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
Cynthia Xie

Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Editor, Photo Editor

Cynthia Xie (11) is an A&E/Lifestyle editor for Harker Aquila and the Winged Post, and this is her third year on staff. This year, Cynthia hopes to add more interactive and diverse articles to the A&E/Lifestyle section, as well as improve her photography skills to make each visual engaging. Outside of journalism, she enjoys playing soccer, reading and taking photos.

All content by Cynthia Xie
Music Monday: Celebrate the VMAs with Aquila

Music Monday: Celebrate the VMAs with Aquila

by Cynthia Xie
September 8, 2025
Summer break provides students the opportunity to travel out of the Bay Area, catching a glimpse of different cultures and lifestyles. According to a survey sent on Schoology with 186 responses, students visited a total of 54 different countries spanning every continent except Antarctica.

Travel tales

by Eva Cheng and Tiffany Zhu
September 2, 2025
A HEYTEA employee cleans up a matcha latte before handing it off to a customer. HEYTEA drinks spanned a wide variety of flavors, from creamy milk to bright citrus.

Tasty Tidbits: HEYTEA reinvents summer drinks with fruity flavors and fresh ingredients

by Chelsea Xie, Cynthia Xie, and Lily Peng
August 30, 2025
Frosh students and advisers stand as they read the Matriculation Oath. Afterwards, the student body viewed videos of skits about Harker student life.

Matriculation marks start of new academic year

by Jonathan Szeto and Cynthia Xie
August 28, 2025
Hannah Streeper ('25), Caitlyn Wong ('25) and Haden Andrews ('25) take pictures with their graduation caps. Graduation marked the end of four years at Harker for the class of 2025, from being the first on campus at the end of the pandemic in ninth grade to creating bittersweet memories as seniors.

Cheers, tears and goodbyes: Class of 2025 caps off high school career with graduation

by Lily Peng and Cynthia Xie
June 2, 2025
Shreyas Chakravarty delivers a speech warning against blind competitiveness and for greater focus on values. "And you cannot connect your values to your actions without understanding the value of your actions, the input that you put into the world," Shreyas said. "And the way to do that is through service."

Seniors pass leadership onto juniors during Baccalaureate

by Cynthia Xie and Kairui Sun
May 27, 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
"I really enjoy working with the students in our programs and being able to impart my passion for engineering. The most rewarding moment is seeing their eyes light up when they understand something, and they feel like they also want to continue to pursue STEM and do engineering and robotics," senior Sophia Liu said.

Opposite hitter Liam Jeffers (12) and middle blocker Rahul Yalla (12) block an incoming ball. Along with defending balls, Rahul played offense by executing many hits.

Varsity boys volleyball vanquishes Homestead in three sets in CCS quarterfinal

by Ella Guo, Cynthia Xie, and Leah Krupnik
May 20, 2025
Senior Shruti Srinivasan sings a solo during Downbeat's performance. All of the upper school choral groups came together in the last concert of the year, "How Can I keep From Singing."

Alumni and teachers celebrate seniors and retiring teacher in spring choral concert

by Chelsea Xie and Cynthia Xie
May 19, 2025
“Art is the rawest, deepest form of introspection, but it's also a way to invoke reflection in other people. Through art, I can see how people interact with each other, the world and these abstract systems. Similarly, economics looks at very foundational issues, questions on how human networks interact with each other and shape individual lives. Both of these subjects form so many frameworks on how to view the world," senior Sophia Liu said.

Humans of Harker: Illustration, interaction and introspection

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Editor
May 15, 2025
Junior concertmaster George Yang looks at the sheet music as he draws his bow. The orchestra and jazz band played nine pieces during the concert.

Spring instrumental concert honors graduating seniors

by Chelsea Xie and Cynthia Xie
May 12, 2025
Humans of Harker: Data and dynamics

Humans of Harker: Data and dynamics

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle and Photo Editor
May 12, 2025
Junior celloist Aya Sugaya leads her section. “Being a section leader has definitely helped my confidence, communication, organization and time management,” Aya said.

Orchestra principals lead through example, patience and mentorship

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Editor
May 2, 2025
A group of juniors pose before the camera near the Tech Interactive exhibits. Students commemorated their school year with a night of dancing and celebration at prom on April 19.

No glitches, only glam: Students enjoy space-themed prom

by Lily Peng, Cynthia Xie, and Chelsea Xie
April 29, 2025
Despite some of the flaws in cohesion between subject matter and music, Dacus thoroughly explores love and domesticity in “Forever Is a Feeling,” affirming her relationship beautifully and without shame through her art.

Lucy Dacus explores queerness and the mundanity of love in “Forever Is A Feeling”

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Editor
April 28, 2025
Senior Norah Mehanna discusses her business, Curlosophy, with Director of Annual Giving Jun Wang. Curlosophy was one of nine booths that presented their products at BEcon.

Student entrepreneurs “Make Waves” at BEcon and Startup World Cup

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Editor
April 28, 2025
Pike Place Fish Market fishmonger Hillary Sanger catches a fish in front of a crowd of onlookers.

Pique your senses at Pike Place Market

by Eva Cheng and Lily Shi
April 26, 2025
Friday Five: Harker Instagrams

Friday Five: Harker Instagrams

by Cynthia Xie, Assistant A&E/Lifestyle Editor
March 13, 2025
Poulenc Trio and Shawnette Sulker showcase lively classical music in Concert Series

Poulenc Trio and Shawnette Sulker showcase lively classical music in Concert Series

by Cynthia Xie, Assistant A&E/Lifestyle Editor
March 9, 2025
Insomnia disrupts brain waves, hinders deep sleep

Insomnia disrupts brain waves, hinders deep sleep

by Ashley Mo and Cynthia Xie
March 8, 2025
Music Monday: Drown in spring showers with Conan Gray and Aquila

Music Monday: Drown in spring showers with Conan Gray and Aquila

by Cynthia Xie, A&E/Lifestyle Assistant Editor
March 3, 2025
Ashley Dickerson (9) folds a piece of paper to make origami. The Mythology Club, Origami Club and Japanese National Honor Society held a collaborative event on Monday.

Mythology Club and Origami Club collaborate with Japanese National Honor Society

by Cynthia Xie and Vivek Moorjani
March 1, 2025
Screenshot

Culture Week Day 3: Booths and Mosaic of Culture

by Lily Peng, Chelsea Xie, Heather Wang, and Cynthia Xie
March 1, 2025
Point guard Gary Jin (12) powers past a defender on a drive toward the hoop. The Eagles held their lead through the first quarter.

Varsity boys basketball suffers to King’s Academy 52-75

by Aryana Bharali and Cynthia Xie
February 24, 2025
A street vendor sells Lunar New Year mementos at a stall. San Francisco hosts a parade and festival annually.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

by Heather Wang, Charlie Wang, and Cynthia Xie
February 12, 2025
Claire Cheng (12), one of this year's student choreographers, dances to "Fever" by Peggy Lee. Harker’s annual show highlighted over 130 students and nine student choreographers on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in the Patil Theater.

Love takes center stage at Harker’s annual dance production

by Young Min and Cynthia Xie
February 7, 2025
Adrian Ma, host of NPR's "The Indicator from Planet Money" podcast presented in a Oeconomia speaker event via Zoom. "We often respond to the news by thinking about what business-related questions we can answer that are adjacent to it so the next time the story pops up in somebody's feed, they feel a bit more informed about what it means," Ma said.

Club Corner: Oeconomia invites speaker from NPR podcast

by Cynthia Xie, Assistant A&E/Lifestyle Editor
January 26, 2025
Sophomores Megha Unny and Sophia Zhu smile as they sing together onstage. They harmonized in a cover of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me."

Hoscars spotlights student talent with A cappella, dance and art history

by Ashley Mo and Cynthia Xie
January 24, 2025
Jillian and Chloe, played by frosh Anya Lu and sophomore Laya Sankara, notice that a newcomer is coming to their bus stop. "I had a great group of actors, and they were really dedicated," Ananya said.

Student Directed Showcase highlights senior talent and vision

by Suhani Gupta and Cynthia Xie
January 22, 2025
Saanvi Bhargava (12), Shruti Srinivasan (12) and Holly Templeton (11) pose during "Jingle Bell Rock." "It’s so fun to perform because we have such an interactive audience," Shruti said.

Downbeat dazzles crowds at annual holiday tour

by Cynthia Xie and Lily Peng
December 14, 2024
Sophomore Alice Luo adds frosting to her class' gingerbread house. "There were so many people working on it and so many moving parts, but we all were trying to do well," Alice said.

Gingerbread house building inspires class spirit

by Cynthia Xie and Risa Chokhawala
December 11, 2024
Seniors Keren Eisenberg and Summer Adler smile together at the Singh Aquatic Center. Keren and Summer have played on the same club and school water polo teams for the past 11 years.

Teammates for life

by Caden Ruan and Cynthia Xie
November 22, 2024
Junior Spencer Chang records one of his comedy dad-joke videos for his Instagram account “spencerbfunny.” His first viral reel blew up on March 15, recieving milllions of views and now having around 253,000 likes.

Community members gain popularity on social media

by Mendy Mao and Cynthia Xie
November 21, 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
Violinist Nancy Zhou and pianist Serena Wang play a duet on their respective instruments. “Nancy tells a story on the violin like no one else, and Serena is just brilliant,” their manager Earl Blackburn said.

Nancy Zhou tells stories through music in Concert Series performance

by Lily Peng, Cynthia Xie, and Chelsea Xie
November 15, 2024
Music Monday: Immerse in quiet contemplation with Aquila

Music Monday: Immerse in quiet contemplation with Aquila

by Cynthia Xie, Co-Assistant A&E/Lifestyle Editor
November 11, 2024
Sophomore Nicole Dean, a member of the ASB Community Service committee, returns money to a student. Members of the committee gave out tickets to students to then buy products from clubs.

Project Peace Wheel supports Afghanistan refugees in farmers market-style fundraiser

by Lily Peng, Assistant News Editor
November 9, 2024
Nov. 5 marks Election Day, and Harker Aquila is following along with national news with their own live coverage, including polls and community responses. Check this page for more information about the presidential, Senate and House of Representatives races, as well as California's propositions.

Live Coverage: 2024 Presidential Election

by Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Lily Shi, Eva Cheng, Disha Gupta, Suhani Gupta, Mendy Mao, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Tiffany Zhu, Leah Krupnik, Lindsay Li, Vivek Moorjani, Lily Peng, Samuel Tong, Chelsea Xie, Cynthia Xie, Nathan Yee, and Elizabeth Zhang
November 5, 2024
Sophomore Léa Kandl-Zhang moves a block during Tech Day rehearsal. "This is the first time we're actually flying things and moving everything," Léa said.

Midsummer magic

by Suhani Gupta and Disha Gupta
November 3, 2024
Annie Yu (9) leans over a pumpkin, examining it carefully. The frosh's pumpkin carving ended up in third place.

Annual pumpkin carving contest encourages class bonding and spirit

by Cynthia Xie and Lindsay Li
November 1, 2024
Outside Annabel Huang (10) dives to the ground to save a ball. The Eagles defeated the Knights in two sets 25-22 and 25-15.

Junior varsity girls volleyball conquers Kings Academy in two sets

by Vivek Moorjani and Cynthia Xie
October 30, 2024
Sophomores Megha Unny and Sophia Zhu laugh while chatting in the quad. Students relaxed outside to take a break from dancing and play cornhole or foosbal.

Students dance and rejoice at annual homecoming dance

by Cynthia Xie, Chelsea Xie, and Samuel Tong
October 24, 2024
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