The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“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
“I have the ability to convey my opinions and ideas through art, which in my opinion, is the most powerful tool I have because not everyone has it. It requires me to, first of all, have an opinion or thought, and second of all, be able to convey it with this medium. Together, that is the strongest calling for an artist," senior Eva Li said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in abstraction
"I like challenging myself to really, really high expectations and then surprisingly, somehow it works, and I think I have the most fun doing that. Rather than making a beginner thing, I wanna be the best .I wanna do the craziest thing first," senior Gabe Li said.
Humans of Harker: B-roll to your beat
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
Isha Moorjani

Isha Moorjani, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief

Isha Moorjani (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Isha is excited to manage Aquila’s coverage and build strong bonds with everybody on staff. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, playing the guitar and spending time with her family.
All content by Isha Moorjani
“I will spend many hours just writing one line of a poem, and that line might not even go anywhere; it might not even become a poem. I learned to not treat time as wasted, but to treat it as care and energy that I'm sharing with the page. This translated into my life with not feeling guilty about spending extra time on something: these are moments where I was present fully, and I was immersed in my experience enough for it to last and extend beyond what I thought it would be. I'm learning to see that as a beautiful thing,” Sarah Mohammed (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Leading with grace

by Isha Moorjani, Co-Editor-in-Chief
February 27, 2023
Storm water flows in the Cosumnes River in Michigan Bar, California. Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Jan. 16 to support the emergency response to the series of winter storms that have afflicted the state since the end of December and to provide aid to communities impacted by the storms.

Governor Newsom signs executive order for storm relief

by Anika Maji and Isha Moorjani
February 10, 2023

Photo Slideshow Jan. 18

by Charlie Folk, Victor Gong, Jasleen Hansra, Angelina Hu, Edward Huang, Yifan Li, Isha Moorjani, Olivia Xu, Selina Xu, Alison Yang, Brandon Zau, Claire Zhao, Sabrina Zhu, Sally Zhu, and Jessica Tang
February 9, 2023

Photo Slideshow Jan. 11

by Arjun Barrett, Aryana Bharali, Margaret Cartee, Vivian Chen, Mirabelle Feng, Charlie Folk, Emma Gao, Vika Gautham, Ariana Goetting, Edward Huang, Yifan Li, Isha Moorjani, Katie Reed, Jessica Tang, Lindsey Tuckey, and Katie Wang
February 9, 2023
Cards with encouraging messages were displayed around campus during Wellness Week. “We all wrote down some kind of encouraging phrases on notecards to put around school,” Sonya Apsey (11) said. “It was really nice to see our advisory bonding over something [we] normally wouldn’t get an opportunity to talk about, and I think Wellness Week gave [us] that opportunity.”

Wellness Week: LIFE lessons with LIFE Board

by Shareen Chahal and Isha Moorjani
December 14, 2022
Harker Aquila's guide to the 2022 Midterm Elections. This year's midterms were held on Nov. 8.

Harker Aquila’s Guide to the 2022 Midterms

by Sally Zhu, Isha Moorjani, Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Felix Chen, and Kinnera Mulam
November 8, 2022

The Race in the Senate

by Isha Moorjani
November 8, 2022

Key Congressional races to track in the midterms

by Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Anika Maji, and Isha Moorjani
November 8, 2022
“[High school is] finite but not finite. It's finite in the sense that it's going to eventually end. If you realize the finiteness of it, you learn to value the experiences you gain from it more, but it's somewhat infinite too because the influences you gain from high school and the experiences of your high school journey are not over once you graduate high school," Austina Xu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Expressing the infinite through the finite

by Isha Moorjani, Co-Editor-in-Chief
October 31, 2022
Seniors Pranav Mullappalli, Rigo Gonzales, Zain Vakath, BB Ajlouny and Nikhil Devireddy pose for a picture at the photo booth in the Nichols Rotunda. The upper school hosted its annual Homecoming Dance in Nichols Hall on Oct. 14 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Shimmering and shimmying: Homecoming dance lights up the night

by Kevin Zhang and Isha Moorjani
October 27, 2022
Rohan Gorti (12) rushes past a defender at the varsity football team's Homecoming Game on Saturday. Rohan ran the ball from the left sideline to score the Eagles' first touchdown of the night.

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
The Pearl Post adviser Adriana Chavira speaks to student journalists at the Journalism Education Association (JEA) NorCal Media Day at Palo Alto High School today. “There’s a section of the Ed Code 48907 that protects advisers from retaliation,” Chavira said. “That was added about 15 years ago. The Ed Code 48907 was actually added back in the late 70s, and [it’s] the first such law for student journalists in the country. We're lucky we have this: it’s giving you First Amendment protections.”

‘This is so much bigger than just our publication’

by Isha Moorjani and Olivia Xu
September 24, 2022
A chair leans against the door of upper school English teacher Susanne Salhab's room to act as a barricade during today's campus lockdown. After the lockdown from approximately 5 p.m. to 6:10 p.m., police have cleared the campus of a potential threat.

Upper school activates lockdown, campus “all clear”

by Isha Moorjani, Felix Chen, Sally Zhu, and Tiffany Chang
September 13, 2022
Freshman students read the matriculation oath while standing up. Upper school students and faculty gathered on Davis Field for the 2022-23 Matriculation ceremony on Friday to welcome the incoming class of 2026 and mark the commencement of the new academic year.

Matriculation ceremony welcomes Class of 2026 to upper school

by Isha Moorjani and Sally Zhu
August 23, 2022
Two chairs are pushed against the door in the Nichols 307 classroom during the shelter-in-place (SIP) at the upper school campus today. The school activated SIP this afternoon after an unarmed intruder entered the campus, and all students and staff are safe.

Upper school activates shelter-in-place, all students, staff safe

by Emma Gao, Isha Moorjani, Sally Zhu, and Sabrina Zhu
June 22, 2022
“Community involvement is a huge part of what I do now. It did help me become more outspoken, but more than that, what it's done for me is made me feel fulfilled. Seeing the tangible things I can do in my community and seeing the effects that I can have is so incredible to me. Knowing that I can mentor reporters or host a toiletries drive for homeless shelters, it makes me feel really fulfilled," Lucy Ge (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A driving force

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
May 10, 2022
Sporting a yellow class shirt, junior Richard Zhang delivers a response to a question asked by junior class dean Karl Kuehn. Prior to the question and answer session, the junior class could view candidates responses to a set of five questions.

Freshmen, sophomores, juniors elect class council and SAB representatives

by Ananya Sriram, Isha Moorjani, Katerina Matta, and Jessica Wang
April 30, 2022
Elvis Han (12) adds a chair to the barricade of Upper School Science Department Chair Anita Chetty's period 6 Honors Human Anatomy and Physiology class on Monday. Upper school students and staff participated in a “Run, Hide and Defend” drill to practice emergency response protocol from 10:20 to 10:50 a.m. on Monday.

Upper school community practices lockdown drill

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
April 20, 2022
This article tells the stories of students' personal experiences relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impacts in sports, music and health. Solitude became our reality from March of 2020 to June of 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued on, and more social connection has emerged out of the return to in-person learning this school year.

‘A reality check’: Students share their personal stories with COVID-19

by Sarah Mohammed and Isha Moorjani
March 31, 2022
A voting sign stands outside the journalism room for elections for the Class of 2025 on Oct. 1. Voting for ASB elections will take place in the journalism room tomorrow from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Associated Student Body (ASB) election speeches to take place tomorrow

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
March 27, 2022
Upper school mathematics teacher Jeanette Fernandez sways her blue skirt to a Mexican folk dance, “Las Abajeñas.” Fernandez performs this dance every year at Spanish Cultural Night, which made a return in-person this year on March 11.

¡Música, comida, baile!: Spanish National Honor Society hosts return of Spanish Cultural Night

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
March 26, 2022
Nationally-recognized diversity practitioner and consultant and adult session speaker Toni Graves Williamson presents on turning fragility into agility through steps such as self-reflection and being willing to listen to others. More than 50 people attended this year's Student Diversity Leadership Gathering, and attendees from the Harker community were joined by students and teachers from other schools such as Menlo High School and the Kirby School in Santa Cruz.

Student Diversity Coalition holds fourth annual Student Diversity Leadership Gathering

by Julie Shi and Isha Moorjani
March 21, 2022
Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group based in Afghanistan, on Aug. 15, 2021 after the Afghan government collapsed as then-president Ashraf Ghani fled the country. To understand the complexity of the current situation means to trace the ridges of Afghanistan, means to be aware of the country where we stand and to see what America has done to the history of a nation across the world from ours.

‘It almost felt like a funeral for my country’

by Sarah Mohammed, Lucy Ge, Olivia Xu, and Isha Moorjani
March 7, 2022
Demonstrators at the Global Day of Action Sidewalk Vigil hold up signs supporting a ceasefire in Ukraine. The San Jose Peace and Justice Center organized the event yesterday at the intersection of the Winchester and Stevens Creek Boulevards in San Jose and provided signs to participants.

ASB initiates Ukrainian aid fundraiser effort

by Isha Moorjani and Nicole Tian
March 7, 2022
Brendon Hayes (9) and Akul Goyal (9), members of Harker Robotics' mechanical and machining team, wear masks inside Nichols as they run the router during Robotics' weekend work session today. As of April 18, Harker will no longer require middle and upper school community members to wear masks indoors.

BREAKING: Harker announces end of indoor masking requirement starting April 18

by Isha Moorjani and Ananya Sriram
March 5, 2022
(Left) Paul Barsky will become Head of Upper School and visit campus this spring. (Right) Academic Dean Kelly Horan will become Assistant Head of School.

New Head of Upper School appointed for next school year

by Edward Huang, Isha Moorjani, and Nicole Tian
February 24, 2022
“I want to be remembered as someone who hopefully helped other people be better. I want to be a good influence on [people]. I want to be a friend who makes you a better person," Alexa Lowe (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Team player

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
February 23, 2022
Medha Yarlagadda (10) and Brandon Zau (10) listen to Associated Press (AP) Photo Editor Jon Elswick speak about his background in photojournalism and his role in covering the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol during period three journalism class. “Being a journalist is one of the highest callings that you can have,” Elswick said. “I am always keenly aware that I am sitting in that front row seat to history, and it's my job to tell the story, whether I'm doing it from behind a camera, or from in front of a computer editing somebody else's work that I'm showing, and it's my job to let other people see what is going on.”

AP Photo Editor discusses Jan. 6 coverage with Harker Journalism classes

by Emma Gao and Isha Moorjani
February 23, 2022
A technician from Inspire Diagnostics gives directions to students before taking their COVID-19 tests. Testing will take place weekly on Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Nichols rotunda.

Upper school implements weekly COVID-19 testing for all students

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
February 9, 2022
Art Club town hall attendees listen to the presentation of potential ideas and designs for the Quad mural. The Art Club plans to open voting of the final design for students and faculty on Feb. 28 through March 4.

Art Club hosts second town hall for community discussion of Quad mural designs

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
February 8, 2022
The Eagles lead 1-0 with eight minutes and ten seconds left to play in the first half.

Varsity boys soccer team shuts out Woodside Priory 3-0

by Lucy Ge, Co-Managing Editor
January 24, 2022
Upper school Dean of Students Kevin Williamson introduces upper school security guard Josh Conti, who followed Williamson with more advice about parking lot safety, reminding students to not risk their safety when rushing to class in the morning and to walk on the sidewalks. Conti also urged both students and faculty to not text and drive, sharing a personal anecdote from when he was hit by a driver who was texting while driving.

School meeting recap 1/5/22: Traffic and safety, Kicks Against Cancer and Student Directed Showcase

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
January 11, 2022
The vaccination site at Santa Clara County Fairgrounds administers COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots on Tuesday. The omicron variant is spreading at a rapid rate across the U.S. as Santa Clara County reported its first case last Thursday, with the variant estimated to constitute three percent of all COVID-19 cases nationwide as of yesterday.

Omicron spreads at rate ‘not seen with any previous variant’ as Santa Clara County detects first case

by Isha Moorjani and Sabrina Zhu
December 16, 2021
From left to right, upper school science department chair Anita Chetty, upper school chemistry teacher Dr. Mala Raghavan, computer science teacher Anu Datar, attendance coordinator Ritu Raj, upper school mathematics teacher Dr. Anu Aiyer and upper school computer science teacher Marina Peregrino dress in traditional garments to celebrate Diwali. This year, the holiday occurred on Nov. 5.

Triumph of light over darkness: Students, faculty celebrate Diwali

by Emma Gao and Isha Moorjani
November 30, 2021
Boondi laddus, besan laddus and jalebis sit ready for customers at Apna Bazar in Sunnyvale on Nov 16. These are some of the many sweets that people eat during Diwali.

Charis Denison, expert in adolescent development and community involvement, gives an in-person presentation to the junior class about "Relationships, Substances, Sex, Communication, and Your Rights.” She previously spoke to the class two years ago, when they were freshmen.

Students attend class-respective LIFE speaker events

by Kinnera Mulam, Edward Huang, Arely Sun, and Sabrina Zhu
November 29, 2021
“I'm thankful for jazz because it brought me back to the violin in a roundabout way. Everything you're singing, if you're truly in the moment, it's coming out of your music and what you think is right in that moment, and no one can take that away [from] you and no one can be the best at it technically. So that reminded me that I might not be technically the best [at] the violin, but I'm the best at my interpretation of music,” Malar Bala (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Getting in tune

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
November 7, 2021
Seniors Alice Feng, Arely Sun and Erica Cai watch Quadchella acts on Oct. 20 during long lunch. This year's fall Quadchella has been divided into two parts, with the nine performances on Wednesday completing only the first Quadchella event of the 2021-2022 school year. Students and faculty can anticipate another Quadchella to come Nov. 4.

Fall Quadchella attracts students and faculty to enjoy music and talent

by Claire Bauschlicher, Reporter
October 28, 2021
Claire Su (10) adds details to the sophomore eagle breast, which sports a wash of black paint in accordance to the sophomore class color. Both the morning Spirit block period and Spirit Night on Friday gave students the opportunity to finish their eagle painting before the 6 p.m. deadline that evening.

Upper school community enjoys eagle painting, karaoke and candy at annual Spirit Night

by Emily Tan, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
October 3, 2021
Mark Murray speaks to Director of Journalism Ellen Austin's seventh period Yearbook class yesterday regarding how to effectively organize coverage. During his presentation, he also gave tips on sports photography and suggested naming conventions to keep uploads organized.

Executive Director of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors visits journalism classes

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
September 30, 2021
Gary Ding, one of the junior Honor Council representatives, shares his thoughts on a sticky note to display in Manzanita Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

Honor Council hosts annual Honor Week activities

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
September 28, 2021
Senior honor council representatives Rohan Thakur, Alexa Lowe and Arely Sun announce Honor Week. An underclassman and an upperclassman can pair up, find a similarity with each other and submit a selfie together throughout the week for spirit points.

School meeting recap 9/16/21: Honor Week, Herald and Homecoming themes

by Isha Moorjani and Lucy Ge
September 21, 2021
Two volunteers help a voter submit his California Gubernatorial recall ballot at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish polling center in San Jose. On Sept. 14, reigning democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated a GOP-led recall attempt, remaining in office.

Voters reject recall attempt, Gavin Newsom to remain in office

by Nicole Tian, Isha Moorjani, and Alysa Suleiman
September 15, 2021
Jessica Tang (11) speaks during the town hall. "At school, we're here to learn about ourselves, and I think it's most important that we have a safe place for us to learn how to express ourselves," Jessica said.

Upper school community holds town hall meeting to discuss community expectations regarding free dress

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
September 12, 2021
Student Diversity Coalition representatives Uma Iyer (12) and Brooklyn Cicero (12) introduce Challenge Day on Friday. “[Challenge Day] was truly a transformative experience,” Brooklyn said in her speech. “It brought me a lot closer to my peers and allowed me to get very vulnerable with them, something that was a bit hard to do at first, but eventually I got used to it.”

Student Diversity Coalition announces Challenge Day event for juniors and seniors

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
September 7, 2021
Junior class council representative and head of the Campus Life Committee Kris Estrada (11), senior class council representative Sujith Pakala (12) and sophomore class council representative Anaya Mandal (10) provided reminders to the school community, such as putting bowls, plates, trays and utensils away properly.

School meeting recap 8/31/21: Dress code, carpooling and casting

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor
September 5, 2021
Former Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was sworn in today as the 57th governor of New York and the state’s first female governor. 

Kathy Hochul replaces former NY governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid 11 sexual harassment allegations

by Erica Cai and Isha Moorjani
August 24, 2021
Sophomores traveled to the Blackford campus on Thursday for their in-person orientation. The day consisted of various bonding activities in advisory groups.

Sophomores meet in-person for first time during orientation, junior class trip cancelled due to nearby fires

by Sally Zhu and Isha Moorjani
August 22, 2021
Head of School Brian Yager reviews the Harker Community Town Hall agenda. The town hall included discussions about the progress made so far, the AIM survey results, reflections and a question and answer session.

Town hall sparks conversations for embracing diversity and inclusion

by Sarah Mohammed and Isha Moorjani
June 22, 2021

Varsity boys volleyball team sweeps Prospect 3-0 to win CCS Championship

by Sarah Mohammed and Isha Moorjani
June 11, 2021
“Don't look for a time to enjoy your life, don't look for a time to have fun. If you're going to keep on waiting for the perfect time to do something, you're never going to get that time, so always try to enjoy and to live,” Shray Alag (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Embracing all outlets

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
April 22, 2021
I started to learn calligraphy two years ago, but I found that I never had much time to practice other than the occasional doodle whenever I had a few minutes of free time. In quarantine, I had more time to practice and use calligraphy as a way to relax, and it has become a defining aspect of 2020 for me.

How we overcame the unknown of 2020

by Harker Journalism Staff
April 17, 2021
John Near scholar Saloni Shah (12) shares her research on the Nuclear Freeze Movement in the 20th century during her scholar salon on March 10. “The Near Mitra Chen Lin program is really impactful because it gives you the harmony between being a scholar and a student,” Saloni said in an interview before her salon.

Near Mitra Chen Lin scholars present results in inaugural virtual salons

by Isha Moorjani, Assistant News Editor
April 7, 2021
Seventy-four upper school students received regional awards in the 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition, with the results announced on January 28. The Scholastic Art and Writing awards is a competition held annually in which students can submit various works of art and writing in a variety of categories.

Upper school students recognized in annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

by Isha Moorjani, Winged Post Asst. News Editor
February 28, 2021
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Global Headlines (Issue 4)

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
February 15, 2021
Isha Moorjani (10) and Keesha Gondipalli (10)’s Introduction to Ethnic Studies project focuses on U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind.

New semester electives offer unique opportunities for students in the 2020-21 academic year

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
February 10, 2021
Isha Moorjani (10) and Keesha Gondipalli (10)’s Introduction to Ethnic Studies project focuses on U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind.

“What I like most about [soccer] is just seeing my team improve along with me throughout the four years of high school because in freshman year, most of us were [junior varsity] … and just seeing us all progress to the varsity team and become varsity players, [is] what I enjoy most about it,” Tuhin Chatterjee (12) said. 

Humans of Harker: Friendly competition

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
January 8, 2021
Yemenis play music at a cultural club in Aden, Yemen. The conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi Arabian coalition has largely affected the civilian population of Yemen, with many facing famine, disease, poverty and a lack of access to education.

Yemenis face poverty, famine as ongoing civil war leaves 112,000 dead

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
December 21, 2020
Neeli Cherkovski, renowned Beat Generation poet, speaks to students in Charles Shuttleworth’s Jack Kerouac class on Thursday, Dec. 1 during first period. Cherkovski read from his newest poetry book, "Hang on to the Yangtze River," and also spoke about his life journey with poetry.

The Poet’s Project: Beat Generation author Neeli Cherkovski finds the world through poetry

by Sarah Mohammed and Isha Moorjani
December 8, 2020
Republicans are currently leading in the Senate 50-48 with two Georgia seats remaining undecided.

Election update: Senate control up for grabs, Democrats retain thin margin in House

by Lucy Ge and Isha Moorjani
November 18, 2020

Election 2020 results: Live reactions

by Alysa Suleiman, Anna Vazhaeparambil, Erica Cai, Isha Moorjani, Lucy Ge, Michael Eng, Nicholas Wei, Sabrina Zhu, Sally Zhu, Sarah Mohammed, and Sriya Batchu
November 7, 2020
Rep. Anna Eshoo of California's 18th district speaks to Harker faculty and students for Civic Tech Club's speaker event. Civic Tech Club president Deeya Viradia (10) asked Eshoo questions, and attendees put their own questions into the chat about cyberbullying and the role of technology in everyday lives.

Representative Anna Eshoo emphasizes student innovation during Civic Tech Club speaker event

by Isha Moorjani and Lucy Ge
November 3, 2020
POLL-itics: Faculty perspectives

POLL-itics: Faculty perspectives

by Isha Moorjani and Sarah Mohammed
November 3, 2020
“I feel like volunteering is always important. I know Harker has the volunteering requirements, but honestly if they didn’t have that, I would still be volunteering because it’s just helping your community, which is something I’m passionate about. I want to work in the medical field when I’m older, which is also helping people, and I just feel like they fit together well,” Sophie Durn (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Always there for you

by Isha Moorjani, Winged Post Asst. News Editor
November 2, 2020
The sophomore Class of 2017 eagle stands in front of the journalism room. “It allows a group of students who are often not as gregarious and outgoing … to have different ways of showing spirit, and that’s my favorite aspect of it,” Jeffrey Draper, freshman class dean and performing arts teacher at the upper school, said.

Campus Compass: Painting Homecoming eagles

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
October 16, 2020
26 people attended a joint workshop held by HELM and the Honor Council on Friday. It opened with a casual conversation detailing what is going to be covered.

Honor council and HELM host plagiarism workshop to discuss ethics

by Sarah Mohammed, Isha Moorjani, and Lucy Ge
October 5, 2020
Bright red apples dipped in rich, golden honey and a spiraling challah, or type of bread, sit on a table as part of a celebration of Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish holiday where observers celebrate the start of a new year. Both of these foods are intrinsic traditions of this holiday.

Celebrating Jewish holidays: Students and faculty celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

by Isha Moorjani, Asst. News Editor
October 3, 2020
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