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

Megan Cardosi , TALON Sports Editor

Megan Cardosi is a junior and Sports Editor for TALON Yearbook. This is Megan’s third year on staff. In her free time, Megan enjoys playing volleyball, watching Netflix, and listening to music.

All content by Megan Cardosi
"I started doing yoga at CorePower, and at first, I really didn’t like it because I’ve never been really coordinated," Vanessa Tyagi (12) said. "I’m really bad at dancing; flexibility: I have none. I’m kind of just this stiff pole. I walked into this yoga studio, and I was so self-conscious of myself. I went alone, and I was putting myself in this very uncomfortable situation, but I think when I started to enjoy it, that’s when I felt successful. I found happiness in it. And I’m not that bad anymore. I can actually move, and I don’t look like I’m in pain every time I’m doing a position."

Humans of Harker: Vanessa Tyagi builds purposeful habits

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Student Life and Sports Managing Editor
April 2, 2018
“When my brother and I were younger, we would watch Disney movies together and that was the only thing that bonded us because we hated each other at that point,” Sameep Mangat (12) said. “He always called himself Tigger because he thought that Tigger embodied his personality and he thought it was super representative of his bounciness and his love of life and the fact that he gave hugs to people and that he was this really bright person. I wanted a way to fit into that story, so I assigned myself Eeyore just because at that time in my life, I liked to describe myself as being emotionally deep and sort of sad, but more reserved in that sense. We became Eeyore and Tigger and we called our life the Hundred Acre Story.”

Humans of Harker: Sameep Mangat seeks out stories

by Megan Cardosi, Student Life Editor & Sports Managing Editor
February 22, 2018
“I wouldn’t say that I ever put on a facade for anyone. I’ve noticed that a lot of people see it as weak to show your emotions, to show that you’re either super happy or super sad, or just need someone to talk to, but I don’t really see that as the case," Lauren Napier (12) said. "If there’s a problem that I’m having, I’m not afraid to talk to my friends about it or my teachers about it. If I’m really stressed, I’m not afraid to admit that my classes are getting too hard or that the workload is too much. So I guess I’m just not afraid to show the emotions that I have to everyone around me.”

Humans of Harker: Lauren Napier stays disciplined

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Student Life and Sports Managing Editor
January 2, 2018
“I think the biggest thing I was forgetting to think about is what I truly believed in,” Eleanor Xiao (12) said. "Even though I guess I’m pretty sociable, I think that made me scared to be opinionated because I didn’t want to rub anyone the wrong way. Because I was so scared of voicing my opinion, it just turned into a point where I didn’t really have any opinions. For a while, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m just taking everyone into account,’ but eventually, I realized it was just me escaping the possibility of not being liked by everyone.”

Humans of Harker: Eleanor Xiao opens up about empathy

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Student Life Editor & Sports Managing Editor
October 26, 2017
The team plays defense against Cupertino High School. This was their second non-league game of the season.

Varsity football team beats Cupertino High in first home game

by Megan Cardosi and Cameron Zell
September 2, 2017
Isabella Spradlin (12) jumps up to hit the ball against the Branham Bruins. Isabella is one of five seniors on the team this season and has played on the varsity team since her sophomore year.

Varsity girls’ volleyball loses to Branham in three sets

by Megan Cardosi, Talon Student Life Editor and Sports Managing Editor
August 25, 2017
Green Team members Anvi Banga (9), Anika Banga (11) and Satchi Thockchom (11) sell baked goods during office hours. The funds went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Green Team hosts club week for David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
April 21, 2017
Jonathan Schwartz (12) jump serves the ball. Jonathan played the positions of setter and opposite, or right-side, hitter.

Varsity boys’ volleyball defeats Los Gatos in four sets

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
March 19, 2017
“I think it’s pretty problematic, especially for a lot of people who are already planning to immigrate over. It doesn’t reflect a lot of American values. We’re regressing rather than progressing.” - Justin Xie (11)

Talk Around Campus: What do you think of Trump’s immigration ban?

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
February 6, 2017
“[My dad] says life is a dot. Everyone is a small speck on the earth, so you have to make your dot as prominent as possible. You have to do everything you can to impact others and yourself while you live," Kendall Ka (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Kendall Ka expresses herself through film

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
January 16, 2017
Senior Jordan Thompson takes a free throw. She recently surpassed the previous Harker record for most career points.

Jordan Thompson becomes leading all-time scorer

by Alex Wang, Sports Editor
January 13, 2017
Varsity basketball head coach Samuel "Butch" Keller talks to his players. Keller reached his 600th career win on Tuesday.

Coach Keller reaches 600-win milestone

by Alex Wang, Sports Editor
January 12, 2017
“[I started playing volleyball] in sixth grade. My brother was playing volleyball, and my mom also played volleyball when she was in high school. I like the teamwork aspect of it and the fact that it’s not a one-person sport but requires the cooperation of everyone," Jonathan Schwartz (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Jonathan Schwartz takes time to wind down

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
January 2, 2017
The homecoming court walks down the Nichols staircase to make their entrance. The dance took place on Friday, Nov. 4 in the Nichols Atrium.

Harker holds annual homecoming dance

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
November 5, 2016
"I always think that being underwater is the closest thing you could ever get to being on the moon just because everything is so quiet, and you actually have that zero gravity feeling, and it’s really cool. It is like another world, and it has its own culture, too," Taylor Iantosca (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Taylor Iantosca develops a liking for rowing

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
October 26, 2016
JV Dance Troupe performs a leap during their segment of the Picnic show. This year, the Annual Harker Family and Alumni Picnic continued a long-standing tradition at the Blackford campus; this year’s event was penned ‘Picnic 66’, based on the iconic Route 66, as it was the event’s 66th year in operation.

Harker community attends annual family picnic

by Megan Cardosi, Mahika Halepete
October 12, 2016
Jimmy Fallon hosts the 2016 Emmys at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Emmy Awards Show gives recognition to excellence in the television industry.

Standout Moments of the 2016 Emmys

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Sports Editor
September 21, 2016
The construction for the new Events Center has begun on Rosenthal Field. Construction will last until September 2017 for the gym and until January 2018 for the performing arts center.

Upcoming Events Center construction to cause change on campus

by Melissa Kwan and Megan Cardosi
February 24, 2016
How to ask someone to Winter Ball

How to ask someone to Winter Ball

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Organizations Editor
January 24, 2016
Droplets of rain cover the statue dedicated to Jason Berry. Last Monday was the first day it rained during the school year.

Upper School reacts to first rainy day of the school year

by Megan Cardosi, Reporter
November 9, 2015
Taylor Kohlmann's (10) playlist helps her focus by blocking out outside noises. She uses Spotify often while working.

How to focus by using Spotify

by Megan Cardosi, TALON Organizations Editor
September 28, 2015
Jennifer Lawrence wears a Dior dress at the 2015 Met Gala. he dress was black from the waist down but had a flowered top, with a cutout between the two sections.

Best looks at the 2015 Met Gala

by Megan Cardosi, Reporter
May 6, 2015
During the first set of their game, Shreya Dixit (12) goes up to hit the ball. She successfully kills the ball and scores a point.

Varsity girls volleyball beats Notre Dame

by Megan Cardosi, Reporter
October 4, 2014
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