girls volleyball outside hitter Divya Bhupathi (10) dives to the ground to save a ball. Finishing with an 18-9 overall record, the team's season ended at the first round of CCS.

After four record-breaking seasons at Springfield, Anderson transferred to GCU to finish two extra seasons of collegiate volleyball granted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Anderson currently prepares to spend his final season of collegiate volleyball at GCU, he considers playing professionally after college.

Acing beyond conventional paths

by Kairui Sun, Photo Editor
November 22, 2024
Student Diversity Coalition representative Elie Ahluwalia (11) analyzes a bar graph during the media literacy workshop. The graphs contained some of the clues necessary to solve an escape room-style puzzle.

Inaugural Day of Understanding promotes empathy inside media world

by Lily Peng, Samuel Tong, and Kairui Sun
November 16, 2024
Dawson Chen (‘22) displays his virtual butler startup Martin. Funded by startup accelerator YCombinator, he coded the first version of Martin in the summer of 2023 alongside former classmates Harsh Deep (‘22) and Arjun Dixit (‘22).

Blooming from the STEM: Dawson Chen’s Martin pioneers AI-assisted productivity

by Kairui Sun and Nathan Yee
November 14, 2024
Former Olympian and psychologist Tere Zacher presents about how to foster and maintain a resilient mindset. “Whatever you set your mind into, you can achieve, regardless of where you come from, regardless of your age,” Zacher said.

Tere Zacher dives into injury rehabilitation at Sports Medicine Club speaker event

by Kairui Sun and Heather Wang
October 31, 2024
Students chat and eat together during lunch. Every day, the kitchen staff serves over a thousand lunches within an hour.

Follow life cycle of food

October 11, 2024
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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
Running back Jackson darts past a Hawks defender as he drives the ball up the field. Jackson has scored two touchdowns for the Eagles so far.

Hawks player tackles running back Jackson at the 50 yard line.

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Senior Leo Sobczyn leads the Class of 2025 in a cheer before tug-of-war. The senior class beat the sophomore class and will compete against the junior class during the homecoming football game at halftime on Oct. 5.

Homecoming Week Day 2: Spirit parade and tug-of-war preliminaries build anticipation for rest of week

by Jessica Wang, Leah Krupnik, and Wenjie Zou
October 1, 2024
How to bag a homecoming date

How to bag a homecoming date

by Eva Cheng, Minal Jalil, and Kairui Sun
September 30, 2024
Journalism Editors-in-Chief line up after the end of their presentation. They discussed leadership strategies and challenges during their session.

Leading together, learning together

by Mendy Mao and Vivek Moorjani
September 28, 2024
Harker journalism staff members, Director of Journalism Whitney Huang and Talon Yearbook Adviser Kevin Oliver pose in front of the Palo Alto Media Arts Center after sessions conclude for the day. Workshop topics ranged from local election coverage and student media law to understanding design.

Harker Journalism attends JEA NorCal Media Day

by Mendy Mao, Lily Shi, and Tiffany Zhu
September 28, 2024
Fall season openers build momentum

Fall season openers build momentum

by Kairui Sun
September 22, 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
Running back and wide receiver Jackson Powell (11) pushes his way through Cornerstone's defensive line. His teammates assisted by blocking out linebackers and ensuring that Jackson can collapse the distance to the end zone.

Varsity football opens season with 30-44 loss against Cornerstone Christian

by Tiffany Zhu, Kairui Sun, and Samuel Tong
September 13, 2024
Opposite Nat Tan (11) blocks Bruin outside Giselle Paedon. The Eagles had trouble stopping the Bruins’ swings in the first two sets, but defensive adjustments slowed the Bruins down later.

Varsity girls volleyball opens season with tight 2-3 loss against Branham

by Alison Yang, Aquila Editor-in-Chief
September 8, 2024
Senior Claire Perng examines the cover of her ReCreate Reading book. Sponsored by upper school math department chair Anthony Silk, the vampire-themed novel attracted several students.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors discuss summer ReCreate Reading books

by Ella Guo and Mendy Mao
August 29, 2024
Meet your staff: Dialogue on diversity

Meet your staff: Dialogue on diversity

by Kairui Sun, Photo Editor
August 23, 2024
Alvin Siamwalla (9) signs the Matriculation book as other frosh watch. Before signing, the whole school read the Matriculation Oath together.

Matriculation renews core tenets for new year

by Lily Shi, News Editor
August 23, 2024
Success equals how many people remember you after you die multiplied by how long they remember you for. But only if you’re doing what you love.

This I Believe: Appendix to equation of life

by Kairui Sun, Photo Editor
August 20, 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

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
Shareen Chahal (12) descends the staircase into the Mountain Winery amphitheater. Seniors walked out in pairs and took their seats, alphabetically ordered by last name.

Class of 2024 celebrates graduation at Mountain Winery

by Jessica Hu, Jeremy Peng, and Kairui Sun
May 26, 2024
Seniors Adrian Liu, Meishin Yen, Daniel Lin, Max Xing, and Anish Jain shout "WE MADE IT" and celebrate their completion of high school.

Seniors Reza Jalil, Max Xing and Adrian Liu toss their caps. “You are both the tree and your own orchard, and part of a larger orchard,” Yager said. “The beauty of a tree and an orchard is that they get to start over each year."

Luke Mehta (12) mimes a husky, referencing the mascot of Northeastern University where he will attend college. Students posed for a photo before receiving their diploma and shaking hands with Head of School Brian Yager.

Doves rise from a cage into the sky, celebrating the graduation of Harker's seniors. Head of School Brian Yager and Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano released the first two doves from the podium.

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