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

Devanshi Mehta , TALON Business Editor and PDA Manager

Devanshi Mehta is a sophomore and Co-Business/PDA Manager for TALON Yearbook. This is Devanshi’s second year on staff. In her free time, Devanshi enjoys golfing, dancing, and listening to music.

All content by Devanshi Mehta
“150 years ago, no one even dreamt of making a car or what they could be. But someone out there just asked, ‘Why can’t we move on an engine instead of horses?’ or ‘Why isn’t there an easier solution?’ and like that, someone just created a feat of engineering that is still used today. It’s fascinating to see how such brilliant inventions stem from simple curiosity and questioning,” Suraj Pakala ('19) said.

Humans of Harker: Curiosity beyond bounds

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Editor-in-Chief
May 31, 2019
“It's fun to not care and not care about something and just do it for the fun of it, which we don't really get to do at Harker. I find that these extracurricular activities like diving, soccer or even League of Legends are really fun to do in my free time. It's good to just have some fun once in a while. And I think exploring new ways to do this is really, really valuable," Jack Dawson (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Diving deep

by Andrew Chang, TALON Co-Sports Editor
May 24, 2019
“I think it’s really important that you’re genuine and aren’t trying to make an impression on other people that isn’t who you are. Even [if I] disagree with someone or don’t like the way they act, I’ll always respect someone more for standing up for what they believe [in] and not just trying to please others,” Noah Lincke (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Ready, Set, Run

by Olivia Guo and Sabrina Takemoto
May 18, 2019
“Sometimes I pick up my phone and I get sound bytes of footsteps or the wind blowing through leaves, things that happen around you [that] you don’t see without a camera. I like taking photos or making videos and putting my vision into these things because I really want to share them with others and make people feel something when [they] see it," Heidi Zhang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: On the sidelines and in the game

by Anna Vazhaeparambil, Nicole TIan, and Katherine Zhang
May 17, 2019
"I mainly build model kits because it’s pretty relaxing. I can just spend like 10 hours listening to music and kind of decompressing after the week’s over, and I’m not doing the thing that’s stressing me out. I think a lot of us are stressed out by school and stuff but it’s nice to get away from it all. [Building model kits] is definitely a daunting hobby to get into, like on Reddit and Instagram’s model pages, [you might think] all of this stuff this guy did is really good, but that guy probably has ten years of experience doing it. If you like how it looks, then it’s good. There isn’t any objective quality, if you like it, you like it," Andrew Koonmen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Piece by piece

by Erica Cai, Reporter
May 12, 2019
“Whatever side of the political spectrum you fall under, a lot of things you might think are true are not true if you delve a little deeper,” Jay said. “It doesn’t mean you stop supporting whatever you support, I think it’s more important, but I think you sound more educated with you present a point with evidence to back it up," Jay Menon (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Informed discourse

by Irina Malyugina, Photo Editor
May 12, 2019
"The human experience is timeless, and humans have been trying to understand it and study it for so long. I think with AI, there's a really unique opportunity to better understand what makes us human, what aspects of our humanity are important, and I think technology can help us do that," Nikhil Dharmaraj (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Disruption

by Nicole Chen, Editor-in-Chief
May 9, 2019
"I think of myself as caring about being feminist. It’s not necessary saying ‘hey, I’m feminist!’ or going to all those feminist rallies. I just never want anyone to think that I can’t do something just because I’m a girl, or that I’m worse than someone just because they’re a guy, or that guys are more capable. Making it clear to everyone that I’m not lesser, or no girl is just because they are a girl, is really important to me," Ria Gupta (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Unconventional resilience

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Editor-in-Chief
May 3, 2019
“When I interact with people I want to make them happy and I want everyone to have a good time. It’s like when I’m playing cello I want to make the audience feel how I feel when I’m playing music, almost like I’m spreading the feeling that I have,” Henry Wong (12) said. “It’s hard to see sometimes because I’m very shy, but it’s really that interaction, working with other people, that makes me love what I’m doing.”

Humans of Harker: Committed, carefree and considerate

by Esha Gohil and Sriya Batchu
April 24, 2019
“I want to have been the one to at least help create several organizations. I want to create more of a culture as well and change it towards one of collaboration, rather than competition. Everyone is trying to compete against one another, trying to get the best grade, trying to get ahead on this project, but what I’ve learned after taking all these classes and doing all these projects is that we can do a lot more working together than trying to be the best ourselves," David Melisso (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Calm and composed

by Vishnu Kannan, Reporter
April 17, 2019
“I want to be the person who can impact people, somebody who worked for others and always thought for the benefit of others,” Ayush Vyas (12) said. “I want to be that leader who was never overly vocal but still always cared and was vocal when someone needed to step up and say something. What often gets overlooked is a captain's ability to listen and learn, but to me, that's my most important value.”

Humans of Harker: Duality in leadership

by Srinath Somasundaram, Opinions Editor
April 14, 2019
“The feeling of performing, doing well, and being proud is the best feeling to have. Although at times it is really overwhelming to learn difficult music and play in front of large crowds, the feeling of doing a good job is rewarding enough," Arushee Bhoja (12) said.

Humans of Harker: In search of creativity

by Ritika Rajamani, TALON Reporter
March 12, 2019
“Frankly, if I’m not doing anything and I’m bored, it just doesn’t work for me. I always have to be doing something with a purpose, whether it’s exercising, eating or doing math problems. I always want to lead an active life. Honestly, doing board games or spending time with my family is a good way to stay busy while simultaneously relaxing,” Sukrit Ganesh (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Ingenuity and engineering

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Editor-in-Chief
January 10, 2019
“People don't really notice that I have a hearing disability until I tell them, and the first thing they will usually say is ‘I’m sorry'... Pity gets old very quickly, and I couldn't imagine what it would have been like for people who have more severe disabilities than I do. And I’d say it’s just an empowering reminder of what people go through every day — what deaf people go through everyday, and how, because I have this perspective, I have a duty to help other people,” Brian Park (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Persevering with pride

by Jessie Wang, Reporter
November 30, 2018
"Music is the most beautiful, true and genuine connection to someone’s soul," Sohenee said. "Music is something that transcends all boundaries, all cultures. No matter what language a song is in, you can still feel it even if you don’t know what the words means. Music is one thing that’s been there for me. That’s so cheesy, but I’m a really cheesy person. Music is my compass, it guides me to where I want to be, and it’s so beautiful."

Humans of Harker: Sohenee Banerjee practices everyday acts of kindness

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Seniors Editor
April 14, 2018
Students participate in the rally in the San Jose March for Our Lives event.

Students, faculty join national movement protesting for gun control

by Katherine Zhang, Kathy Fang, and Prameela Kottapalli
March 28, 2018
Senior Sumi Wadhwa holds up a poster saying “we want degrees, not AR-14’s” at March for our Lives San Jose. Several upper school students and teachers took part in the protests in San Jose and San Francisco on March 23.

Not one more: Thousands participate in March for Our Lives protests in Bay Area

by Nicole Chen and Prameela Kottapalli
March 26, 2018
“I grew up with a single mom," Vince Vu (12) said. "It really shaped me to be more responsible. She’s a really good role model. Even when she’s not there, I’m thinking about what she would want me to do. My mom’s success drives me. She was a refugee. She wasn’t born here. Just seeing what she can accomplish, just her, is truly what drives me to work hard at this school and pursue a further education.”

Humans of Harker: Vinny Vu creates his personal brand

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Seniors Editor
March 17, 2018
“Nowadays, a lot of the times the way female characters are interpreted or written are sort of whiney," Jessie Skinner (12) said. "There’s only three things that they can be like: The fat best friend —been her, the nagging wife — been her also, or the super dumb blonde. . . These roles that are mostly portrayed as a not nice female word. [I believe in] bringing in these points of view that are ignored. You just have to find that the sliver of message in every show.”

Humans of Harker: Jessie Skinner imbues her plays with activism

by Gloria Zhang, Asst. Features Editor
March 11, 2018
Technology Student Association members Cat Zhao (10) and Anna Wang (11) set up Fantasia pearl milk tea tables outside Manzanita. All proceeds from sales will go towards expenses for the TSA California State Conference, which members of the club will be attending from March 24 to 25 in Bakersfield.

Technology Student Association raises funds for conference

by Meena Gudapati and Devanshi Mehta
February 23, 2018
Future Problem Solvers club officers Anvi Banga (10) and Anika Tiwari (10) organize mini bundt cake sales outside Manzanita. Future club events include the state competition from April 20 to 22 at Design 39 in San Diego.

Future Problem Solvers holds club week

by Julia Huang and Devanshi Mehta
March 2, 2018
“I never go to bed angry," Ashna Chandra (12) said. "If I’m fighting with someone like a friend or my mom or someone, I always try to solve a problem before I go to bed. I just don’t like to go to bed with a bad state of mind. That’s just how I try to keep myself positive.”

Humans of Harker Ashna Chandra maintains a positive mindset

by Devanshi Mehta, Seniors Editor
December 4, 2017
Memoir Monday: A Bond Stronger Than Thread

Memoir Monday: A Bond Stronger Than Thread

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Business Manager
May 8, 2017
GSA club members Emmy Huchley (10), Sian Smith (10), Damini Kaushik (10), Kevin Huang (12) and Emilie Sanche (10) sell boba outside of Manzanita. GSA members also handed out rainbow smiley stickers to students and faculty on Monday during lunch.

GSA hosts annual club week

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Co-Business Manager
March 24, 2017
“Times in high school feel difficult now, and you feel like you’ll remember all the highest points and lowest points of your experience, but in reality, the most mundane ones, or seemingly mundane ones will stand out to you most in the future, and those moments aren’t made up of your biggest failures or your highest grade you got in the toughest class. It’s really about who you surround yourself with, and the experiences you chose to have,” Maya Valluru (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Maya Valluru learns of the importance of friendship

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Business Manager
March 7, 2017
“You know how people like watch movies and TV, and they say they’re addicted and can’t stop? It’s like that when you pick up a good book. You want to see what happens at the end of it… Honestly, it’s so bad; if I find a good book, I will stay up until 3 a.m. I’m just as good at binging books as I am binge watching Netflix. You’re so invested emotionally in the characters, and the story, and what’s going to happen, and it’s fascinating," Shivani Awasthi (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Shivani Awasthi delves into novels

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Business Manager
January 4, 2017
“You have to try because otherwise you won’t succeed for sure. If you don’t try, you’re always going to keep wondering... What if? What if? But if you try it, you will never have a what if because you actually tried everything. I tried robotics. I was a sophomore, and I didn’t really know if trying a new thing would work because I was always that one music kid… I don’t think I would’ve had as clear a vision of what I wanted to do with my life without robotics because I would’ve never known that I loved it," Elena Bronder-Chang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Elena Bronder-Chang pursues robotics

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Business Manager
December 13, 2016
Sophomore Rajiv Movva and junior Arjun Subramaniam attend Science Bowl practice as members of the A team. The regional competition of the Science Bowl will take place Saturday, Feb. 6.

Science Bowl teams prepare for upcoming competition

by Devanshi Mehta, Reporter
February 3, 2016
The Walt Disney Co.

Five movies to watch this holiday season

by Devanshi Mehta, Reporter
November 5, 2015
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