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
Katerina Matta

Katerina Matta, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief

Katerina Matta (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she looks forward to experimenting with design and getting to know the staff. In her free time, she enjoys playing beach volleyball and doing crosswords.

All content by Katerina Matta
Rohan Chandra ('15) showcases Bonterra, a company dedicated to developing technology solutions that support social good organizations. As part of his role, Chandra created an app that enables project leads to communicate more effectively with donors and funders.

Spanish teacher Diana Moss sets up altars in Main Hall each year for Dia de los Muertos. “On the altar we have a good number of teachers, including Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and a couple of our English teachers,” Moss said.

Spanish teacher Diana Moss sets up altars in Main Hall each year for Día de los Muertos. “On the altar we have a good number of teachers, including Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and a couple of our English teachers,” Moss said.

Ofrendas, or altars, are a recognizable hallmark in modern celebrations of the holiday that act as a tribute for deceased loved ones. At Harker, Spanish teacher Diana Moss collaborated with the Office of DEI to set up altars in Main Hall in honor of Día de Los Muertos.

Skulls, spirits and stories: Community honors Día de los Muertos

November 3, 2024
Senior Rishi Lalwani enters his ballot in the mock election. AP U.S. Government students took shifts manning the polling booths during their class period.

AP U.S. Government mock election emphasizes youth civic engagement

by Cynthia Xie and Janam Chahal
October 12, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is not a product of poor behavior or habits and is rather rooted in the brain’s chemistry. The condition is largely driven by differences in neurotransmitter activity, particularly dopamine, which controls motivation and reward processing.

Breaking down stigmas, embracing complexity

by Ashley Mo and Janam Chahal
October 12, 2024
Students chat and eat together during lunch. Every day, the kitchen staff serves over a thousand lunches within an hour.

Follow life cycle of food

by Victor Gong, Katerina Matta, Mihir Kotbagi, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Cynthia Xie, and Alison Yang
October 11, 2024
I want to live in a community where even those who disagree with me listen to what I have to say, and I must offer the same courtesy to others. We must offer the same courtesy to others.

Heart of Harker: Inviting the incompatible

by Fern Biswas, Guest Writer
October 11, 2024
Green Team members hold up signs during an on-campus demonstration to bring awareness to the growing climate crisis. Over half of Generation Z has participated in protests at some point in time.

Pulse of the People: Generation Z trailblazes in civic engagement

by Aishani Singh and Hima Thota
October 10, 2024
Lower school flag football team members hold up handmade signs spelling out "EAGLES." Students from all grades packed the audience to support Harker

Live coverage: Harker challenges Anzar High School for Homecoming football game

by Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Eva Cheng, Tiffany Zhu, Sidak Sanghari, Gabe Sachse, Hima Thota, Aishani Singh, Kairui Sun, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Charlie Wang, Suhani Gupta, Claire Yu, Janam Chahal, Mihir Kotbagi, Mendy Mao, Ella Guo, Samuel Tong, Caden Ruan, Sam Li, Lily Peng, Claire Xu, Chelsea Xie, and Katerina Matta
October 5, 2024
MAKE SOME NOISE: Seniors claim a narrow 0.1 dB victory over the junior's score of 121.6 dB in the scream-off. “We were scared to be spirited before [as underclassmen], but we figured out it's ok to be spirited,” Senior relay representative Claire Anderson said. “Just go all out and do it. It's supposed to be yelling, screaming and everything."

WITH PRIDE: Junior advisor Jill Yager raises her fist in celebration. Students also created call and response chants for the rally, like “Who’s the greatest? Who’s the meanest? ‘26 ‘cause we’re the greenest.”

Shlurp has not only made its way to customers, but also taken home a top prize of $5,000 at the INCubatoredu National Pitch Competition. After submitting a video pitch, Shlurp was one of five finalists selected from across the nation to fly to Chicago, where they pitched their company to a panel of judges in July.

Shlurping up success: Student-run business wins big at national pitch competition

by Katerina Matta, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
August 23, 2024
Tucked between Nichols and Dobbins, the giant chessboard is a hotspot for both experienced and amateur chess enthusiasts alike, serving as a bonding activity for students or a battleground for friendly competition.

Campus Compass: Giant chessboard

by Victor Gong and Charlie Wang
August 22, 2024
"The Bell Jar" is the type of book that cannot be spoiled with a plot summary. Even if the reader goes into the book knowing what happens, the experience of reading is just as breathtakingly raw.

Book Corner: Escaping the vacuum

by Suhani Gupta, Co-A&E/Lifestyle Editor
August 18, 2024
Seniors Rei Binkley and Zachary Soraire play "Wavelength." Other offered board games included "Confident' and "Crew."

Class of 2025 reunites at annual Senior Retreat

by Katerina Matta, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief
August 17, 2024
BobbyCostin_KaterinaMatta

Humans of Harker: Coding with care

by Andrew Liang, Co-News Editor
May 23, 2024
This I Believe: Measured in moments

This I Believe: Measured in moments

by Katerina Matta, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
May 4, 2024
Varsity boys volleyball co-captain and outside hitter Zachary Blue (12) receives a serve during their game against Mountain View. The team bested their opponents in a three set sweep.

Senior recap: spring sports highlights

by Tiffany Zhu and Eva Cheng
May 3, 2024
“Research has given me, at least temporarily and hopefully permanently, a life purpose, which sounds really big. It makes me feel as if I’m doing something which is beyond myself. That really resonates with me. Being able to create a solution which potentially could be applied in the real world is really fascinating," Ella Lan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Inventive impact

by Katerina Matta, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief
April 24, 2024
All aboard: Union Station wows locals and tourists alike

All aboard: Union Station wows locals and tourists alike

by Jonathan Xue, Vika Gautham, Katerina Matta, Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Jessica Wang, and Aryana Bharali
April 6, 2024
Theatre for Young America hosts shows for the youth at the City Stage theater in Union Station. TYA celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year.

Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Commemorate Arab American Heritage Month

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
April 1, 2024
Beaming with bulbs: San Francisco Tulip Day draws crowds

Beaming with bulbs: San Francisco Tulip Day draws crowds

by Katerina Matta and Young Min
March 18, 2024
A worker at Tacos Numero Uno hands a customer their food. They offered various Mexican street-style selections.

Come see Chelsea: Eat your way through Chelsea Market

by Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Victor Gong, Isabella Lo, Katerina Matta, Jessica Wang, Alison Yang, and Claire Zhao
March 16, 2024
Despite an underwhelming statistical performance with the team so far, onlookers expect Soto to have a big 2024. The young outfielder fits perfectly into the New York lineup, providing much-needed baserunners for a team that took an all-or-nothing approach in the past.

Game Talk with Gabe: Yankees set to contend in 2024

by Gabe Sachse
March 18, 2024
A group poses for a photo with their tulips. Participants had five minutes to gather their flowers and take any photos before leaving.

Two visitors inspect the bed of pink tulips. Every visitor could take home eight flowers for free.

News editor Felix Chen (12) opens the "Humans of [your school]" presentation during the New York Columbia Scholastic Press Association convention with the mission statement of the Humans of Harker project.

Journalism presents ‘Let’s Eat!’ and ‘Humans of [Your School]’ at CSPA convention

by Katerina Matta and Gabe Sachse
March 15, 2024
Dancer Selina Wang (10) performs in the upper school dance production, with an image of her rehearsing in the background. Despite the intense training required of dancers, many forms of dance strive to hide strain on stage.

Studio grit, stage grace: Dancers debate sport vs. art

by Katerina Matta and Tiffany Zhu
March 15, 2024
Jessica Wang (11) points out areas of interest on illustrations during the "Let's Eat" presentation. “I had a lot of fun talking about how infographics and illustrations work together to make a more cohesive page,” Victor said.

A "Let’s Eat" presentation attendee flips through the third issue of The Winged Post. The presentation shared how to integrate visuals into both print and digital design.

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, will take place this year from Mar. 10 to Apr. 9. Over the thirty days, those who are physically able will fast from sunrise to sunset, fulfilling one of the five pillars of Islam, sawm.

Fasting and faith

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
March 10, 2024
Co-captain and outside hitter Zachary Blue (12) receives a serve. Strong passing allowed the Eagles to run a more diverse offense and create more scoring opportunities on Wednesday.

Boys varsity volleyball sweeps Mountain View in 3-0 shutout

by Katerina Matta
March 8, 2024
Middle Kairui Sun (10) swings off of a quick set. The Eagles aim to emphasize setter-hitter connections as part of their offensive strategy for the season.

Many young athletes battle body dysmorphia, driven by a variety of social and athletic pressures. From dance's strict emphasis on perfect alignment to the double-edged use of "weight classes" in sports like wrestling, body image issues manifest themselves in across a variety of athletic disciplines.

Body dysmorphia pervades athletics

by Eva Cheng and Katerina Matta
March 8, 2024
Co-captain Emily Mitnick (11) looks for the pass out of a double team. Emily made several shots to contribute to the Eagles' comeback.

Varsity girls basketball conquers King’s Academy in fourth quarter resurgence during CCS quarterfinals

by Katerina Matta and Kevin Zhang
February 23, 2024
The class of 2024 cheerleaders pose for a picture with their family members during halftime at the boys varsity basketball game on Feb. 2. The team increased its numbers from three to 15 cheerleaders this year.

Cheer team honors seniors

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
February 15, 2024
A Kicks for Cancer shirt sits atop a fence on Davis Field. Organizers sold shirts to members of the community before the varsity girls and boys soccer games.

Kicks Against Cancer: Soccer teams play with purpose

by Katerina Matta, Emma Milner, and Alison Yang
February 11, 2024
Varsity boys soccer seniors stand with their families and head coach Ryan Masch for a photo. The team overcame SHP 5-0.

Varsity boys soccer notches 5-0 senior night win over Eastside College Prep

by Emma Milner and Katerina Matta
February 10, 2024
Elbow sleeves, special socks, Rice Krispie treats and more comprise some of Harker's student-athletes' sports superstitions. "It’s very important to the game, even though it’s just a Rice Krispie," girls varsity libero Norah Mehanna (11) said.

Superstitions snag success for Harker athletes

by Minal Jalil and Katerina Matta
February 9, 2024
Selina Chen (9) represents her club team while Finley Ho (9) dons a Harker jersey. Both split their time between the varsity girls basketball team and their club teams.

Battling for balance, student-athletes take on club and high school sports

by Katerina Matta and Claire Yu
February 8, 2024
Head Athletic Trainer Wes Howard attaches the electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) machine to Emily Mitnick (11) to treat her injured hamstring. Student athletes frequent the trainer's room before practices and games.

Tech tackles injuries

by Eva Cheng and Katerina Matta
February 8, 2024
Despite its accolades, warning signs about the Pac-12’s future emerged in June 2022, when powerhouse football schools UCLA and USC announced their imminent departure for the Big Ten. Following various failed attempts to negotiate with networks and bring the conference back together, each school bar two finalized plans to join other conferences in the 2024-2025 season.

And then there were two: Pac-12 dissolution ripples through fans, athletes

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
February 2, 2024
Marc Leglise (’03) snaps a selfie from the air using a camera-helmet system. His passion for skydiving connects him to his work at Columbia Sportswear, where as a senior manager of e-commerce technology, he helps people secure the gear he uses in the air.

Blooming from the STEM: Diving into e-commerce

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
January 13, 2024
Veyd Patil pushes during a cross-country race. He often dons unorthodox gear, like his pink sunglasses.

Apex: Chasing limits

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
January 8, 2024

Our immigrant stories

by Ella Yee, Sally Zhu, Ananya Sriram, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Katerina Matta, Gabe Sachse, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, and Claire Zhao
December 14, 2023
As paparazzi photographed them together repeatedly on private outings and Swift began attending Chiefs games, the quasi-couple captured the focus of football fans and Swifties alike. 

Kelce-Swift romance tackles media

by Katerina Matta and Aishani Singh
December 3, 2023
“I love losing. I love messing things up. I love failing. As cliche as it sounds, that is the fastest way for me to learn things, to get better at things. If you’re doing things wrong, and no one ever tells you, or you never lose, you think you’re doing everything right but you might not be," Adrian Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Setting up success

by Katerina Matta, Co-Sports Editor
November 15, 2023
A lunch tray consists of turkey and rice from Mexican Fiesta, swedish meatballs and egg noodles from Main, fresh fruits from the salad bar and a cookie from the Auxiliary Gym. “Because teen athletes are still growing and developing, it’s important to ensure they’re getting enough nutrition and hydration,” registered dietitian Sara Leung said.

Finding fuel formula for teenage athletes

by Eva Cheng and Katerina Matta
November 15, 2023
Elaine Zou (9) serves the ball during the first set. Elaine lost both sets 1-6, 3-6, playing at the fourth singles spot.

Varsity girls tennis defeated by Castilleja 3-4 at ‘team night’

by Vika Gautham and Katerina Matta
October 31, 2023
Mountain View High School's The Oracle Editor-in-Chief Hanna Olson responds to a question during a live interview at the JEA NorCal Media Day. "The [administration] I believe fundamentally was in violation of our rights to publish what we want, what we can legally as a publication,” Hanna said.

‘To publish what we want to publish’: Mountain View High School journalism censorship

by Vika Gautham, Katerina Matta, and Aishani Singh
October 14, 2023
Harker Journalism staff members and advisers pose for a photo in front of the Media Arts Center. 42 staff members attended the convention and participated in over 30 speaker sessions. (Provided by Kristy Blackburn)

Harker journalism participates in JEA NorCal Media Day

by Vika Gautham, Katerina Matta, and Jeremy Peng
October 14, 2023
Kathleen Neumeyer, former adviser of the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle, introduces her book "Advising the Chronicle: How I taught high school journalism students to run billion-dollar companies (and you can too)." She presented the session, "J-ism Is Training for Anything,” which emphasized how journalistic skills are applicable to a wide range of fields.

‘Training for Anything’: From Gaza to sports photography to video journalism

by Felix Chen, Katerina Matta, Aishani Singh, and Claire Yu
October 14, 2023
Executive Director of the Association of Texas Photography Instructors and Harker Journalist-in-Residence Mark Murray points out sports photography basics to journalism students Sid Sanghari (11) and Michelle Wei (12) on Sept. 27. Students practiced taking photos at different locations on campus including Nichols and Davis Field.

“What makes a great photo?”: Mark Murray visits upper school journalism classes

by Katerina Matta, Disha Gupta, and Alison Yang
October 12, 2023
The Harker football team runs through the banner onto Davis Field for the 2023 Homecoming Football Game. The game took place on Saturday at the end of Harker Day.

Live coverage: Harker faces Crystal Springs Uplands for Homecoming game

by Alena Suleiman, Katerina Matta, Desiree Luo, Brandon Zau, Selina Xu, Medha Yarlagadda, Kevin Zhang, Katelyn Zhao, Ariana Goetting, Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Anwen Hao, Sidak Sanghari, Aishani Singh, Hima Thota, Jessica Wang, Alison Yang, Jeremy Peng, Mihir Kotbagi, Claire Yu, and Tiffany Zhu
October 7, 2023
The U.S. Women’s National Team’s (USWNT) fame brings benefits to female sports. “It is really inspiring to see that increase in popularity, attention [and] brand deals with female players,” varsity girls soccer player Sara Glusman (11) said.

“I felt really inspired:” Women’s World Cup ushers in new era

by Gabe Sachse, Katerina Matta, and Saahil Herrero
August 28, 2023

Photo Slideshow Aug. 22

by Margaret Cartee, Gemma Chan, Mirabelle Feng, Charlie Folk, Vika Gautham, Ariana Goetting, Victor Gong, Katerina Matta, Kinnera Mulam, Chayce Milheim, Aishani Singh, Ananya Sriram, Claire Su, Lindsey Tuckey, Olivia Xu, Jonathan Xue, Grant Yang, Ella Yee, Brandon Zau, Claire Zhao, and Kevin Zhang
August 27, 2023
Apex: Competition as Collaboration

Apex: Competition as Collaboration

by Katerina Matta
June 13, 2023
LIFE speaker Julie Lythcott-Haims gestures during the LIFE Assembly in the Zhang Gym on April 19. Students learned the importance of pursuing their passions and living authentically.

Former Stanford Dean speaks to upper school students in LIFE assembly

by Felix Chen, Katerina Matta, and Katie Reed
May 4, 2023
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month with Aquila

by Katerina Matta, Assistant Features Editor
April 3, 2023
Phoebe Castle (11) takes in a work from the "Color Trip: Yoshida Hodaka’s Modern Prints" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco during a field trip on Mar. 27. "I was immediately drawn to the different themes of color in each one of the [prints]," she said.

AP Art History students tour San Francisco Asian Art Museum

by Felix Chen and Katerina Matta
April 3, 2023
Illustration for the "Catching fireflies" piece in this installment of "Life’s Tiny Treasures." For 30 minutes, we were there in the middle of the night, wind and rain in our hair, dancing outdoors in the lamplight, catching fireflies.

Sincerely, spring: Raindrops, fireflies, crows and puppies

by Vika Gautham, Desiree Luo, Katerina Matta, and Ananya Sriram
March 28, 2023
Illustration for the "Puppy love" piece in this installment of "Life’s Tiny Treasures." I passed my day home sick, peering over the mass of fur at my laptop while Tobi slept contentedly with his new furnace.

Puppy love

by Katerina Matta, Assistant Features Editor
March 28, 2023
Upper school French teacher Galina Tchourilova reviews material at the Council for Creative Education (CCE) Finland conference. The conference, which lasted five days, took place over the February break.

‘How to Define Success’: Teachers explore Finnish school system

by Katerina Matta and Vika Gautham
March 16, 2023
Snow lays on the mountains of Mission Peak in Fremont yesterday. A historic California winter storm brought snow and hail to the Santa Cruz Mountains starting Thursday, closing Highway 17 and preventing up to 104 students and faculty from attending school yesterday.

Historic snowfall strikes Bay Area mountains

by Emma Gao, Desiree Luo, Katerina Matta, and Sally Zhu
February 25, 2023
At the center of Japantown towers the five-story concrete Peace Pagoda. The Buddhist stupa was a gift from the former sister city of Osaka, Japan and now serves as an iconic landmark and gathering spot of Japantown.

Out of the nest: A day in Japantown, San Francisco

by Katerina Matta and Alison Yang
February 18, 2023
“The fun part of orchestra is being part of a community. Everyone’s really supportive, and everyone gets to know each other. We all get to make music together combining our individual talents,” Rylan Yang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Personalizing the performance

by Katerina Matta, Asst. Features Editor
February 18, 2023
“I pride myself on sharing [our team’s] ideas and designs with other members of the robotics community. I could be sharing a design with someone, and then the next day we would have to go and compete against them. It's very important because it not only helps other people, but it also helps you learn by trying to explain your ideas to other people,” Nidhya Shivakumar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Building robots, building futures

by Katerina Matta, Asst. Features Editor
February 10, 2023
An illustration of two martial arts students with one performing a kick and the other breaking bricks. "Taekwondo has taught me to be disciplined, dedicated and confident in all I do," martial artist Anika Pallapothu (10) said.

Student to sensei: Mastering the art of self-defense

by Katerina Matta and Kevin Zhang
February 2, 2023
California Republican House Representative Kevin McCarthy was elected House Speaker on Jan. 7 after an unprecedented 15 rounds of voting. McCarthy finally achieved the win with 216 out of 428 votes.

Kevin McCarthy elected House Speaker after unprecedented 15 rounds of voting

by Shareen Chahal and Katerina Matta
January 28, 2023
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