The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“You only live once, right? My family has always taught me to do as much as you can for the community, because what you're gonna leave behind is your community. Helping them in the best way you can will also be in your best interest. I don't really have an external motivator, but it just makes me happy," senior Sriteja Kataru said.
Humans of Harker: Building more than a brand
Humans of Harker: Kicking off conversations
Humans of Harker: Kicking off conversations
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
Humans of Harker: Leading with every lesson
“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
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
Olivia Xu

Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief

Olivia Xu (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. She is excited to celebrate the Class of 2024 and collaborate with everyone on staff, and she hopes to build a community excited about storytelling. In her free time, Olivia enjoys crocheting gifts for her friends, taking walks, solving fun puzzles and binge-reading Humans of New York.

All content by Olivia Xu
“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

by Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
June 11, 2024
“I want to be remembered as someone who was always willing to learn and never took shortcuts to learning. I want to be remembered for someone who really learned because of a passion to learn. Whenever I speak in class, it's because I really do want to share something I hope is meaningful. Or whenever I go see a teacher, it's because I really do want to learn more from them or I want to deepen my connection with them," Desiree Luo ('24) said.

Humans of Harker: Love of learning

by Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
June 11, 2024
“You always face challenges during matches, whether it's not playing well that day or dealing with an injury. But the important thing is pushing through and doing the best you possibly can that day, and being mentally tough instead of just giving up and saying you'll try again a different day. It's like working through whatever issue you're going through on the court. Like winning ugly because that's what defines a truly good tennis player from just a regular tennis player," Rachel Hernandez (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swiping through with perseverance

by Vivek Moorjani, Humans of Harker Profiler
May 23, 2024
“Don't be scared of trying new things or grasping new opportunities. The most meaningful things in my life have come from situations where I've just felt, ‘Let's just do it.' Because at the end of the day, most things you do in life aren't going to be easy at the start or may never become easier," Ariav Misra (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Navigating life’s track

by Krish Nachnani, Reporter
May 21, 2024
EmmaCai_OliviaXu

Humans of Harker: From studio to stage

by Heidi Lu, TALON Co-Academics Editor
May 21, 2024
JoeLi_OliviaXu

Humans of Harker: Learning from the masters

by Urvi Singhvi, Reporter
May 21, 2024
“I've always been interested in science, but chemistry in particular appeals to me because it's one of the more intuitive subjects. In chemistry, you can design experiments and then witness stuff that you actually hope to see," Gautam Bhooma (12) said.

Humans of Harker: From ligands to languages

by Andrew Liang, Co-News Editor
May 13, 2024
"I've always thought about things in an economic way. What can I do to maximize the happiness I get? There are definitely things I'd change if I went back, but there's no point in dwelling on that," Angelina Zhu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Introspective investment

by Alison Yang, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
May 6, 2024
“You always face challenges during matches, whether it's not playing well that day or dealing with an injury. But the important thing is pushing through and doing the best you possibly can that day, and being mentally tough instead of just giving up and saying you'll try again a different day. It's like working through whatever issue you're going through on the court. Like winning ugly because that's what defines a truly good tennis player from just a regular tennis player," Rachel Hernandez (12) said.

RachelHernandez_OliviaXu

The cheer team executes two thigh stands to close their halftime performance. They highlighted senior teammates James Blenko and Owen White.

“I discovered that physics is a lot more conceptual. It's not so much about the equations but more so, ‘Can you understand what's going on in the problem?’ For the longest time, something I struggled with was just trying to plug in equations and not really getting anywhere, but a teacher of mine made me realize that it's more about seeing the solution than just plugging in numbers,” Aniketh Tummala (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Deriving the lightbulb moment

by Mihir Kotbagi, Co-Assistant STEM Editor
January 26, 2024

Photo Slideshow Oct. 15

by Aishani Singh, Alvira Agarwal, Anika Maji, Ariana Goetting, Audrey Cheng, Chayce Milheim, Claire Yu, Edward Huang, Ella Guo, Ella Yee, Grant Yang, Hannah Jeon, Isabella Lo, Jonathan Xue, Katelyn Zhao, Kevin Zhang, Kinnera Mulam, Mirabelle Feng, Olivia Xu, Ram Batchu, Selina Xu, Shareen Chahal, and Vivian Chen
October 15, 2023
The new periodic table installment in Nichols features physical representations of most of the elements. "There are some elements which we don't have a sample of because they only exist in nuclear reactors or in laboratory conditions for very brief periods of time,” upper school science department head Anita Chetty said.

New periodic table in Nichols Hall contains real element samples

by Vivek Moorjani, Reporter
October 13, 2023
David Kelly (9) lifts his arm in preparation to pass the ball. The junior varsity boys water polo team defeated Fremont High School 12-3 at home on Thursday.

Junior varsity boys water polo scores 12-3 win against Fremont High School

by Mia Tang and Olivia Xu
September 15, 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
"I like to analyze both myself psychologically and just like things in general by trying to notice details. It's helped me know myself better. I understand why I'm doing certain things, even if they aren't the best thing, so I can work towards becoming a better person," Amrita Pasupathy ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Hitting escape

by Ananya Sriram, Katelyn Zhao, and Olivia Xu
August 13, 2023
“When you learn how to learn, it's not only in athletics, not only in school, not only in your social life: it applies to everything because it's the process of learning how to learn and figuring out how you learn. You learn when you're intentional about the work that you do, when you put effort into the work and are mindful about doing the right things," Sydney Adler (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Splash of spirit

by Olivia Xu and Angelina Burrows
May 17, 2023
Harker alum Rishab Parthasarathy (‘22), along with seven other students, represented the United States at the 19th annual International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) from July 25 to 29, 2022, on the Isle of Man. “Every day is a new experience: meeting new people and being exposed to a really new culture,” Parthasarathy said. “I never knew that the Isle of Man had such a specific and vibrant culture, including multiple dialects of the same language within 20 miles of each other. It was really cool to be exposed to a culture that I hadn’t learned about before [and] see people who think about language.”

Blooming from the STEM: Linguistics leader

by Olivia Xu and Steven Jiang
March 24, 2023
“I've always had this disconnect between which culture I really feel like I should belong to. With this set of self portraits, I want to acknowledge the fact that I have a lot of confusion as to my identity, and I want other people to understand that there are people who feel the same way and who aren't sure, and that's completely okay because you don’t have to define yourself from one place," Lakshmi Mulgund (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Finding perfection in imperfection

by Olivia Xu, HoH Managing Editor
March 23, 2023
“My advice is to never give up, but also approach your problems from a logical standpoint and try to be as honest as possible with yourself. You have to think about what options you have and what path you can take in order to succeed,” Isaac Yang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Strategy and skill

by Olivia Xu and Charlie Folk
March 23, 2023
This is the third installment of Research Revelations: Conversations with Our Student Researchers, a podcast where Aquila staff members talk to student researchers about their projects and research goals. In this episode, Aquila reporters Selina Xu and Olivia Xu meet with Anika Mantripragada (11) to discuss her work in medical illustration.

Research Revelations Episode 3: The art of medical illustration with Anika Mantripragada

by Olivia Xu and Selina Xu
March 6, 2023
"There are many ways people can express themselves. I put a lot of myself into my art, a lot of effort and a lot of time, so what I create reflects me as well," Kurtis Tong (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A kick of creativity

by Olivia Xu and Jessica Wang
March 5, 2023
Upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth poses with his recent book titled “Desolation Peak: Collected Writings," a collection of Beat Generation poet Jack Kerouac’s writings. “I did some good investigation, and it was really fun,” Shuttleworth said. “I love [Kerouac's] writing, I really respect it, so to be able to transcribe it just for myself was worth it. Overall, I felt I got to know and understand him better than I ever had.”

Taking a peek into “Desolation Peak”

by Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
February 16, 2023

Photo Slideshow Jan. 18

by Charlie Folk, Victor Gong, Jasleen Hansra, Angelina Hu, Edward Huang, Yifan Li, Isha Moorjani, Olivia Xu, Selina Xu, Alison Yang, Brandon Zau, Claire Zhao, Sabrina Zhu, Sally Zhu, and Jessica Tang
February 9, 2023
Two Harker defenders and two Yerba Buena defenders battle for the ball. From the moment the game started at 4:30 p.m. on Davis Field, the Eagles launched into action and maintained their momentum throughout, ending the match with a draw.

Junior varsity boys soccer team draws with Yerba Buena High School 0-0

by Emma Gao, Co-News Editor
January 10, 2023
KJ Williams (12) points while playing with the varsity boys basketball team on Dec. 16. The team defeated Design Tech High School at home, with a score of 63-47.

Varsity boys basketball dominates Design Tech 63-47

by Emma Gao, Vika Gautham, and Olivia Xu
December 30, 2022
Christy Ma (9) and Leana Zhou (9) participate in an activity at the Future Problem Solvers launch on Sept. 17. At the event, the upper school FPS club introduced their central problem-solving process in different activities.

FPS Launch introduces students to problem-solving process

by Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
September 27, 2022
The Pearl Post adviser Adriana Chavira speaks to student journalists at the Journalism Education Association (JEA) NorCal Media Day at Palo Alto High School today. “There’s a section of the Ed Code 48907 that protects advisers from retaliation,” Chavira said. “That was added about 15 years ago. The Ed Code 48907 was actually added back in the late 70s, and [it’s] the first such law for student journalists in the country. We're lucky we have this: it’s giving you First Amendment protections.”

‘This is so much bigger than just our publication’

by Isha Moorjani and Olivia Xu
September 24, 2022
The Harker upper school welcomes new faculty members this year. Among them are the new head of school, the new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, an athletics trainer and nine new teachers.

Upper school welcomes new faculty faces on campus

by Sabrina Zhu and Olivia Xu
September 1, 2022
“[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

by Olivia Xu, Managing Editor
August 15, 2022
"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

by Olivia Xu, HoH Managing Editor
July 18, 2022
“I've experienced a lot of disappointing moments, but the ratio of good to bad moments is so stark that [it] makes the good moments so good, because they stand out more. Piano has taught me how to go through struggle, how to persevere and that it's okay to not be a perfectionist," Yejin Song ('22) said.

Humans of Harker: Keys to connection

by Olivia Xu and Emma Gao
June 16, 2022
Butch Keller and upper school math teacher Ms. Jane Keller. "The cancer diagnosis was pretty life changing for Mr. Keller and I, and it kind of helped us realize that life is a little short, and we really need to spend time with our family," Ms. Keller said.

Greatest goodbyes: Departing upper school faculty bid farewells

by Katelyn Zhao, Claire Bauschlicher, Sabrina Zhu, Olivia Xu, and Sarah Mohammed
June 6, 2022
Upper school composer Paul Woodruff sits at the piano, playing notes of a song. Woodruff joined Harker 12 years ago, and has since been composing for music for upper school musical groups.

Composing cadence: Upper school melodist writes music through time

by Vika Gautham, Shareen Chahal, and Olivia Xu
May 30, 2022
Members of the Class of 2022 clap during their graduation ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on May 19 at 5 p.m.

Class of 2022 graduates at Mountain Winery

by Kinnera Mulam, Ananya Sriram, and Olivia Xu
May 28, 2022
Students from the classes of 2022 and 2023 listen as Cantilena performs an arrangement of "You're My Best Friend" by John Deacon during baccalaureate on Davis Field. “[Performing at baccalaureate] is definitely a very bittersweet occasion,” Cantilena leader Teresa Cai (‘22) said. “I’ll definitely miss being at high school and the people I'm with, but I'm excited to go off and make the people here proud.”

Annual baccalaureate transfers leadership from graduating to rising senior class

by Desiree Luo and Olivia Xu
May 27, 2022
“I feel like [my diverse extracurriculars has] shaped me as a person. It allowed me to connect [with] a lot of different people [and] meet a lot of new communities. This whole aspect of connection is really important. I value meeting new people and learning about people's cultures and backgrounds," Camilla Lindh (12) said.

Humans of Harker: From saxophones to saddles

by Carey Chang and Olivia Xu
May 12, 2022
“When I’m most successful, I feel great, but when it's bad, I try to look back and see what I did wrong and not ground myself because of everything that I learned. Every single dollar that I put towards investing, I have no emotional attachment to it. Only when I take it back out is it my money again, so I've gotten good at mastering that emotional maturity," Evan Zau (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Making cents together

by Kaleb Goldin and Olivia Xu
May 9, 2022
Sasvath Ramachandran (12) promposes to Yejin Song (12). With prom quickly approaching tomorrow, numerous promposals took place on campus over the last few weeks, ranging from the simple and straightforward ask to the elaborately designed scheme.

To accept or not to accept: Promposals showcase upperclassmen creativity

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
April 23, 2022
“Supporting yourself in your endeavors and achievements is a big part of the feminist movement. Being the president [of FEM Club] is something I've had to grapple with. People ask me questions about certain topics that I don’t know, and it's okay if I don’t know. Whatever position you are [in], you’re always learning new things, and that's my favorite aspect of FEM club," Simone Merani (12) said.

Humans of Harker: On a stage of strength

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
April 17, 2022
“Whenever I’m commissioned for a piece, I have to add a personal element to it in some way. In a lot of cases, that’s the style that I impose on what they’re asking me to make. At the end of the day they’re asking me to make something for them, not anyone else. They want part of me to be a part of that piece, otherwise they’d make it themselves and it’d just be them," Ainsley Millard (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Finding the thread

by Felix Chen, Reporter
April 2, 2022
Assistant professor Anand Natarajan ('09) teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) department. He first discovered his love for science as a child and explored his passion at the high school level with clubs and advanced classes.

Blooming from the STEM: Anand Natarajan (‘09) dives into quantum computing

by Olivia Xu and Brandon Zau
March 28, 2022
“Throughout the years I've really found myself and found who I am. And I'd like to say that I found myself with silent confidence. I'm a pretty quiet person. But I think that I do have a very silent confidence and that's something that not many high schoolers have," Kalyn Su (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A silent confidence

by Heidi Lu and Olivia Xu
March 20, 2022
“It's very valuable to be confident in your own ideas. But at the same time, I think people should recognize their limitations. Especially when working with other people, it’s very valuable to get ideas from many perspectives," Rohan Rashingkar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Devil’s advocate

by Sydney Ling, Reporter
March 12, 2022
“My mom tells me, ‘Always remember those who have served you.' Whenever I'm upset or frustrated with menial things throughout the day, I remember how good my life is. It's always good to put things into perspective and remember all the people who have done so much for you," Kailash Ranganathan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The calm beneath the chaos

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
March 8, 2022
Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group based in Afghanistan, on Aug. 15, 2021 after the Afghan government collapsed as then-president Ashraf Ghani fled the country. To understand the complexity of the current situation means to trace the ridges of Afghanistan, means to be aware of the country where we stand and to see what America has done to the history of a nation across the world from ours.

‘It almost felt like a funeral for my country’

by Sarah Mohammed, Lucy Ge, Olivia Xu, and Isha Moorjani
March 7, 2022
Eighth grader Tiffany Zhu uses a virtual reality (VR) headset and handheld devices. VR lets consumers play immersive games and visit fictional spaces.

Get your head in the game with virtual reality

by Julie Shi and Olivia Xu
February 25, 2022
“Golf takes a lot of methodical thinking and calculations. Various factors, like the slope of a hill or the green or the wind or your current lie [angle], everything plays a factor in golf. You have to think about all those factors as you take that shot. That’s something that resonates with me; I like to think things through before I do [them]," Raj Patel (12) said.

Humans of Harker: An amiable approach

by Ethan Liu and Olivia Xu
February 4, 2022
Pacific Catch's Japanese Wasabi Original Ahi Poke ($16 for small, $19 for regular), which includes a wakame seaweed salad, sushi rice and Ahi poke, sits on a table. The restaurant's Cupertino Main Street location operates from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

A fusion of Pacific flavors and fares

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
January 28, 2022
"Instead of trying to cling on to my routine during the pandemic, I was like, ‘I can't live like this for the rest of my life.’ That's when I started to try and change things a little bit, [and] that made me proud of myself: being able to recognize that and [change] my mindset," Emma Cabral-Gurleroglu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A change of pace

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
January 21, 2022
“[My motto is] shoot for the moon, and even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. There's unexpected benefits in everything that you do. Whether it's skating or science research or life in general, [when] I'm not so successful, I would like to remember that there's always still hope and if I keep trying, I'll be able to get to a better place," Alice Feng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Spinning with positivity

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
December 15, 2021
Anish Jain (10) hugs Justin Chao (10) under a flurry of fake snow during Winterfest on Nov. 29. A snow machine showered the outside of Manzanita with fake snow, while HSLT members offered hot chocolate to the upper school community and HSLT co-adviser and Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier hosted a holiday-themed karaoke, inviting students and teachers to sing along to holiday tunes.

Upper school community enjoys holiday-themed activities in first ever Winterfest

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
December 9, 2021
Upper School Divison Head Butch Keller shared a message of gratitude and hope concerning upper school math teacher Jane Keller’s medical leave. Keller also said that scans taken over Thanksgiving break indicated that by March, she may enter complete remission and be able to return to school.

School meeting recap 12/3/21: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser, Honor Choir and Review Bowls

by Trisha Iyer and Anika Maji
December 9, 2021
Alec Zhang (9) dribbles the ball past a North Salinas defender. The varsity boys soccer team tied North Salinas 2-2 on Friday in their third game of the season.

Varsity boys soccer team ties North Salinas 2-2

by Olivia Xu, Reporter
December 7, 2021
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