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
Alyssa Amick

Alyssa Amick, Harker Aquila Editor-in-Chief

Alyssa Amick (12) is the Co- Editor in Chief of Harker Aquila. She has been part of the journalism program since her freshman year. Her favorite part of journalism is learning the different skills associated with the job. Alyssa also plays soccer and football. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her two-year-old labradoodle.

All content by Alyssa Amick
A Woodside player runs the ball up the field during the first half. The team would finish with 10 goals in the game.

Girls’ varsity lacrosse loses 10-7 to Woodside

by Aditya Varshney, Aquila Social Media Editor
April 18, 2015
The Silicon Valley has experienced lots of urbanization, yet some orchards and plantations still remain throughout the Bay Area.

From blossoms to buildings

by Alyssa Amick and Priscilla Pan
January 27, 2015
The Varsity girls' volleyball team huddles together before the final set. The girls defeated Willows High School 3-0 to advance to the second round of the Norcal tournament.

Varsity girls volleyball advances in Norcals with a win against Willows

by Tara Parimi, Aquila Copy Editor
November 26, 2014
Rachel Cheng (10) jumps up to spike a ball at the CCS semifinal game. The team advanced to the CCS finals.

Looking back at the season

by Kshithija Mulam and Lauren Russell
November 22, 2014
Shreya Dixit (12) spikes the ball at the CCS Semifinals yesterday. The team will advance to the finals on Saturday.

Varsity girls’ volleyball beats Soquel to advance to CCS finals

by Varun Baldwa, TALON Asst. Photo Editor
November 20, 2014

Journalism students attend a keynote by Bob Woodward

by Sharanya Balaji and Alyssa Amick
November 6, 2014
wapo 1

Varsity boys water polo loses to Wilcox High School

by Roshni Pankhaniya, Winged Post Sports Editor
October 21, 2014
Harker's cheer team performed at Friday's Homecoming rally.

Cheerleading kicks off season with the largest squad yet

by Melissa Kwan, Reporter
October 6, 2014
The new trash system features two options, “wet,” meaning anything compostable, or “dry,” anything and everything else. All four campuses have implemented the system in attempts to remain environmentally friendly.

Wet and dry system alerts trash impact

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
May 16, 2014
The girls' Varsity lacrosse team poses for a picture in the Senior Night t-shirts prior to the game. The team celebrated its 7 seniors on Friday.

Varsity lacrosse beats Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory for Senior Night

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
May 12, 2014
Keller's Korner - 5/1

Keller’s Korner – 5/1

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
May 8, 2014
Keller's Korner - 4/25

Keller’s Korner – 4/25

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
April 28, 2014
The freshman class participates in the traditional "scream off," in which they placed third.

SPIRIT WEEK: Spring rally

by Megy Appalaraju, Reporter
April 18, 2014
Senator Yee arrested for alleged crimes

Senator Yee arrested for alleged crimes

by Alyssa Amick, Aquila Managing Editor
April 4, 2014
Mary Beth Tinker answers a question posed to her by a student. The Tinker Tour stopped by the Upper School today.

Tinker Tour Visits Upper School

by Alyssa Amick and Maya Jeyendran
April 4, 2014

Tinker Tour and Karen Korematsu visit Upper School

by Vasudha Rengarajan, Online Features Editor
April 4, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 3/28

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
April 1, 2014
After school, students walk through the puddles that formed today. Because of the bad weather, many athletic games and practices were cancelled.

Lacrosse and baseball games cancelled due to weather

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
March 31, 2014
Screen Shot 2014-03-25 at 8.34.35 AM

Students balance work and school

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
March 12, 2014

New York: Journalism teacher honored at Columbia convention

by Elisabeth Siegel
March 24, 2014
Inside the New York Times printing press

Inside the New York Times printing press

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
March 20, 2014
Emma Doherty (10), team manager of Boys' Basketball passes out water bottles and Gatorades to players during halftime at the semifinal game against Seaside. The Harker Eagles defeated Seaside 71-61 to advance to CCS finals.

Team managers of Harker

by Riya Chandra and Kavya Ramakrishnan
March 12, 2014
Huck Vaughan (12) scores a point for the eagles in the first CCS game this year against Carmel High School on Feb. 27, where the boys won 46-40 and advanced to the top eight in CCS.

Athletes of the Month

by Mariam Sulakian, Aquila News Editor
March 12, 2014
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Varsity boys’ basketball loses at NorCals

by Mariam Sulakian, Aquila News Editor
March 13, 2014
Boys' Basketball takes on Sacred Heart Prep for the CCS Championship on Saturday

Boys’ Basketball takes on Sacred Heart Prep for the CCS Championship on Saturday

by Alyssa Amick
March 6, 2014
The Eagles warm-up before the game they won against Soquel High School to advance to the semi-finals.

Boys’ basketball advances to CCS semi-finals

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
March 3, 2014
Keller's Korner - 2/28

Keller’s Korner – 2/28

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
February 28, 2014
Srivinay Irrinki (11) shoots a three-pointer in the game against Carmel High School. The team won 46-40.

Boys’ basketball advances to next round of CCS

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
February 27, 2014
Keller's Korner - 2/21

Keller’s Korner – 2/21

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
February 24, 2014
Darian Edvalson (12) pins down his opponent during a round his senior night. Darian has advanced to CCS and will compete next week.

Wrestling Advances to CCS

by Alyssa Amick, Aquila Managing Editor
February 18, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 1/24

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
January 30, 2014
Gautam Krishnamurthi ('11) is part of the Stanford University football team that recently played in the 100th Rose Bowl. The team lost to Michigan State.

Alumnus plays in Rose Bowl with Stanford

by Alyssa Amick, Aquila managing editor
January 30, 2014
"The Wonderful World of Dissocia"

Student Directed Showcase implements work of cast, crew, and directors

by Alyssa Amick and Arthi Iyer
January 29, 2014
The dance team announces the dance show at the school meeting. The show will take place on Friday and Saturday.

School meeting recap – Jan. 27

by Alyssa Amick
January 27, 2014

Synergy at Play

by Alyssa Amick and Trisha Jani
January 27, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 1/17

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
January 23, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 1/10

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
January 17, 2014
Prank post recalled by administration

Prank post recalled by administration

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
January 13, 2014

basketball1-10 from Harker Aquila on Vimeo.

Varsity Boys Basketball loses 48-52 to Sacred Heart Prep

by Alyssa Amick and Sheridan Tobin
January 11, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 12/13

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
January 7, 2014

Keller’s Korner – 12/6

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
December 12, 2013
The team huddles for a post game talk after their victory over Castilleja on Saturday. The team then lost in CCS Semifinals to Menlo on Wednesday night.

Girls’ Volleyball Loses CCS Semifinals

by Apurva Gorti and Anishka Agarwal, Winged Post Sports Editors
November 22, 2013

Keller’s Korner – 11/8 & 11/15

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
November 20, 2013

Alumni compete at the collegiate level

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
November 19, 2013

Girls’ Volleyball beats Castilleja in CCS Quarter Finals

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
November 17, 2013
Gabriele Stahl, Upper School Math teacher, dances the tango, a passion she has pursued for many years. In order to help her communicate with her tango teachers, she is taking Spanish classes.

Teachers extend knowledge, head “back to school”

by Alyssa Amick and Elisabeth Siegel
November 16, 2013

Students Earn CJCL Ludi Awards

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
November 11, 2013

Keller’s Korner – November 1

by Alyssa Amick, Managing Editor
November 6, 2013

Keller’s Korner – October 25

by Alyssa Amick
October 31, 2013

Keller’s Korner 10/11&10/18

by Alyssa Amick
October 22, 2013

Keller’s Korner – October 4

by Alyssa Amick
October 7, 2013
Instead of kayaking or sailing, juniors remained at school today due to the cancellation of their class trip. The trip will be rescheduled for Oct. 9.

Junior trip rescheduled due to weather

by Alyssa Amick
September 30, 2013

Keller’s Korner – September 20

by Alyssa Amick
September 23, 2013

Keller’s Korner – September 6

by Alyssa Amick
September 8, 2013

Keller’s Korner – May 31

by Alyssa Amick
June 3, 2013

Keller’s Korner – May 24

by Alyssa Amick
May 27, 2013

Keller’s Korner – May 9

by Alyssa Amick
May 13, 2013
In some Tanzanian schools, there are as many as 150 students per class, and they often lack the textbooks, pens, and pencils necessary to supply all of the students. Students visiting the country in July collected money to buy textbooks to donate as well as stationery to give to the school when they visit.

Students collect donations for Maasai people in Africa

by Alyssa Amick
May 5, 2013

Keller’s Korner – May 2

by Alyssa Amick
May 4, 2013
Senior Ashely "Smashley" Del Alto hits a long ball to the outfield in the first inning of the game. In a nail-biter game, the softball team beat Castilleja 6-5.

Varsity softball team beats Castilleja 6-5

by Alyssa Amick
March 26, 2013
Senior Emily Wang won a Gold Key from California Scholastic Writing and Arts Competition for her creative writing piece titled "Missed Connections And The Secret Of Mattering.” Emily and Stephanie Chen (11) were the two winners of a Gold Key at the Upper School, among other participants who received a Silver Key or Honorable Mention.

Writing competition: Students recognized for compositional flair

by Alyssa Amick
February 20, 2013
Freshman Oisin Coveney rakes fallen petals and leaves into a bucket at the Rose Garden during freshman service day. To fulfill hours required beyond those completed on service day, consider the five organizations listed below.

Five community service organizations to consider

by Alyssa Amick
January 7, 2013
Students crowd around the Spirit Board to see which members of their class were nominated for homecoming court.

Homecoming court nominations announced

by Alyssa Amick
October 6, 2012
Teachers Dr. Matthew Harley, Robbie Korin, Dr. Mala Raghavan, and Daniel Ajerman answer questions that debate students have about the October Topic, which centers on effects of climate change. Wednesday’s Topic Talk was the first ever discussion for debate involving teachers at the Upper School.

First ever Topic Talk with teachers organized by Public Forum debate team

by Alyssa Amick
September 13, 2012
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