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
Zachary Hoffman

Zachary Hoffman, Reporter

Zachary Hoffman (9) is a reporter for the Winged Post. Since first grade he has attended Harker, and he looks forward to writing about school-wide events. His hobbies include playing baseball, being an avid sports fan, and sleeping. In his free time he enjoys food-centered activities.

All content by Zachary Hoffman
“If you want to something to have an impact in the future, everyone involved has to be invested to that certain cause, and I feel that it comes greatest especially when its a close group of friends. That close group of friends think alike and all devoted to each other," Keval Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Staying upbeat

by Mark Hu, Reporter
May 29, 2019
"For a long time, I thought that confidence was being present and there, and making people know that you were there, and being comfortable taking things that you want. I realized that was just a by product of what confidence really is: being okay with who you are in that moment and on that day. Lifeguarding taught me a lot about trusting myself; I also just think that it is really bad ass that I can save people’s lives," Sophia Angus (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Realizing confidence

by Zachary Hoffman, TALON Reporter
May 18, 2019
Head of School Brian Yager and Assistant Head of School Jennifer Gargano released doves to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2018 at the end of the ceremony.

A 125th year in review

by Zachary Hoffman, TALON Reporter
January 20, 2019
Cantilena members Karli Sharp (12), Marina Logue (12), Meghna Phalke (12), Hannah Eckert (12) and Tasha Moorjani (11) sing at the winter concert. The program included Cantilena, Camerata, Bel Canto and SUS4.

Four choral groups perform songs from around the world in winter concert

by Zachary Hoffman, TALON Reporter
December 2, 2018
“It’s from the Book of James 1:19: ‘Listen here brother, be slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to hear,’” Kobe Howard (12) said. “I really like that one because it reminds me that I have to let other people speak and listen to what they have to say. I should have the patience to do it, even while playing games.”

Humans of Harker: Friend to all

by Zachary Hoffman, TALON Reporter
October 17, 2018
“I like making my art because it's a method of expressing yourself," Eric Andrus (12) said. "Being that I was quiet kid for the first 15 years of my life, art was a way I could speak. It was almost like a language to me. Because I am taking AP Studio Art, we have to do a concentration on our works, which is when there is a theme behind all the pieces. My theme is rhythmic motion, which represents a passage of time, so like growth and decay. Through time, relationships are formed and they grow and then they decay. Through all the challenges in life that I have been faced with, I’ve formed relationships and others have been broken, but I think the overall theme that is there is always something there and there is always something to be happy about."

Humans of Harker: Eric Andrus chronicles relationships through art

by Krishna Bheda and Reporter
May 30, 2018
“There's one quote that I remember from when I was four years old that my dad told me, probably after I threw macaroni on the carpet or something: ‘because you're so young, you're still looking for the boundaries, and that's okay,’” Dolan Dworak (12) said. “You can always look for them. I guess my forte has always been going to the edge of the cliff but never really jumping off. It's very relieving to wake up and do exactly what you say you're going to do and be the exact person that you envision yourself to be.”

Humans of Harker: Dolan Dworak subverts expectations

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter
May 14, 2018
“Being at Harker so long, there's been a lot of ups-and-downs,” Uttara Saha (12) said. “The first half of high school, I had this giant pre-mid-life crisis. So like, ‘what is the point of this? Do I even like school?’ Or like what I want to do, blah-blah-blah. Because I was in a bunch of hard classes, and they were just drowning me. But, I don't know, I just saw the brighter side of things, and you just have to push through it. And it helps that I got a cat, and that made things better. Now I'm a little more optimistic.”

Humans of Harker: Uttara Saha crafts her multifaceted identity

by Anna Vazhaeparambil & Melissa Kwan
April 28, 2018
Summer construction goals included digging two 15-foot-deep holes for rerouting utilities and organizing underground infrastructure. “The foundation will get poured and typically sit for 28 days so the concrete will get as strong as it can. Then you can start stacking steel on top," Facility Director Mike Bassoni said.

Completed campus athletic center opens for new school year

by Tiffany Wong, Aquila News Editor
August 28, 2017
“On my wrists, I have sayings on it, I'll have my favorite quote, which is actually my senior quote on it, and on the left wrist, I'll have [the names of] everyone who's injured on my team, their numbers on my wrists, so in a way, I'm playing for them," Saketh Gurram (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Saketh Gurram develops a passion for football

by Zachary Hoffman, Multimedia Editor
May 10, 2017
Bare Bowls: A satisfyingly refreshing California meal

Bare Bowls: A satisfyingly refreshing California meal

by Zachary Hoffman, Multimedia Editor
March 28, 2017
Schooligans: Harker’s patron jokester makes tradition out of April Fools’ Day

Schooligans: Harker’s patron jokester makes tradition out of April Fools’ Day

by Zachary Hoffman, Multimedia Editor
March 28, 2017
“I feel like success is reaching all your goals, but while simultaneously being happy and maintaining a balance of being ambitious in what you want to do, while at the same time being happy with what you are doing. I feel that if you are confident in what you have done and not regretting any of it, then you are successful," Kavya Duvedi (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Kavya Duvedi appreciates music

by Eric Fang, Reporter
January 28, 2017
Donors for the Capital Campaign as well as a number of students signed the I-beam, a vital piece in the new Performing Arts building. While the beam was only meant to be signed by those who contributed to the construction of the center, the enthusiasm of students who wrote on the steel was still appreciated.

Contributors to Capital Campaign sign girder

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter
January 16, 2017
“When I started running, I was pretty slow because freshman year was my first year running. But a lot of my peers and seniors were really supportive of me, ran with me, cheered me on. They’ve made me really appreciate running not only as a sport but also as a part of my life. They have an influence on my being supportive to other people," Steven Cao (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Steven Cao shares his love of problem-solving

by Krishna Bheda, Reporter
December 27, 2016
“I like being able to communicate. I like having it when people understand me better in their native language. I don't know how to explain that," Hazal Gurcan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Hazal Gurcan learns languages to communicate with others

by Zachary Hoffman, Multimedia Editor
December 19, 2016

Upper school teacher casts first vote as U.S. citizen

by Raveena Kapatkar, Zachary Hoffman, and Maya Valluru
November 9, 2016

Interviews with people at the polls

by Michael Sikand and Zachary Hoffman
November 9, 2016
First time voter Nick Haidar arrives at a Westmont Highschool poling place with his father, who takes pictures of this significant moment in his son's citizenship Tuesday evening.

The contrarian’s constraint

by Derek Yen, STEM Editor
November 10, 2016
Christina Cannady and her daughter vote at a Westmont precinct Tuesday evening.

Editorial: Coping with the outcome of a contentious race

November 8, 2016
Senior Alexander Lam speaks about his experience in finding happiness as a Harker student. TEDxHarkerSchool took place on Saturday, Oct. 15.

TEDxHarkerSchool 2016 features speakers, booths and mentors

by Nicole Chen and Zachary Hoffman
October 17, 2016
“I don’t really get nervous before performances. I always get really excited. I love the exhilaration and the rush of being backstage and walking on the main stage and waiting for the music to start. We just hit it and have that adrenaline rush and then coming off after feeling like the performance was only three seconds," Noor Singh (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Noor Singh loves travel and dance

by Jenna Sadhu, Reporter
October 17, 2016
Jack Jia makes his speech for the position of Vice President during freshman student council elections. The results of the elections were announced today.

Freshman student council announced during school meeting

by Ashley Jiang and Maya Valluru
October 4, 2016
Facility Director Mike Bassoni talks about the various machines and vehicles needed for the construction of the Performing Arts and Athletic Centers on Aug 11, 2016. The machine behind him was used to level out the sight by utilizing GPS.

Construction of athletics and performing arts buildings starts

by Nicole Chen, Features Editor
August 29, 2016
Eight Harker seniors who received John Near and Mitra Family Scholar grants presented their papers to friends, teachers and family during a reception on April 25.

Reception honors 8 Near, Mitra Scholars

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter
May 4, 2016
The cheerleaders practice their gala routine during cheerleading practice. The gala featured a variety of entertainment throughout the evening, including a performance from the cheerleaders of both the lower and upper school campuses. In past years, Jazz Band, Varsity Dance Troupe and Downbeat were among the groups that performed at the gala.

Annual Night on the Town hosted on Friday

by Kshithija Mulam and Zachary Hoffman
March 3, 2016
Kerry Enzensperger and Edward Sheu (12) decorate the staircase for last year's Winter Ball. The dance will take place this Saturday in the Nichols Atrium.

Harker Spirit and junior class council prepare for winter ball

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter
February 18, 2016
Santa Clara has been preparing the city and Levi's Stadium for Super Bowl 50, which will take place on Feb. 7.

Bay Area prepares for Super Bowl 50

by Zachary Hoffman, Reporter
January 29, 2016
Patients from a mental health facility sit in a semicircle during “Cheating Death,” directed by Janet. The last SDS show will be tonight at 7 p.m. at the Blackford theater.

SDS premiered first show yesterday at Blackford theater

by Raveena Kapatkar and Zachary Hoffman
January 9, 2016
Hard-hitting: Concussions and sports-related injuries rise for adolescents in the United States

Hard-hitting: Concussions and sports-related injuries rise for adolescents in the United States

by Jackie Gao and Zachary Hoffman
November 30, 2015
Substitute teacher John Heyes uses the Google Cardboard sent by The New York Times to its subscribers. Google is one of multiple companies now exploring the virtual reality industry.

Google goes 3D with Cardboard

by Vineet Kosaraju and Zachary Hoffman
November 28, 2015
Shannon Richardson (12) smiles while carrying congratulatory balloons from friends and family today in front of Main after signing the Letter of Intent. Following a period of verbal commitment, Shannon officially committed to playing for Stanford Volleyball.

Volleyball senior officially commits to Stanford

by Shania Wang and Zachary Hoffman
November 11, 2015
Flight Zone suggested the students create a "blackout" at the homecoming football game by wearing all black to support the team.

Flight Zone rallies crowds at students’ sports games

by Kaitlin Hsu and Zachary Hoffman
October 18, 2015
Courtesy of Facebook

STEM Updates

by Sahana Srinivasan, Zachary Hoffman, Vineet Kosaraju, and Lauren Russell
October 18, 2015
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