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
Kacey Fang

Kacey Fang, Winged Post Managing Editor

Kacey Fang (12) is the Managing Editor for The Winged Post. She has been part of the journalism program since freshman year and served as Features Editor and Copy Editor previously. She spends her slowly dwindling free time running, reading, writing, drawing, indulging in undeserved breaks, and referencing obscurely.

All content by Kacey Fang
The CollegeBoard prepares and oversees standardized testing and advanced placement examinations across the country. Questions and concerns have been raised regarding the organization, and the validity of its "non-profit" status.

AP exams generate mixed responses from student body and faculty

by Kacey Fang, Tara Parimi, and Emma Yu
May 15, 2015
Screen Shot 2015-05-04 at 8.24.51 AM

Rising college costs affect seniors’ choices

by Elisabeth Siegel, Kacey Fang, Kavya Ramakrishnan, and Emma Yu
May 2, 2015
Allison Kiang (12) helps clean up after the event. The concert ended up raising over $600 in cash donations.

Changing the PACE of autism

by Kacey Fang, Winged Post Managing Editor
April 27, 2015
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses an audience of over 5,000 at the Lead On Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women. Twenty students attended the event Tuesday.

Twenty students attend Lead On Conference for Women

by Kacey Fang, Winged Post Managing Editor
February 26, 2015
The Gender Gap: Why women in STEM get lost along the pipeline

The Gender Gap: Why women in STEM get lost along the pipeline

by Kacey Fang and Elisabeth Siegel
February 3, 2015
Center midfielder Kailee Gifford (10) dribbles the ball in the first half of today’s game against Menlo. Kailee scored the Eagles’ lone goal today, bringing the score to 1-4.

Girl’s varsity soccer kicks off league play, loses 1-4 to Menlo

by Apoorva Rangan and Kacey Fang
January 14, 2015
History teacher Dr. Ruth Meyer to be published for paper on her experiences as a woman at Oxford.

Dr. Meyer to be published for paper on her experiences as a woman at Oxford

by Kacey Fang, Winged Post Managing Editor
December 22, 2014

Crisis reporting: Journalism versus advocacy

by Kacey Fang and Vasudha Rengarajan
November 6, 2014
Elizabeth Edwards (11) greets an incoming student as she and other athletes hold signs and wave pom-poms during the Curbside Crazy Event. The event is held to help support the construction of the new Events center.

Curbside Crazy event supports new gym and events center

by Kacey Fang and Ashley Jiang
September 20, 2014
Felix Wu (12) marches as part of Congressman Mike Honda's team at the 4th of July Rose, White and Blue Parade in San Jose. Felix currently serves as field director on Anthony Phan's run for East Side Union High School District Board.

Minors make major political change

by Kacey Fang, Winged Post Managing Editor
September 3, 2014
WORDS OF WISDOM: Kevin Duraiswamy (12) will deliver a speech at the graduation ceremony, while Efrey Noten (12) was selected to address juniors and seniors at Baccalaureate.

Graduation and Baccalaureate speakers named

by Kacey Fang and Elisabeth Siegel
May 16, 2014
Students line up in front of the journalism room for codes to access computers to vote. Candidates for the junior class especially differed this year due to class officers who were elected to join the ASB Council.

Freshman to junior classes vote for next year’s class officers

by Arden Hu and Kacey Fang
April 24, 2014
Documentary filmmaker and journalist Laura Castañeda addresses a roomful of student journalists at a convention in the Bayfront Hilton in San Diego. In her keynote speech, she discussed her work on her documentary The Devil’s Breath and encouraged budding journalists.

Emmy-winning broadcast journalist gives keynote address at convention

by Elisabeth Siegel and Kacey Fang
April 10, 2014
Ryan Palmer (11) competes in one of his events. Varsity swimmers competed against King's Academy today at a home meet.

Swimmers compete against King’s Academy

by Kacey Fang, Winged Post Features Editor
March 27, 2014
Boys varsity swimmers start off their events with a dive in their meet against King's Academy. Swimming is one of eight varsity spring sports.

Spring Sports Update

by Juhi Gupta and Kavya Ramakrishnan
April 4, 2014
Q&A with Karen Korematsu

Q&A with Karen Korematsu

by Kacey Fang
April 5, 2014
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Karen Korematsu visits Japanese and Study of Visual Arts classes

by Alex Jang and Daphne Liang
April 5, 2014
Chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine showcases the school's tarantula, which fascinates the speakers. After admiring the other animals in Irvine's room, Mary Beth Tinker and Karen Korematsu signed armbands and shirts and answered questions in the Cyber Loft.

Tinker Tour and Karen Korematsu visit the Upper School

by Vasudha Rengarajan, Aquila Features Editor
April 5, 2014
Intel finalist presents at capital

Intel finalist presents at capital

by Kacey Fang
April 5, 2014
Seniors Dora Tzeng and Elizabeth Teng eat lunch in the bustling Edge. After lunch each day, the kitchen staff evaluates how well the student body cleaned up after itself.

Trash System Updated

by Shannon Su and Vineet Kosaraju
April 4, 2014
editorial

Editorial: Shifting the scale towards gender balance

by Winged Post Editorial Staff
March 12, 2014
DSC_2318

Q+A profile with Varsity swimmer Kimberly Ma

by Elisabeth Siegel
March 27, 2014
Several volunteers conducted a protest of the SCA-5 amendment outside the Cupertino library.

Community protests SCA-5 at Cupertino library

by Kacey Fang
March 12, 2014
Director of Admission and Financial Aid Nan Bassoni works on reading and rating applicant files. Decisions for next year's Upper School students will be released tomorrow and contracts are due on March 21.

Admissions office releases decisions

by Kacey Fang
March 12, 2014
Jordan Thompson (9) passes the ball to teammate Nithya Vemireddy (12) in the Eagles’ 58-49 winning game against Oceana High School on Feb. 25. Jordan scored 13 points throughout the game.

Athletes of the Month

by Mariam Sulakian, Aquila News Editor
March 12, 2014
Upper School debaters discuss their arguments after five rounds of alternating stances on the issue of having single gender classrooms for public schools. The state-qualifying tournament for public forum was held yesterday and today at Leland High School.

Public forum teams debate in state qualifier on the issue of single gender classrooms

by Kacey Fang
March 10, 2014
Math teacher Victor Adler demonstrates the 3D printer located in his room. He has used this gadget in his classes to demonstrate 3D modeling.

New, innovative products unveiled at CES

by Kacey Fang and Alexis Gauba
January 27, 2014
Regina Chen (12) looks for a way to get across the court amid a sea of opponents. The team won their first round of CCS playoffs 58-49.

Varsity Girls’ Basketball Defeats Oceana 58-49

by Tiara Bhatacharya
February 25, 2014
photo

Social media in Sochi

by Shannon Su, Mariam Sulakian, Anokhi Saklecha, and Trisha Dwivedi
February 7, 2014

The Women’s Revolution

by Vasudha Rengarajan, Kacey Fang, and Sindhu Ravuri
February 5, 2014

School meeting recap – 2/3

by Maya Jeyendran, Global Editor
February 3, 2014
Katie Gu is thrown out of the water by her teammates. She is planning on synchronized swimming at Stanford and is training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Q&A with Stanford-bound synchronized swimmer Katie Gu

by Shannon Su, Mercedes Chien, and Kacey Fang
January 21, 2014
After seniors have been eliminated from the game, the remaining students circle the three chairs, waiting for the right moment to spring for one. Students from all grades participated in today's spirit event during both lunches, which consisted of a variation of the game musical chairs.

Freshmen win the musical chairs spirit event

by Stephanie Chen and Kacey Fang
September 24, 2013

HELM for sale: This year’s literary magazine published

by Kacey Fang
May 13, 2013
Award-winning filmmaker and director Gary King and Broadway and film actress Christina Rose animatedly discuss their experiences working the stage and big screen. For students attending the workshop, the talk informed them of the joys and challenges of being in the current entertainment industry.

Filmmaker and Broadway actress share stories of lights, camera, and action

by Kacey Fang
March 30, 2013
With a larger size from the addition of winter sports athletes, the lacrosse team warms up with cardiovascular exercises and basic drills. The practices are currently geared towards familiarizing players with the game, and it will soon transition to team drills and plays.

Spring sports: Lacrosse gets into gear with addition of winter athletes

by Kacey Fang
February 21, 2013
Following this HELM issue of the previous year, the literary magazine's creators are gearing up for another production. As a school-wide art and writing magazine, HELM melds each art form into a coherent and diverse representation.

SACC: HELM melds art and writing into unique magazine

by Kacey Fang and Sabrina Sidhu
January 16, 2013
Cast members of D.N.A. discuss chilling plans in this darkly dramatic play. Student Directed Showcase kicked off their performances on January 4, the opening night.

SDS sets off its annual performance on opening night

by Kacey Fang
January 5, 2013
Seniors Tiphaine Delepine and Nikhil Panu sell candy grams during lunch as part of the "Candy for Sandy" fundraiser. Proceeds will benefit Hurricane Sandy victims as well as the senior class.

Senior class holds Candy for Sandy fundraiser

by Kacey Fang
December 3, 2012
Upper School Director of Instrumental Music, Chris Florio, leads the Jazz Band in the head of the Panoply of Chaos parade during long lunch on Halloween day. The parade also gave the chance for the classes to display their Homecoming floats.

Homecoming parade displays class floats and costumes

by Kacey Fang
October 31, 2012
English teacher Alexandra Rosenboom keeps rats Tyrone and Clarissa as classroom pets. In addition to chameleons, geckos, and tarantulas, animals on campus provide unique elements to the classroom.

Class pets add a dimension of fun

by Kacey Fang and Apoorva Rangan
October 19, 2012
Junior Nathan Dhablania lights a candle, signifying his commitment to the National Honor Society's values of leadership, scholarship, service, and character. Held in the Nichols Auditorium on Tuesday, October 16, the NHS induction ceremony welcomed 50 new members this year.

NHS induction ceremony welcomes 50 new members

by Kacey Fang
October 16, 2012
Review: Pitch Perfect – 4/5 stars

Review: Pitch Perfect – 4/5 stars

by Kacey Fang
October 5, 2012
Students participate in archery

Students participate in archery

by Kacey Fang
April 20, 2012
Hunger Games review - 4/5 Stars

Hunger Games review – 4/5 Stars

by Kacey Fang
March 30, 2012
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