The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“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
“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
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
Michelle Wei

Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor

Michelle Wei (12) is a co-managing editor for Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. Through her writing, she hopes to explore topics in more depth and amplify the perspectives of the community. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking pastries, taking evening walks and forcing her friends to listen to Taylor Swift.

All content by Michelle Wei

Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity

by Sidak Sanghari and Michelle Wei
June 12, 2024
“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

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor
June 11, 2024
“Keep looking forward, never stop being optimistic. There's not enough time in the world to experience everything, and why waste time by being pessimistic? I always try to find the good parts in everything. Even if I find myself at a standstill, like if I don't know what to do in the future, just do something. It doesn't matter if it turns out with a good outcome or a bad outcome. I just always want to be out, always moving, always trying new things,” Cynthia Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: From small moments to big causes

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor
April 8, 2024
Striker Ben Cha (12) winds up for a shot on the goal. “What might be an interesting idea is trying to get a bit more pregame hype,” Ben said. “Our energy during our warmups could definitely be a bit stronger.”

Varsity boys soccer suffers loss to Crystal Springs 2-1

by Desiree Luo, Young Min, Sidak Sanghari, and Michelle Wei
January 22, 2024
Swift serenades the crowd during "Lover." Every show, Swift performed 'surprise songs' in addition to the setlist.

Hold on to the memories: The Eras Tour review

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor
September 17, 2023
"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

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor
August 17, 2023
“Humans are complicated. You're going to have very good friends, but the exact feeling for each friendship is going to feel different. It's very interesting how the individual bonding element between humans can shape public lives,” Karina Chen ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Storytelling through art

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Co-Managing Editor
August 17, 2023
“Humans are complicated. You're going to have very good friends, but the exact feeling for each friendship is going to feel different. It's very interesting how the individual bonding element between humans can shape public lives,” Karina Chen ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: An instrumental transition

by Steven Jiang, Co-People Editor
August 17, 2023
"Water polo is one of the most physically demanding sports. I've gained lots of strength from it. I've also been able to be a part of a sports varsity sports team. For a lot of high school, it's a good experience that I've had because I’ve become more of a person who's able to cooperate and work with others and be a part of the team," Bora Koyuncuoglu ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Ripple of positivity

by Isabella Lo and Michelle Wei
August 7, 2023
Corning-Painted Post High School Yearbook Adviser Mike Simons shows another journalism adviser how to access the live view of a photograph's histogram levels. Simons and Clint Smith led the Digital Photography workshop together.

Journalists explore Union Square through JEA photography workshop

by Steven Jiang, Katelyn Zhao, Michelle Wei, and Hima Thota
April 22, 2023
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) members demonstrate how to play the hula hoop game. This game required teams to step through a hula hoop one at a time while holding hands.

Spirit Week starts strong with Spring Sports Rally featuring 7 athletic teams

by Michelle Wei and Ella Yee
March 28, 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
Rockefeller Center visitors skate across the ice in The Rink. Situated at the center of the entertainment complex, numerous festivities take place at the rink throughout the year, including the iconic Christmas tree lighting each year in late November, which marks the beginning of the winter season when the rink is busiest.

The Rink at Rockefeller Center

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
March 18, 2023
Kinetic Krew dancer Kuga Pence (11) poses during their performance of a mashup of “Last Christmas” and “Big Energy." Kinetic Krew also performed at the Santana Row Spirit of the Row on Dec. 8.

Annual Big Assembly Day performing arts concert kindles festive spirit at all campuses

by Alison Yang, Vika Gautham, and Alena Suleiman
December 23, 2022
Jessica Dickinson Goodman (‘07), who supports and educates underprivileged women in STEM fields, holds up cards of notable women in computing. She has traveled to numerous countries in Africa and the Middle East to teach technology.

Blooming from the STEM: Activist in tech

by Sidak Sanghari and Michelle Wei
November 14, 2022
“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

by Nicholas Wei, Michelle Wei, and Tiffany Chang
July 17, 2022
"My favorite thing is being able to immerse yourself in [dance]. It's one thing where you can really see improvement if you put in the practice, and if you don't put in the practice you won't improve. The ability to sync into repetition and go into the same counts over and over again to see some improvement is really captivating, and always draws me back to it," Zeel Thakkar ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Connecting with culture

by Vivian Chen and Michelle Wei
July 15, 2022
“For me, when it comes to robotics for example, whether it’s about mechanical software, or outside of it, the work I do, and even with app development, I am able to learn so much about problem solving in general. You’re able to apply abstract problem solving techniques anywhere," Arjun Dixit ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Curiosity cracks the code

by Claire Bauschlicher and Michelle Wei
June 28, 2022
“Design has the power of communication, and the psychology behind that is really cool. I like to see things visually, and I really like designing things that fit into aesthetics. The way different compositions can change messages — that would be something really cool to study and work with in the future," Arianna Weaver ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: The vitality of art

by Michelle Wei, Reporter
June 12, 2022
“I definitely feel that stretch and pull between the two parts of me, and that's a difficult part of being biracial — being able to connect with the part of you that's probably less prominent in the world that you live in. Sometimes it feels like you never belong. But it also feels like you can make your own identity because you can be so many different things at once," Justin Fung (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Recipe for reflection

by Michelle Wei, Reporter
April 21, 2022
“I realized that I hate being on stage, which I tried doing for a long time. But I really like being next to it, and helping people, and making the stuff run. There's a magic in all performances, and I'm very bad at being part of the magic, but I love helping bring the magic to life," Zee Krylov (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Building the magic

by Fern Biswas, Reporter
April 13, 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
Facilitator Danny Midborn runs through a crowd of student leaders on March 4 during Challenge Day. The upper school held Challenge Day for underclassmen, and upperclassmen who attended the Challenge Day in the fall volunteered to help out.

Harker underclassmen forge community bonds during second Challenge Day of the year

by Michelle Wei
March 21, 2022
A sweatshirt sleeve of Taylor Swift's "Red (Taylor's Version)" merchandise rests on a vinyl disc and jacket of the album. Swift re-recorded "Red," and released it as "Red (Taylor's Version)" on Nov. 12, containing a total of 30 tracks.

‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’: Bringing back a true breakup album

by Michelle Wei, Humans of Harker Profiler
February 10, 2022
Dancers in the "Way Down We Go" routine strike a pose during a dress rehearsal for this year's dance production, Blast from the Past. 130 students performed in the shows on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center's Patil Theater.

‘Blast from the Past’: Dance production 2022 reimagines music from past shows

by Sally Zhu and Michelle Liu
February 7, 2022
Dr. Masanori Bando gives a presentation over Zoom on cybersecurity during a speaker event hosted by HarkerCTF last Friday. Dr. Bando leads car cybersecurity research and development at Fortinet, a company providing cybersecurity solutions.

HarkerCTF holds cybersecurity speaker event

by Michelle Wei, Reporter
January 28, 2022
Upper school students prepare for final exams in the library on Monday, Dec. 13. During finals week, librarians enforced a completely silent study zone in the library for students to focus on their studying.

In-person final exams return for fall semester

by Selina Xu and Michelle Wei
December 15, 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
A Commercial Tree Care truck is stands in front of the tree outside Dobbins as students and maintenance faculty walk around yellow caution tape around the truck. Yellow caution tape was placed around the tree in Dobbins to ensure the safety of faculty and students during the branch removal.

Upper school maintenance removes teetering branch from tree outside Dobbins Hall

by Ananya Sriram, Asst. News Editor
October 13, 2021
“If you work hard, and you put all your effort in, there's nothing to be stressed out about because the results are going to be there. I put that into most things that I do,” Andrew Chang ('21) said.

Humans of Harker: Just keep swimming

by Michelle Wei, Angelina Hu, and Nicholas Wei
July 1, 2021
“It's really important, if you have an idea, to be able to express it well. Otherwise you're underselling your idea. If you're underselling your idea, you're not doing yourself justice, because that idea will not get the attention it deserves,” Andrew Sun (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The beauty of conversation

by Ethan Liu and Michelle Wei
March 17, 2021
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