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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Katelyn Zhao

Katelyn Zhao, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief

Katelyn Zhao (12) is the co-editor-in-chief of Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. Katelyn aims to honor each of the stories within the Harker community this year, especially those of the graduating Class of 2024. Outside of the newsroom, she enjoys biking, drinking coffee or matcha and reading recommended books from her friends.

All content by Katelyn Zhao
“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

by Jonathan Xue, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
June 11, 2024
“I want to be remembered as someone who was always willing to learn and never took shortcuts to learning. I want to be remembered for someone who really learned because of a passion to learn. Whenever I speak in class, it's because I really do want to share something I hope is meaningful. Or whenever I go see a teacher, it's because I really do want to learn more from them or I want to deepen my connection with them," Desiree Luo ('24) said.

Humans of Harker: Love of learning

by Olivia Xu, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
June 11, 2024
"In all the things that I do, with theater, journalism, and choir, it’s interesting to me how they all give me a window into the real world. I think that sometimes we all get bogged down in negativity but I think the projects that I work on have a real impact on the community. It's inspiring to me and it reminds me that there's a real possibility for change," Selina Xu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Acting with authenticity

by Medha Yarlagadda, Aquila Co-Managing Editor
May 22, 2024
As journalists, one of our primary goals is to honor the people we report on. If we omit compassion, our articles lose life and color, and we fail to do justice to their stories. 

Editor’s Note: Empathy in subjectivity

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief
May 22, 2024
“Playing the cello is refreshing after a day of being at school. It uses a different part of your brain — it’s like a puzzle piece finding all the other fingerings and what to do. I can forget about all my schoolwork and think about something else. It’s
fulfilling to play well," Andrew Tang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Cherishing cello

by Felix Chen, Co-News Editor
May 6, 2024
"International law, international politics doesn't have a constitution, where it's like, this is what you do and this is why you do it. You just go with what's there. And I think that's kind of how we should go about helping people. You don't have a set of rules of how to help crises; you go to the situation, you figure out what's wrong, why it's wrong, and you try to fix it, based off of the context there," Claire Bauschlicher (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Open heart, open mind

by Anika Maji, Staff Reporter
April 24, 2024
“One thing that he said that’s stuck with me is to focus on what you can control in life, and everything else will handle itself. Your effort, your attitude, that you can take care of. For everything else, just do what you can do, and it will take care of itself," Nathan Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Optimism in activism

by Suhani Gupta, Co-A&E and Lifestyle Editor
April 24, 2024
The Class of 2023 laughs while listening to Jack Hsieh's ('23) valedictorian speech. This year’s graduation marked a school milestone, with the Class of 2023 joining alumni as the 20th graduating class.

Class of 2023 graduates at Mountain Winery

by Aishani Singh, Video/Podcast Editor
August 11, 2023
“The most important thing in terms of practicing big pieces is bringing it down to smaller chunks and practicing those smaller chunks. When I practice, I don't usually run through the whole song just because that’s not how you get better. You have to look at smaller sections, get good at those sections, then add it all up to make the whole piece good,” Matthew Chen ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Small steps, big gains

by Katelyn Zhao, Humans of Harker Co-Editor-in-Chief
August 11, 2023
An illustration featuring a cyclist biking down a path. Cycling, in addition to being an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation, is, for many, a sport and a passion.

Cycling onwards: Bikers find their own path

by Emma Milner, Assistant Sports Editor
March 9, 2023
“Golf is a controversial sport with stereotypes attached to it. Growing up, I was always embarrassed to say I [play] golf because of that. Being an Asian girl in the sport is my way of trying to change the game and inspiring other people to hopefully get into golf. It's interesting when I have to play with others and I can hit further than any of them, and that’s when they start thinking that I’m somebody worthy to be their competition,” Claire Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Swinging with style

by Katelyn Zhao, Sports Editor
February 13, 2023
“Whether it be debate, DECA, or teaching, I have to make sure that, yes, I have these ideas, but how do I give these ideas out? Everyone I've met has brilliant ideas, but it's about how you express those ideas so that people will think it's cool, and that's something I'm still trying to learn," April Sun (12) said.

Humans of Harker: To teach with trust

by Katelyn Zhao, Assistant Sports Editor
March 12, 2022
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