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
Kevin Zhang

Kevin Zhang, Aquila Co-Managing Editor

Kevin Zhang (12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Kevin hopes to expand the scope of sports content and collaborate with more staff members in journalism. In his free time, Kevin enjoys playing basketball, pursuing photography and drawing in pencil (he finds shading particularly satisfying).

All content by Kevin Zhang
Avery Jones (11) sits with Ray Nayler's "The Mountain in the Sea" on her lap as she listens to Nayler speak to the ReCreate Reading group. Nayler was a featured visiting author this year alongside Parini Shroff.

ReCreate Reading assembles novelists and students

by Disha Gupta, Sidak Sanghari, and Kevin Zhang
September 12, 2023
Outside hitter Elie Ahluwalia (10) tips the ball over the block of Scotts Valley. Players switched between swinging and tipping in order to take advantage of openings in the opponent’s defense.

Varsity girls volleyball conquers Scotts Valley three sets to none in home opener

by Kevin Zhang, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
September 6, 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
Seniors Jessica Morel, Shanaya Dhawan and Sania Gupta sketch designs in the Zentangle: Doodling for Peace workshop. Campus faculty hosted the workshops to teach seniors a variety of life skills and promote personal well-being.

Seniors unite for inaugural Senior Retreat

by Alena Suleiman, Ananya Sriram, and Kevin Zhang
August 21, 2023
Edis Mesic (11) poses with a volleyball inside the Zhang Athletic Center. Edis has played volleyball for over six years, and has been involved in Harker’s volleyball program since his freshman year.

Apex: Competition as Collaboration

by Katerina Matta
June 13, 2023
Katelyn Abellera (12) rushes down centerfield on a fast break. Katelyn scored three goals during senior night.

Varsity girls lacrosse team triumphs 8-7 on senior night

by Emma Milner and Kevin Zhang
April 29, 2023
Students and advisors find seats at the NHSJC Opening Ceremony on Thursday night. The ceremony featured San Francisco Chronicle critic Peter Hartlaub, who spoke about uncovering truths and breaking stereotypes as journalists.

History of high school journalism’s most historical convention

by Jonathan Xue and Grant Yang
April 22, 2023
“Take advantage of opportunities. Harker has so many opportunities for you to explore what you love — as long as you're here and you're given these opportunities, definitely take advantage of them," Mike Sullivan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Dribbling towards new paths

by Lily Shi, Reporter
March 18, 2023
A row of vibrantly colored country flags sway with the wind, above the outdoor skating rink and famous golden statue of Prometheus in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Upper school journalism staff visited Rockefeller Center on Thursday, exploring its various shops, restaurants and monuments.

New York City’s Rockefeller Center: Where culture meets community

by Tiffany Chang, Michelle Wei, and Kevin Zhang
March 18, 2023
Overlooking Fifth Avenue in its imposing stance, the Atlas statue guards the front of 45 Rockefeller Center. “The symbolism behind it, the meaning of the universe and all…it’s an awesome statue,” a local Rockefeller Center staff member said.

Atlas statue

by Kevin Zhang, Assistant Sports Editor
March 18, 2023
An illustration of the March Madness brackets. March Madness is the most prominent college basketball competition in the year, concluding the season in a single-elimination style playoff tournament.

‘It’s not normal basketball’: March Madness is here

by Kevin Zhang, Co-Assistant Sports Editor
March 8, 2023
“Sometimes you just have to sit down with a challenge and face it head on. There are some things that you want to try to avoid, but it will always come back at some point. Sometimes it does feel like you're at your mental limit: you're so tired, it's so confusing and you don't understand it. But if you spend the time and sit with it, your mindset will change. Then, something that was completely muddy to you will become clear, and you'll figure it out,” Brian Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Adventure and authenticity

by Kevin Zhang, Asst. Sports Editor
February 20, 2023
“Guitar tells you that you have to gauge your progress against not what you're doing now, but what you tried to do in the past. If you feel like you haven't improved at something, or if you feel like you're not getting better at something, you have to gauge yourself against how you used to be and keep an open perspective. That also carries over to life in the sense that you can always check how much you've improved. Chances are, you have improved even if you're not aware of it,” Vikram Mani (12) said.

Humans of Harker: In tune with the mind

by Kevin Zhang, Asst. Sports Editor
February 16, 2023

Photo Slideshow Jan. 24

by Tiffany Chang, Steven Jiang, Andrew Liang, Heidi Lu, Desiree Luo, Kinnera Mulam, Lavanya Subramanian, Jessica Tang, Katie Wang, Selina Xu, Alison Yang, Grant Yang, Medha Yarlagadda, Kevin Zhang, and Sally Zhu
February 9, 2023
An illustration of two martial arts students with one performing a kick and the other breaking bricks. "Taekwondo has taught me to be disciplined, dedicated and confident in all I do," martial artist Anika Pallapothu (10) said.

Student to sensei: Mastering the art of self-defense

by Katerina Matta and Kevin Zhang
February 2, 2023
Leisha Devisetti pushes against an opposing defender at a varsity girls basketball game on Jan. 20. The girls host their senior night on Feb. 10.

Weekly sports previews: Feb. 1 to Feb. 8

by Emma Milner, Hima Thota, and Kevin Zhang
February 1, 2023
Upper school Strength and Conditioning Coach Lauren Brown teaches proper bench press fundamentals to underclassmen during a workout session. Brown trains students in after school fitness classes and students from sports teams.

Helping hands uplift our athletic department

by Kevin Zhang and Sabrina Zhu
December 12, 2022
Anya Chauhan (11) races to gain possession of the ball. The varsity girls soccer team's overall record stands at 2-0.

Weekly sports previews: Dec. 5 to Dec.9

by Emma Milner, Kevin Zhang, Gabe Sachse, and Hima Thota
December 5, 2022
Alicia Ran (10) answers a prompt to the "Finish the Lyrics" game. Junior Luke Mehta emerged as the first place winner and earned a Starbucks gift card as his prize.

School meeting recap 11/3/22: Youth Activism Club, Student Diversity Coalition and Halloween costume contest results

by Emma Milner, Assistant Sports Editor
November 6, 2022
Seniors Claire Kampmeier and Rachel Ning pose with their friends after the game ends. The team lost in five sets to Crystal Springs.

Varsity girls volleyball team falls to Crystal Springs at Senior Night game in close five-set battle

by Emma Milner and Kevin Zhang
October 27, 2022
Seniors Pranav Mullappalli, Rigo Gonzales, Zain Vakath, BB Ajlouny and Nikhil Devireddy pose for a picture at the photo booth in the Nichols Rotunda. The upper school hosted its annual Homecoming Dance in Nichols Hall on Oct. 14 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Shimmering and shimmying: Homecoming dance lights up the night

by Kevin Zhang and Isha Moorjani
October 27, 2022
Senior Sydney Adler holds a bouquet of flowers in the ceremony honoring the seniors on the girls water polo team. The two water polo teams held their senior night on Oct. 18, winning both their games.

Victorious water polo teams honor ten seniors on senior night

by Hima Thota and Kevin Zhang
October 26, 2022
Seniors Sawyer Lai and Atri Banerjee stand on the field after being crowned Homecoming royalty. Senior class dean and Performing Arts Production Manager Brian Larsen delivered the announcement.

Live coverage: Harker football faces Delta Charter for Homecoming game

by Katelyn Zhao, Desiree Luo, Isha Moorjani, Selina Xu, Brandon Zau, Kevin Zhang, Jessica Tang, Sabrina Zhu, Sidak Sanghari, Felix Chen, Medha Yarlagadda, Ariana Goetting, and Alena Suleiman
October 8, 2022
Homecoming court representative Emily Kwan (11) attempts a layup in the last round of the relay race. The Homecoming Court participated in different activities for spirit points today.

Homecoming Week Day 4: Homecoming Rally closes Spirit Week with a bang

by Vika Gautham and Aishani Singh
October 6, 2022
Pressured by a Castilleja gator, senior Kyra Hawk passes the ball to a fellow teammate to allow Harker to be in a scoring position. The varsity girls water polo team fell to Castilleja in a close match on Tuesday.

Varsity girls water polo team falls just short to Castilleja in 13-14 loss

by Brandon Zau and Kevin Zhang
September 25, 2022
Humans of Harker Managing Editor Olivia Xu (11) speaks to an attendee of the "Humans of [Your School]" presentation at JEA NorCal Media Day. The Humans of Harker team presented about creating a similar feature project at other schools.

Upper school journalism staff attend JEA NorCal media day

by Tiffany Chang, Felix Chen, Aishani Singh, and Sally Zhu
September 24, 2022
Yena Yu (9) bounces the volleyball as she prepares to serve the ball. The frosh and sophomore girls volleyball team fell to Milpitas High School on Wednesday after losing their first set 19-25, winning their second set 25-19 and losing their third set 9-15.

Frosh and sophomore girls volleyball team defeated by Milpitas in three sets

by Vika Gautham, Kevin Zhang, and Edward Huang
September 10, 2022
Senior Indigo Lee hypes up his teammates before the start of the fourth quarter. The varsity boys water polo team secured a 21-9 home game win over Skyline on Sept. 2.

Varsity boys water polo team opens season with 21-9 victory over Skyline

by Brandon Zau and Kevin Zhang
September 10, 2022
Certificate seniors Sujith Pakala, Irene Yuan, Teresa Cai, Malar Bala, Richie Amarillas and Ysabel Chen pose with their certificates after Senior Showcase. Friday’s Senior Showcase and Hammies Ceremony recognized this year’s 17 graduating Certificate students as well as other Conservatory members.

Senior performing arts students conclude year at upper school with final showcases and awards

by Aryana Bharali, Kevin Zhang, and Sally Zhu
May 22, 2022
“It's fun quantifying that on a level because I like looking at stats. I did the same thing for when I cube; I look at my time splits for different things, my move counts and all of that, and grind it down to some science where I can tangibly improve it," Zach Clark (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The analytical mindset

by Kevin Zhang, Reporter
March 31, 2022
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