The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
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
Sam Li

Sam Li, Reporter

Sam Li (10) is a reporter for Harker Aquila, and this is his second year on staff. This year, he looks forward to diving deeper into his interest in photography and exploring new angles in my writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing water polo and soccer, as well as getting involved in business related projects.

All content by Sam Li
“If you try to make everything perfect, you'll either run out of time or it'll end up not being natural. I learned to do things based on my intuition and stop limiting myself by overthinking about everything. Perfectionism only slows you down, so I learned to not be afraid. Sometimes crazy ideas are the ones that turn out to be the best one," senior Victor Gong said.

Humans of Harker: Journeying past perfection

by Sam Li, Features Editor
June 24, 2025
Humans of Harker: Balance and drive

Humans of Harker: Balance and drive

by Sam Li, Features Editor
June 6, 2025
The UEFA Champions League pits top clubs from across Europe against each other in an annual tournament. This year, Inter Milan faces off Paris Saint-Germain in the final on Saturday.

UEFA Champions League matches set stage for thrilling conclusion

by Sam Li, Features Editor
May 26, 2025
Through our lens: Harker 2024-25

Through our lens: Harker 2024-25

by Ram Batchu, Aryana Bharali, Eva Cheng, Victor Gong, Suhani Gupta, Minal Jalil, Sam Li, Isabella Lo, Mendy Mao, Katerina Matta, Ashley Mo, Emma Milner, Young Min, Sarah Mohammed, Lily Peng, Caden Ruan, Lily Shi, Kairui Sun, Jonathan Szeto, Claire Tian, Heather Wang, Charlie Wang, Alison Yang, Chelsea Xie, Cynthia Xie, Connie Xu, Jonathan Xue, Claire Yu, Brandon Zau, and Tiffany Zhu
May 25, 2025
David Kelly (10) controls the spikeball, setting up a spike for his teammate Yash Belani (10). Since spikeball is a fast-paced game, players must transition quickly from defense to offense.

Serving up spikes on Davis Field

by Victor Gong and Sam Li
May 12, 2025
Edmund Wang (9) jumps off the diving block while spectating swimmers from Harker cheer him on. Edmund swam the 200 IM event.

Varsity swim sails through season finale meet

by Victor Gong and Sam Li
May 12, 2025
Stanford University lecturer John Edmark explains the mathematics behind his spiral artwork during the Math Club and Art Club joint workshop. Edmark described the relationship between the golden ratio and the Fibonacci numbers, both of which are present in spirals in nature.

Stanford lecturer reveals hidden mathematics of spirals in nature

by Ashley Mo, Sam Li, and Heather Wang
May 4, 2025
Harker Journalism staff poses in front of Pike Place in Seattle. Journalism students and advisers visited the city for the annual JEA/NSPA convention.

Sweepin’ through Seattle: Harker journalism staff attends JEA/NSPA convention

by Suhani Gupta, Eva Cheng, and Sam Li
April 26, 2025
Customers order Starbucks merchandise at the counter inside the Pike Place Starbucks store. The store offers unique Pike Place-themed cups, mugs, coffee and other merchandise.

Discovering coffee roots at Pike Place Starbucks

by Jonathan Szeto, William Jiang, and Sam Li
April 26, 2025
Junior Sophia Ou competes in the long jump event at the Saint Francis Invitational. She set a season record of 4.63 meters.

Tracking strengths, fielding talents

by Tiffany Zhu and Sam Li
March 28, 2025
Mala Raghavan appreciates the chemistry behind traditional recipes, blending the two together to achieve her cooking goals. "Students often bring in complicated formulas to determine limiting reagents, but the limiting reactant is simply the ingredient that runs out first and limits how much product you can make — just like in a recipe," Dr. Raghavan said.

Meet your staff: Finding chemistry in traditional recipes

by Sam Li and William Jiang
March 26, 2025
Junior varsity boys soccer player Luca Barchietto (10) competes in a pickup league on the weekends. Pickup sports allow athletes to experiment with new techniques that they would otherwise not be able to implement in more high stakes environments.

No pressure, all play

by Sam Li and Chelsea Xie
March 26, 2025
Varsity boys soccer player Ryder Hewitt (11) leads a team cheer before a match on Davis Field. Playing on their home turf provides the team an advantage as they are more accustomed to the environment.

Home facilities boost athletic performance

by Wenjie Zou, Sam Li, and Claire Xu
March 23, 2025
APEX: Riding the rush

APEX: Riding the rush

by Sam Li, Assistant Sports Editor
March 8, 2025
Junior varsity is not second place

Junior varsity is not second place

by Sam Li, Assistant Sports Editor
January 22, 2025
Central midfielder Alexander Maxim (9) races to steal the ball from a Priory player. The Eagles defeated the Panthers 4-3 on Friday.

Junior varsity boys soccer defeats Priory 4-3

by Tiffany Zhu, Lily Shi, and Sam Li
January 14, 2025
Senior Caio Cammer propels his body out of the water to launch a pass to his teammate. With a 15-14 quarterfinal win, the boys varsity water polo team advanced to the Open Division CCS semifinal for the first time in Harker history.

Junior varsity boys water polo goalie Luka Degoricija (10) leaps out of the water to make a save. The team finished their season with an overall record of 6-6.

Driver Oskar Baumgarte (12) fights to maintain possession of the ball during the Open Division CCS semifinal match against Saint Francis. “We knew it would be a hard game from the start, but overall, as a team, we were just happy to be playing," Oskar said.

Varsity boys water polo falters against Saint Francis 11-13 in historic CCS semifinal match

by Tiffany Zhu and Sam Li
November 20, 2024
Kallie Wang (11), Neel Kumar (10) and Pascal Qin (10) announce the upcoming Harker Physics Invitational. Winners can receive up to $1000 in cash.

School Meeting 11/12: Honor Council, Bookopoly and Capriccio

by Sam Li and Cynthia Xie
November 17, 2024
Athletic Director Dan Molin presents Kailee Gifford (’17) with her glass plaque during the Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony on Oct. 5. During her time at Harker, Gifford played on the varsity soccer, basketball and football teams.

Four alumni inducted into Athletics Hall of Fame

by Tiffany Zhu and Sam Li
October 12, 2024
Greg Cox ('11) speaks at the podium during his Hall of Fame induction speech. Cox set records for most tackles in a game and season on the Harker varsity football team and played four years of baseball at Swarthmore College.

Lower and Middle School Assistant Athletic Director Kareem Stinson speaks about Arman Gupta ('09)'s leadership during his time on the varsity football team. He shared memories of Gupta's achievements and thanked Gupta’s family for their support.

Kailee Gifford ('17) shares her appreciation for supporters of her athletic journey after her induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 12. Gifford also reflected on her time at Harker, including being the first football player to score in a playoff game.

“You just need to trust the process,” Zoe said. “After the first game, I fell in love. I thought, ‘This is where I can express myself. I just want to work hard to score goals and be happy.’”

APEX: Power in polo, pride in protecting

by Charlize Wang and Sam Li
October 9, 2024
Wide receiver Arav Vuppala (10) catches the football. He continued to run 17 yards to score a touchdown, bringing the Eagles' lead to 18-0.

Live coverage: Harker challenges Anzar High School for Homecoming football game

by Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Eva Cheng, Tiffany Zhu, Sidak Sanghari, Gabe Sachse, Hima Thota, Aishani Singh, Kairui Sun, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Charlie Wang, Suhani Gupta, Claire Yu, Janam Chahal, Mihir Kotbagi, Mendy Mao, Ella Guo, Samuel Tong, Caden Ruan, Sam Li, Lily Peng, Claire Xu, Chelsea Xie, and Katerina Matta
October 5, 2024
Alum-led dance workshop showcases experimental choreography style

Alum-led dance workshop showcases experimental choreography style

by Sam Li and Heather Wang
September 30, 2024
Luka Degoricija (10) leaps out of the water to make a save. With Luka's leading the defense, Harker only conceded one goal in the second quarter.

Junior varsity boys water polo comes up short 10-14 against Los Altos

by Sam Li, Reporter
September 28, 2024
Ishaan Dhillon-Patel (9) presents Insoles, an odor-free shoe insert, during the Innovation Challenge. “One challenge we’ve faced is trying to come up with a unique product on the spot because a lot of what we’re trying to innovate has already been created,” Ishaan said.

DECA launches into new year with frosh recruits

by Sam Li and Jeremy Peng
August 30, 2024
Attendees joke around in Nichols Auditorium before the alumni panel.

Abella Cai (9) pours a cone of water onto Director of Logistics David Kelly (10) during the scavenger hunt. Other team-building activities included races, portrait drawing and solving puzzles given by officers.

Attendee Jillian Chen (9) presents market analysis during the Innovation Challenge. Other DECA Launch activities included scavenger hunts, riddles and Kahoots.

Director of Engagement Nicole Dean (10) judges the roleplay tournament. During the competitive year, DECA supports newcomers with their mentorship system.

Frosh prepare their presentations for the Innovation Challenge. Awards included "Best Overall," “Best Presentation” and “Most Innovative.”

"Everyone always says, YOLO, you only live one life. And it's true, you only live one life. That's exactly the reason why in whatever you're doing, you should find the best parts and enjoy them. Like in school, finding a class you love. For me, volleyball and robotics, my outlets are for fun. It's about enjoying what you do and sharing that joy with others," Zachary Blue (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Jumping to new heights

by Sam Li, Reporter
May 23, 2024
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