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
Alena Suleiman

Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief

Alena Suleiman (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. Alena wishes to interact with new people and work with all members of staff to craft engaging stories. Beyond journalism, she is an exhibited artist, humanities scholar and art museum enthusiast.

All content by Alena Suleiman
As journalists, one of our primary goals is to honor the people we report on. If we omit compassion, our articles lose life and color, and we fail to do justice to their stories. 

Editor’s Note: Empathy in subjectivity

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
May 22, 2024
“The glow that I am able to put in others and the way I am able to see people light up as a result of my efforts is so rewarding. Whether it is my guidance or my support for something, I love being able to help other people shine. There is this physical radiance that I can see in people when I know that they’re proud of themself or they know that they’re doing something that they love, and my ability to contribute to that is what makes it worth it," Shreeya Merchia (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Uncovering the unseen

by Janam Chahal, Co-Features Editor
May 13, 2024
"For me, at the core of all I do, it is in giving back to the community and honoring everyone and who they are. I want to always return the same love that was given to me to elevate others, breaking any barriers between people and making sure that everyone feels a part of the circle," Dina Ande (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Breaking cultural and linguistic barriers

by William Jiang, Reporter
April 26, 2024
“The highlight of my day is always small moments, whether it's a good conversation with someone, learning a lot from an interview, or one small move forward in a research project. Those are the things that bring me the most joy,” Ella Yee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Blossoming with compassion

by Alena Suleiman, Co-Editor-in-Chief
April 8, 2024
“A large portion of my interest in math and why it's so fun for me is because at some point, I learned how to apply it to different areas. I found out about this concept called mathematical biology, and I was so fascinated by it. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is the moment, this is destiny.’ I could model biological systems with math,” Ananya Sriram (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Destiny of design

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
March 25, 2024
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Editor’s Note: Two-way streets

by Ella Yee, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
March 20, 2024
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Dream on with Aquila

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
February 5, 2024
As an avid Murakami reader, reading “Sputnik Sweetheart” felt like reconnecting with an old friend: comforting, nostalgic and moderately gut-wrenching. Complete with alternate universes, moon portals and other typical Murakami narrative devices, the plot follows a detective-style pattern reminiscent of earlier works like “Norwegian Wood,” unfolding with a familiarity that is predictable yet enjoyable all the same.

Book Corner: Separate orbits

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
January 26, 2024
Sweaters aren't just about keeping warm; they're the epitome of winter fashion. Whether it's a chunky cable-knit or a sleek cashmere, sweaters are versatile.

A warm winter hug

by Vika Gautham, Co-Features Editor
January 14, 2024
Curtains draw back, revealing a stage decorated as a typical suburban house. The 1975 set up their instruments and chatted with one another like characters on an idyllic sitcom.

This is what it looks like

by Gabe Sachse and Alena Suleiman
October 17, 2023
Junior Homecoming Court Picks Leo Sobzycn (11) and Claire Anderson (11) cheer during the Homecoming Royalty Presentation. Members are elected by their class each year.

The Class of 2024’s Homecoming Court clap during the crowning ceremony. This year, seniors Cynthia Wang and Daniel Lin were crowned Homecoming Queen and King.

Junior Homecoming Court Picks Leo Sobzycn and Claire Anderson cheer during the Homecoming Royalty Presentation. Members are elected by their class each year.

Anna Lee (12) completes a back walkover during Harker Dance Company's routine.

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A member of the junior class holds the tug of war trophy. The juniors won against the seniors, leaving them in first place for the second year in a row.

Reza Jalil (12) pulls on the rope during tug of war. The seniors fell to the juniors, emerging as second place in the competition overall.

Reza Jalil (12) pulls on the rope during tug of war. The seniors fell to the juniors, emerging as second place in the competition overall.

Live coverage: Harker faces Crystal Springs Uplands for Homecoming game

by Alena Suleiman, Katerina Matta, Desiree Luo, Brandon Zau, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Kevin Zhang, Katelyn Zhao, Ariana Goetting, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Sidak Sanghari, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, Alison Yang, Jeremy Peng, Mihir Kotbagi, Claire Yu, and Tiffany Zhu
October 7, 2023
Sophomores Syna Sharma, Disha Gupta, Ruhi Banerjee and Judi Abdelrazik cheer for their class in tug-of-war on Davis Field today. Upper school students compete in tug-of-war preliminaries during Homecoming week and finals on Homecoming night each year.

Homecoming Week Day 2: Classes gather for spirit day parade and tug-of-war

October 3, 2023

Photo Slideshow Sept. 8

by Alena Suleiman, Alison Yang, Alvira Agarwal, Angelina Burrows, Ashley Mo, Brandon Zau, Claire Yu, Connie Xu, Desiree Luo, Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Emma Milner, Eva Cheng, Gemma Chan, Grant Yang, Janam Chahal, Jeremy Peng, Katelyn Zhao, Kevin Zhang, Lindsey Tuckey, Margaret Cartee, Mendy Mao, Mirabelle Feng, Ram Batchu, Selina Xu, Sidak Sanghari, Steven Jiang, Tiffany Zhu, Vivian Chen, Yifan Li, and Young Min
September 9, 2023
Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) announces the annual Spirit Kickoff during school meeting on Aug. 28 in the Zhang Gymnasium. The Spirit Kickoff took place on Friday in the Quad from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

School meeting recap 8/28/23: Artist in Residence, Spirit Kickoff and safety protocols

by Charlize Wang
September 5, 2023
Seniors Jessica Morel, Shanaya Dhawan and Sania Gupta sketch designs in the Zentangle: Doodling for Peace workshop. Campus faculty hosted the workshops to teach seniors a variety of life skills and promote personal well-being.

Seniors unite for inaugural Senior Retreat

by Alena Suleiman, Ananya Sriram, and Kevin Zhang
August 21, 2023
Members of the Class of 2023 sit together, preparing to turn their tassels from right to left. The symbolic action marked their transition from high school to beyond.

Class of 2023 graduates at Mountain Winery

by Aishani Singh, Video/Podcast Editor
August 11, 2023
“Oftentimes when you interact with a professor or teacher at Harker, it’s a very professional relationship, but through this process, I got to know these very accomplished people as just people. It’s great to make interpersonal connections with such amazing people that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to speak to,” Vishnu Veeravalli ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Philosophical parallels, scientific studies

by Aryana Bharali, Humans of Harker Profiler
August 13, 2023
John Near and Mitra Family Scholars stand in front of Chen Lin Mentors for a photo after the Scholar Grant Reception on April 25. During the event, five Near and four Mitra scholars shared their research experiences over the past year, with topics ranging from racial injustice in Manilatown to Peru’s “gastronomic revolution.”

Near Mitra reception celebrates nine scholars, gathers schoolwide support

by Shareen Chahal and Alena Suleiman
May 8, 2023
"To me, water polo feels like an escape from schoolwork. That facet of it inspires me to play even more and improve. School’s pretty stressful, so at the end of the day, it’s nice to get out there with my friends and play together for a couple hours. The water serves as my de-stress zone," Andrew Reed (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Making a splash

by Katie Reed, TALON Business and PDA Manager
May 15, 2023
Members of Harker Dance Company clap their hands together in their routine. They performed an upbeat hip hop themed dance to “Trumpets” by Sak Noel and Salvi ft. Sean Paul.

Day of dance and activities: Junior class champions Spirit Week

by Shareen Chahal and Felix Chen
April 3, 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
The poster at the entrance of Nichols Atrium. 3-D and 2-D work occupied the majority of the downstairs floor and walls and 2-D work resided in the upstairs walls.

AP Art Exhibitions showcase works by 22 students

by Alison Yang and Alena Suleiman
March 13, 2023
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Stay cozy with Aquila

by Alena Suleiman, Co-Arts & Entertainment Editor
March 6, 2023
"The Secret History," a 1992 novel by Donna Tartt, carries one theme throughout: Beauty is terror, and the incessant pursuit of beauty, whether through constructing a certain persona or chasing a sensory experience, leads to evil. The characters’ descent into madness and subsequently, ruin, illustrates the consequences of pursuing a glamorous, hedonistic existence and reminds us to appreciate the good, not the beautiful.

Book Corner: ‘Beauty is harsh’

by Alena Suleiman, Co-Arts & Entertainment Editor
January 19, 2023
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Discover new music in the new year with Aquila

by Alena Suleiman, Co-Arts & Entertainment Editor
January 2, 2023
Performers gather on stage to close out the Big Assembly Day show. Upper school students watched Harker’s annual holiday concert Big Assembly Day (BAD) on Dec. 9, where ensembles from the lower, middle and upper schools performed various acts across all campuses.

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

by Alison Yang, Vika Gautham, and Alena Suleiman
December 23, 2022
Downbeat members Alan Jiang (12) and Shareen Chahal (11) pose as they perform “Deck the Halls." Upper school groups Harker Dance Company, Kinetic Krew and Downbeat as well as several middle school groups performed at Santana Row's Spirit of the Row on Dec. 6.

Harker performing arts groups light up night at ‘Spirit of The Row’

by Alison Yang and Alena Suleiman
December 14, 2022
Camera in hand, photographer Ben Green prepares to shoot a National Football League (NFL) game. Green works as the team photographer for the Buffalo Bills.

So you wanna be a sports photographer?

by Brandon Zau and Alena Suleiman
November 11, 2022
An illustration of the debate between subtitles and dubs for foreign language film, represented by Japanese anime characters Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma from "Demon Slayer." Often, fans of foreign shows take a strong stance on one or the other for their optimal viewing experience.

Subtitles vs. dubbing: Lost in translation?

by Ella Yee, Co-News Editor
November 9, 2022
An illustration of the K-pop group NewJeans. Fans have expressed concern at the age of the members, which range from 14 to 18 years old, especially after dissecting the lyrics of their hit song “Cookie.”

Don’t bite the cookie: Concerning sexualization of minors in K-pop

by Alena Suleiman and Shareen Chahal
November 3, 2022
Leo Sobczyn (10) yells as the sophomores win tug of war finals. The class of 2025 claimed first place in 10 seconds.

Live coverage: Harker football faces Delta Charter for Homecoming game

by Katelyn Zhao, Desiree Luo, Isha Moorjani, Selina Xu, Brandon Zau, Kevin Zhang, Jessica Tang, Sabrina Zhu, Sidak Sanghari, Felix Chen, Medha Yarlagadda, Ariana Goetting, and Alena Suleiman
October 8, 2022
Senior lip sync participants Kris Estrada and Gordon Chen pose together in a heart shape. The seniors' routine described some of the "horrors of Harker," in line with their theme of the horror movie "It."

Homecoming Week Day 4: Homecoming Rally closes Spirit Week with a bang

by Vika Gautham and Aishani Singh
October 6, 2022
Sophomore tug of war participants Aaron Bao and Leo Sobczyn rally the crowd, preparing to pull the rope. The sophomore class defeated the seniors in tug of war preliminaries during Spirit Week this Tuesday.

Homecoming Week Day 2: Students cheer in spirit parade, battle in tug-of-war preliminaries

by Katerina Matta and Felix Chen
October 4, 2022
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Cool down with Aquila

by Alena Suleiman, Co-A&E / Lifestyle editor
September 12, 2022
An illustration of W.N.B.A. Brittney Griner. The Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner was found guilty for smuggling illegal narcotics into Russia on Aug. 4.

W.N.B.A player convicted for smuggling illegal narcotics

by Katelyn Zhao, Sports Editor
September 11, 2022
Anjali Yella (11) dribbles the ball in a varsity girls basketball game against Lincoln High School. The varsity girls basketball team led a strong season last year, making it to the CCS championship final and placing second in the CCS fourth division in February.

Apex: From a competitive individual to a team player

by Katelyn Zhao, Sports Editor
August 24, 2022
Students recite the Matriculation Oath printed in the ceremony's program. ASB Vice President Gordon Chen led the recitation of the oath, which details the responsibilities of the school and students.

Matriculation ceremony welcomes Class of 2026 to upper school

by Isha Moorjani and Sally Zhu
August 23, 2022
Upper school mathematics teacher Caren Furtado observes several works of photography and art at the Artstravaganza exhibits. Campus art and writing exhibition Artstravaganza displayed student artwork and literature from the past year.

Artstravaganza arts and writing show exhibits student works and talent

by Alena Suleiman, Assistant A&E Editor
May 7, 2022
The 64th Grammys awards took place in Las Vegas on April 3. Listen to Aquila's Arts & Entertainment editors Sally Zhu (11) and Alena Suleiman (10) discuss their reactions to the awards.

Reactions to the 2022 Grammys awards

by Sally Zhu and Alena Suleiman
April 14, 2022
Upper school mathematics teacher Bradley Stoll holds a heart shaped paper cut-out with the word "share" painted over it. Ever since becoming vegan in 2014, Stoll has discovered new ways of cooking and sharing his baked goods with others.

Meet your teacher: Cooking for community

by Alena Suleiman and Edward Huang
March 28, 2022
An illustration of an Oscar. The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 27, honoring films released in 2021.

Academy Awards 2022: Predictions and hopes

by Sally Zhu and Alena Suleiman
March 27, 2022
Madeline Hansen (12) and Ysabel Chen (12) attend the reception for Michelle Liu’s (12) Honors Directed Portfolio exhibition. Five senior students created art work for their own exhibitions in the semester-long Honors Directed Portfolio course.

Honors Directed Portfolio senior student art showcases come to a close

by Alena Suleiman, Asst. A&E Editor
March 26, 2022
Anoushka Khatri (12) and Samvita Gautham (11) rehearse on Feb. 4 in the Patil Theater for the Spring Musical. This year's Spring Musical will be "The Drowsy Chaperone," performed yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Upcoming upper school performances

by Kinnera Mulam, Alena Suleiman, and Sally Zhu
March 25, 2022
Stand-up comedian Crystal Lambert performs a set at Google in May 2020. Remembering how she had to overcome both self-doubt and a broken microphone at her first set, Lambert credited her willingness to take a chance on her beloved hobby as the reason she has grown so much as a performer.

So you wanna be a comedian?

by Trisha Iyer and Alena Suleiman
March 25, 2022
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