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
Margaret Cartee

Margaret Cartee, Aquila Co-Managing Editor

Margaret Cartee 12) is a co-managing editor for Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Margaret wants to do more illustrations and meet all the new journalists in the program. In her free time, she likes sketching on paper, playing volleyball and sitting in chairs.

All content by Margaret Cartee
“I've always been interested in making an impact on the world. It’s why I do outside climate activism: because I'm really passionate about not burning in the future,” Laurie Jin (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Machining for change

by Victor Gong, Asst. STEM Editor
February 12, 2023

Sports Photo Slideshow Jan. 11

by Aryana Bharali, Margaret Cartee, Emma Gao, Isabella Lo, Jessica Tang, Alison Yang, and Brandon Zau
February 9, 2023

Photo Slideshow Jan. 11

by Arjun Barrett, Aryana Bharali, Margaret Cartee, Vivian Chen, Mirabelle Feng, Charlie Folk, Emma Gao, Vika Gautham, Ariana Goetting, Edward Huang, Yifan Li, Isha Moorjani, Katie Reed, Jessica Tang, Lindsey Tuckey, and Katie Wang
February 9, 2023
An infographic containing statistics about parasocial relationships on social media, from DataReportal, Playboard and the National Library of Medicine.

Halting the spiral of parasocial relationships

by Yifan Li, TALON Reporter
February 5, 2023
A woman is strong if she cries; a woman is strong if she fights; a woman is strong for the sole reason that she is a woman. There should be no standard for her. Cinderella, just by being herself and committing to her beliefs, automatically makes her an incredible role model to young girls.

More than a damsel in distress

by Claire Bauschlicher, Reporter
January 23, 2023
Every year in December, I marvel at the beauty and festiveness of the glittering lights, but that joy is always tainted by a shadow of impending doom — the holiday season is not the only season that happens at this time of year.

It’s the most stressful time of the year

by Margaret Cartee, Opinions Editor
December 19, 2022
With suicide in the top three leading causes of death amongst teenagers, it’s alarming that we are so used to hearing these words that we don’t notice them anymore. These jokes trivialize suicidal thoughts and imply that this problem is commonplace, normal and even insignificant.

Editorial: Insensitive jokes harm environment

by Editorial Board
November 30, 2022
An illustration of the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. Aquila reporters Margaret Cartee and Angelina Burrows debate which holiday reigns superior.

Perspectives: Fall-ing for fall holidays

by Margaret Cartee and Angelina Burrows
November 10, 2022

Halloween: The pump-king of holidays

by Margaret Cartee, Opinion Editor
November 10, 2022
“I enjoy the little things like memorizing the conjugations of a word or following a cell through its way of life. I feel like a lot of people might find it challenging or boring, but I have fun," Michelle Dorfman (12) said.

Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details

by Margaret Cartee, Opinions Editor
November 8, 2022
Oskar Baumgarte (10) throws a ball at the opposing team of juniors during the dodgeball finals on Wednesday. The class of 2025 defeated the class of 2024, taking them to first place in the dodgeball tournament.

Homecoming Week Day 3: Sophomores clinch victory in dodgeball finals, seniors and frosh dress up for class themes

by Margaret Cartee and Jessica Wang
October 5, 2022
Junior varsity girls volleyball libero Aline Grinespan (9) waits for the ball during their game on Thursday. The Eagles defeated Pinewood in two sets, starting their league record at 1-0.

Junior varsity girls volleyball team bests Pinewood in two sets

by Emma Milner, Hima Thota, Young Min, and Margaret Cartee
September 19, 2022
In the aftermath of countless mass shootings and an intrusion on our own campus, we cannot be passive bystanders and wait for a more dangerous situation to happen to us in order to enact change. Our system for responding to school shootings needs an update.

Editorial: Responses for school safety require an update

by Editorial Board
September 14, 2022
Alicia Ran (10) sets the ball in the frosh and sophomore girls volleyball game on Tuesday. The team fell to Harbor High School in two sets, 21-25 and 12-25 at their away game.

Frosh and sophomore girls volleyball team loses to Harbor in two sets

by Margaret Cartee and Yifan Li
September 1, 2022

To the stars

by Margaret Cartee, Opinions Editor
August 28, 2022
Despite the arguments for and against changing to daylight saving time year-round, right now, it is not an option due to federal law, which requires states to either continue with the biannual time change or stay on standard time. Currently, Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, and Hawaii are the only two states which observe standard time for the full year.

Standardize sleep with year round standard time

by Margaret Cartee, Asst. Opinion Editor
April 21, 2022
First established as Women’s History Week in 1982, Women’s History Month lasts through the month of March with International Women’s Day on March 8. This year’s theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” honors the work of women in alleviating the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the women through history who have also inspired healing and hope.

From healing to hope

by Kinnera Mulam, Margaret Cartee, Emily Tan, Sarah Mohammed, and Michelle Wei
April 2, 2022
Tej Aswani (9) and Rohit Yalla (9) vote for ASB members on March 28. Voting took place in the journalism room during long lunch, and results were announced on Monday evening.

Students elect Associated Student Body (ASB) members for 2022-23 school year

by Margaret Cartee, Asst. Opinions Editor
March 30, 2022
By normalizing these insults and comments and allowing them to circulate, we normalize casual homophobia and ableism and allow the seeds of prejudice to grow in our environment.

Derogatory slang perpetuates prejudice

by Margaret Cartee, Asst. Opinion Editor
March 22, 2022
“[Art is] a really good way to let out all your emotions. For someone like me, who is not very good at communicating their emotions very well, art is a really good place to dump all your feelings into if you don't like saying it by word of mouth. You can do anything with art. There's honestly no right or wrong way to do art, so whatever you want to do, you can do," Ray Ka (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Details in design

by Margaret Cartee, Assistant Opinions Editor
March 22, 2022
“[My favorite moments] in some sense are those general feelings of conversation. They open your mind just as much as those competitions where you're really studying or working hard. In every facet of your life, you're trying to find ways to broaden your way of thinking," William Zhao (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Expanding new horizons

by Margaret Cartee, Assistant Opinions Editor
March 14, 2022
Perspectives: Does grind culture provide gain or strain?

Perspectives: Does grind culture provide gain or strain?

by Margaret Cartee, Kinnera Mulam
February 24, 2022
Grinding to a halt: Pushed past our limits

Grinding to a halt: Pushed past our limits

by Margaret Cartee, Asst. Opinions Editor
February 23, 2022
“[My multiracial perspective] comes into play for a lot of things — trying to look at an issue from multiple perspectives, to keep in mind the needs of multiple communities. Some health issues impact different communities in different ways, so [it’s important to look] at culturally aware approaches to healthcare," Natasha Matta (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Extensive perspective

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter and Assistant Opinions Editor
February 7, 2022
Robotics members Tanay Sharma (11), Gary Ding (11), Will Lee (11), Nolan Dagum (9), and Agastya Ravuri (9) consider potential features for the robot on a whiteboard. At the kickoff, groups brainstormed design ideas for competition and later presented their concepts.

Robotics kickoff marks the start of build season

by Margaret Cartee and Sabrina Zhu
January 21, 2022
Since hundreds of thousands of people are constantly using electricity to continuously process and verify these transactions, Bitcoin miners, people who participate in verifying blocks, alone consume about 195 terawatt-hours of electricity every year, which is comparable to 34.2% of Canada’ annual energy consumption. Bitcoin itself has an annual footprint of 92.6 megatons of carbon emission, similar to the footprint of the whole country of Nigeria.

Cryptocurrency must solve its wasteful energy consumption

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter
December 6, 2021
Rishab Parthasarathy (12) and Alex Hu (12) help guide questions and relay them to Anand Natarajan ('09). The upper school Programming Club and Math Club invited Natarajan to speak about quantum computing in the Nichols auditorium on Wednesday.

Harker alumnus delivers introduction to quantum computing

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter
December 4, 2021
Former Japanese Foreign Minister and current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Global Headlines (Issue 3)

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter
November 30, 2021
A digital clock displays the time 2 a.m. The time fell back one hour in observance of standard time on Sunday at 2 a.m., marking the end of daylight saving time until it returns again on March 13 of next year.

Standard time begins as daylight saving time ends

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter
November 10, 2021
Catherine Wong (10) tips the ball over the net. The freshman and sophomore girls volleyball team will play Mercy High School this Friday at 3:00 p.m. at home.

Freshman and sophomore girls volleyball team falls to Menlo

by Katelyn Zhao and Margaret Cartee
October 20, 2021
Yifan Li (9) extends her arm to tip the ball over the net while Emily McCartney (10) watches on.

Kate Russell (10), Sophia Roufas (9), Sahngwie Yim (9) and Avery Jones (9) cheer and clap for the won point.

Catherine Wong (10) sets the ball for Sahngwie Yim (9) to hit.

Catherine Wong (10) celebrates the service ace with her team.

Catherine Wong (10) and assistant coach Serena Chandler join the team in a cheer right before the game begins.

Inspiration4, a space mission managed by SpaceX that carried the first civilian crew into orbit, successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 15 and landed three days later off the coast of the space center. Jared Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments, captained the mission and bought the flight to support and raise funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

A new generation of space travel

by Margaret Cartee, Reporter
October 3, 2021
Andrew Jin (‘15) began startup Dorsal Health with high school friend Shashwat Kishore to create new solutions for musculoskeletal and chronic pain conditions in order to treat those afflicted by chronic pain quickly and effectively.

Blooming from the STEM: Pursuing new possibilities

by Margaret Cartee and Sabrina Zhu
September 12, 2021
“One thing that I wish other people cared about was being more conscious and aware about other people and focusing more on learning from other people. Some of my most memorable learning experiences have been from working with other people and learning from them, whether that's communities or my friends, and a lot of people take that for granted and prioritize learning from books or school and not actually learning from experiences or other people,” Zoe Kister (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Exploring the unfamiliar

by Margaret Cartee and Katie Reed
May 17, 2021
“My goal is to bring a positive light to everyone. I've always been the kind of person that if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be that person for you, and even if it's people I’m not super close to, my door's always open,” Sofia Fernandez (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Beyond the spotlight

by Margaret Cartee and Olivia Xu
March 19, 2021
My workspace includes my laptop, some pens, a notebook, my lip balm, mints and my Invisalign case.

Stories from quarantine: Our pandemic workspaces

by Emily Tan, Winged Post Features Editor
December 2, 2020
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