The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Multi-disciplined, multi-dimensional
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Continuous and differentiable
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Power in profiles
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Widening the aperture
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
Humans of Harker: Sharing stories, striking serves
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
Mendy Mao

Mendy Mao, Humans of Harker Managing Editor

Mendy Mao (12) is a Managing editor for Humans of Harker, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, Mendy aims to cover untold stories and reach even more of the Harker community. In her free time, she likes to obsess over dentistry and play the violin.

All content by Mendy Mao
Humans of Harker: Jumping through hoops

Humans of Harker: Jumping through hoops

by Shaina Cohen and Mendy Mao
June 9, 2025
Clifford Hull holds up an ancient artifact, sharing his love for archaeology and the connections it offers to the past. After 47 years of teaching, Hull is retiring at the end of this school year.

Teaching with the Hull heart: Harker bids farewell to Latin and history teacher Clifford Hull

by Heather Wang, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
June 8, 2025
Humans of Harker: Singing with sincerity

Humans of Harker: Singing with sincerity

by Mendy Mao, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
June 5, 2025
Through our lens: Harker 2024-25

Through our lens: Harker 2024-25

by Ram Batchu, Aryana Bharali, Eva Cheng, Victor Gong, Suhani Gupta, Minal Jalil, Sam Li, Isabella Lo, Mendy Mao, Katerina Matta, Ashley Mo, Emma Milner, Young Min, Sarah Mohammed, Lily Peng, Caden Ruan, Lily Shi, Kairui Sun, Jonathan Szeto, Claire Tian, Heather Wang, Charlie Wang, Alison Yang, Chelsea Xie, Cynthia Xie, Connie Xu, Jonathan Xue, Claire Yu, Brandon Zau, and Tiffany Zhu
May 25, 2025
Middle blocker Rahu Yalla jumps up for a swing. The Eagles lagged behind Mitty at the beginning of the game but came back to win the set at a close 26-24.

Varsity boys volleyball succumbs to Mitty in CCS semifinals 2-3

by Disha Gupta, Emma Li, Mendy Mao, and Samuel Tong
May 22, 2025
“I hope everyone could learn a little bit, since I'm learning. As global citizens, we all have the right to vote, and we all should be educated on at least how the economy works. I hope in the future when things become even more polarized that people will still be able to have candid discourse and question what they know," senior Stefan Maxim said.

Humans of Harker: Building bots, breaking barriers

by Victoria Li, Humans of Harker Managing Editor
May 21, 2025
Under Trump's administration, many feel that women outside traditional gender norms are less respected. "American culture is founded on the principles of respect, and I feel like that's being eroded," English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl said.

Pulse of the People: Trump administration shifts womens’ gender roles

by Mendy Mao and Elizabeth Zhang
April 15, 2025
Director of testing for Harker DECA Abby Rose Sachse (10) flexes her arm while wearing her DECA suit. For women's history month, Harker Aquila would like to honor the contributions of women like Abby who continue to break barriers in male-dominated industries.

Honoring Women’s History Month

by Mendy Mao, Disha Gupta, Lily Shi, Ashley Mo, and Tiffany Zhu
March 30, 2025
Mala Raghavan appreciates the chemistry behind traditional recipes, blending the two together to achieve her cooking goals. "Students often bring in complicated formulas to determine limiting reagents, but the limiting reactant is simply the ingredient that runs out first and limits how much product you can make — just like in a recipe," Dr. Raghavan said.

Meet your staff: Finding chemistry in traditional recipes

March 26, 2025
The bear statue next to Dobbins references Jason Berry's nickname "Bear" and commemorates his impact on the Harker community. "You would think he was here forever," English teacher and department head Pauline Paskali said. "It seems his presence is still here with us, and I know we all teach with him in mind."

Campus Compass: Jason Berry's Bear Statue

March 30, 2025
The statue of a bear outside Dobbins reflect's Jason Berry's nickname "Bear" and serves as a way to honor his memory. "It seems his presence is still here with us, and I know we all teach with him in mind," English teacher and department chair Pauline Paskali said.

Chinese animation Ne Zha 2 breaks records across film industry

Chinese animation Ne Zha 2 breaks records across film industry

by Mendy Mao, Lindsay Li, and Chelsea Xie
March 22, 2025
Stigma around menstruation is a prevailing concern in many high schools, where teens face embarrassment for openly talking about the issue. “There’s the general worry about other people seeing it if you walk around," Shruti Srinivasan (12) said.

Period shame disrupts school experience

by Mendy Mao and Lindsay Li
February 7, 2025
Pulse of the People: Concentrated control over media

Pulse of the People: Concentrated control over media

by Mendy Mao and Lily Shi
February 6, 2025
Dr. Brown savors card games for their focus on critical thinking, connecting his passion for teaching with Magic: The Gathering. "What I love about teaching is that it gives a lot of food for thought," Dr. Brown said. "There's a lot to chew on and try to improve and iterate upon, and those card games feature that too."

Meet your staff: Mastering magic cards

by Chelsea Xie, Assistant News Editor
January 29, 2025
Perspectives: Gift-giving

Perspectives: Gift-giving

by Mendy Mao and Jonathan Xue
January 13, 2025
Bus driver Shellie Maclachlan pulls into the front loading zone at Harker's Union campus. The buses arrived in two waves at around 7:30 a.m. and 7:55 a.m.

Round and round: bus drivers tirelessly transport community members

by Kairui Sun and Mendy Mao
December 23, 2024
Assistant maintenance manager Thomas Downard prepares to check the electric current powering the Nichols boiler. The boiler, located on the roof, uses hot water to heat the entire building.

Climate control systems make or break learning environment

by Mendy Mao and Jeremy Peng
November 21, 2024
Junior Spencer Chang records one of his comedy dad-joke videos for his Instagram account “spencerbfunny.” His first viral reel blew up on March 15, recieving milllions of views and now having around 253,000 likes.

Community members gain popularity on social media

by Mendy Mao and Cynthia Xie
November 21, 2024
Due to the rigorous academic expectations in high school and plethora of extracurriculars that students participate in, they can easily get burnt out and sleep-deprived. Staying up all night to study can later harm students’ ability to learn in a vicious cycle.

Rest days or risking burnout?

by Ashley Mo and Mendy Mao
November 21, 2024
“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

by Mendy Mao, Co-Features Editor
November 21, 2024
Nov. 5 marks Election Day, and Harker Aquila is following along with national news with their own live coverage, including polls and community responses. Check this page for more information about the presidential, Senate and House of Representatives races, as well as California's propositions.

Live Coverage: 2024 Presidential Election

by Emma Milner, Alison Yang, Lily Shi, Eva Cheng, Disha Gupta, Suhani Gupta, Mendy Mao, Ashley Mo, Jonathan Szeto, Tiffany Zhu, Leah Krupnik, Lindsay Li, Vivek Moorjani, Lily Peng, Samuel Tong, Chelsea Xie, Cynthia Xie, Nathan Yee, and Elizabeth Zhang
November 5, 2024
Spooky style: Students and staff parade their Halloween attires

Spooky style: Students and staff parade their Halloween attires

by Eva Cheng, Ashley Mo, and Mendy Mao
November 2, 2024
Waymo originated as a branch of Google, which pioneered the self-driving car in 2009 and advertised the project as “the world’s first fully driverless ride.” Co-founders Sebastian Thrun and Anthony Levandowski split their company off from Google in 2016, renaming it Waymo.

Self-driving car company Waymo builds safer future for the road

by Suhani Gupta and Mendy Mao
October 17, 2024
Sophomore Dhanya Ramanan speaks about her coming out story. She recounted how accepted she felt and encouraged the Harker community to treat people coming out in the same way.

School meeting 10/14: Hispanic Heritage Month, National Coming Out Day and fall play

by Mendy Mao and Elizabeth Zhang
October 17, 2024
Aanya Sharma (10) plays a card game with her friends during a break in English class. English teacher Beth Wahl's class also holds legos and a mini basketball hoop for students to use.

Students relieve stress through class break activities

by Mendy Mao and Cynthia Xie
October 9, 2024
Outside hitter Elie Ahluwalia (11) jumps in preparation to hit the volleyball during the varsity girls volleyball match against Mills High School on Saturday. Elie's hits played a crucial role in the Eagles 25-21 second set win.

Varsity girls volleyball secures 3-1 victory over Mills on Harker Day

by Samuel Tong, Ashley Mo, and Mendy Mao
October 8, 2024
Live coverage: Harker challenges Anzar High School for Homecoming football game

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
Junior painter Ava Bhowmik renders the Minions-Jaws crossover panel. Other animated cameos on the Illumination-themed pedestal included the Grinch and Toothless from "How to Train Your Dragon."

Campus Compass: Painted eagles fly high with spirit

by Elizabeth Zhang and Claire Zhao
October 1, 2024
Palo Alto High School hosts JEA NorCal Media Day this year. Over 600 attendees across the Bay Area attended sessions ranging from election coverage to features writing and heard from distinguished speakers.

‘See the young people as a future of journalism’

by Mendy Mao, Suhani Gupta, and Cynthia Xie
September 28, 2024
Journalism Editors-in-Chief line up after the end of their presentation. They discussed leadership strategies and challenges during their session.

Leading together, learning together

by Mendy Mao and Vivek Moorjani
September 28, 2024
Harker journalism staff members, Director of Journalism Whitney Huang and Talon Yearbook Adviser Kevin Oliver pose in front of the Palo Alto Media Arts Center after sessions conclude for the day. Workshop topics ranged from local election coverage and student media law to understanding design.

Harker Journalism attends JEA NorCal Media Day

by Mendy Mao, Lily Shi, and Tiffany Zhu
September 28, 2024
Film appreciation president Gabe Sachse (12) sketches the layout of film club's poster. Officers met during Friday office hours to discuss the poster's design.

Officers prepare for Club Fair and share future goals

by Hima Thota, Mendy Mao, Risa Chokhawala, and Claire Xu
September 9, 2024
Varsity girls volleyball cheers during the scrimmage. They currently hold a 0-1 record.

Varsity girls volleyball warms up for season with Wilcox scrimmage

by Mendy Mao and Vivek Moorjani
September 5, 2024
Senior Claire Perng examines the cover of her ReCreate Reading book. Sponsored by upper school math department chair Anthony Silk, the vampire-themed novel attracted several students.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors discuss summer ReCreate Reading books

by Ella Guo and Mendy Mao
August 29, 2024
The bottom line is this: students need to like the books they read to nurture their love of reading and procure the best results learning-wise. Administrators who decide each class’ reading list should focus on choosing books that will be popular with students.

School kills love of reading

by Mendy Mao, Co-Features Editor
August 29, 2024
Harker welcomes several new faculty and staff members to the upper school this year. Many of the new faculty and staff expressed their excitement to step into their new positions.

Welcoming new faces on campus

by Isabella Lo, Mendy Mao, Janam Chahal, Claire Yu, and Vivek Moorjani
August 23, 2024
Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Forge through finals with traditional Chinese music

by Mendy Mao, Co-Features Editor
May 27, 2024
Friday Five: Childhood cartoons

Friday Five: Childhood cartoons

by Mendy Mao, Co-Features Editor
May 11, 2024
Humans of Harker: Propelling progress

Humans of Harker: Propelling progress

by Mendy Mao, Co-Assistant Copy Editor
April 29, 2024
Student presenter Oliver Chen (10) talks about his project using his poster as a visual aid. Harker students from grades eight to 12 shared their research findings in the Auxiliary Gym.

Research Symposium reaches record-high attendance, unites STEM enthusiasts

by Ashley Mo and Mendy Mao
April 25, 2024
Journalism staff presents stories and initiatives at JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention

Journalism staff presents stories and initiatives at JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention

by Felix Chen, Vika Gautham, Emma Milner, Jessica Hu, Mendy Mao, Ashley Mo, and Tiffany Zhu
April 6, 2024
Senior Saahil Kajarekar paddles the class of 2024's regatta floatie across the pool. “I think it's cool because a lot of the students put all their time into the spirit stuff,” belly flop judge Kadar Arbuckle said. “I actually really like how they make it more official with the judges. I was just here today to add to that.”

Spirit Week Day 3: Regatta and belly flops make a splash

by Margaret Cartee and Mendy Mao
March 27, 2024
Film club producer Ethan Guan (11) and main actor Iris Fu (12) read out the film's screenplay on March 5. "It was a very low-stakes environment and we were just having fun with the script," Iris said.

Film Club prepares for production with screenplay read-through

by Mendy Mao, Assistant Copy Editor
March 18, 2024
Introduction to Journalism student Sarah Wang (9) captures fellow classmates Emma Lee (9) and Victoria Li (9) jumping midair. During photographer Mark Murray’s visit, students practiced shooting action photos and capturing motion.

Professional photographer guides journalism students through creating photo stories

by Jessica Hu and Mendy Mao
March 6, 2024
WiSTEM members prepare to start the AI workshop on Feb. 23. Volunteers discussed logistics like screen sharing and changes in the Google Slides before the workshop.

WiSTEM shares STEM knowledge in TechGirlz AI workshop

by Ashley Mo and Mendy Mao
March 6, 2024
Anwen Hao (11) celebrates his "Best exit for a ballet dance" Hoscar. 40 students performed in the 12th annual Hoscars on Feb. 8.

From comedy to K-pop: Annual Hoscars shows off student talent

by Tiffany Zhu, Mendy Mao, and Emma Milner
February 23, 2024
Seniors Dina Ande, Anya Chauhan, Heidi Lu and Cynthia Wang pose for a photo together. Friends and family attended the ceremony and teammates gifted the seniors with flowers and tiaras.

Varsity girls soccer destroys Priory 3-1 on senior night

by Mendy Mao and Ella Guo
February 17, 2024
COVID-19 continues to mutate into new variants like the most recent JN.1 strain and remains especially active during the respiratory virus season from fall to winter. Updated vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax that came out in fall 2023 are effective against newer variants, and CDC safety precautions have largely stayed the same since last year.

Keeping up with COVID-19

by Mendy Mao and Jeremy Peng
February 9, 2024
“Musical theater gives me more of a creative rush, and I feel excited to be expressing what I want to express, and there's no real direction I have to go. I get to choose, and that's fun in and of itself. Math on the other hand, I enjoy the opposite. I find joy in that idea that there's one way to do it, and boom, you found it and you've solved it. There's a satisfaction there,” Ian Ogden (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Balancing equations and harmonies

by Mendy Mao, Co-Assistant Copy Editor
February 7, 2024
Anna Eshoo holds a hearing of the Health Subcommittee on Feb. 20, 2020. As the Chairwoman, Eshoo presented bills regarding medical cures and representation in clinical trials. (Provided by eshoo.house.gov)

Silicon Valley representative Anna Eshoo to retire

by Mendy Mao, Assistant Copy Editor
December 12, 2023
Ethan Guan (11) writes out the roles that club members could volunteer for at the film club meeting. "The intricacies of making film makes it such a beautiful process," Ethan said. "It's a combination of so many art forms, and because of that, you can have so many different emotional tones involved."

Club Corner: Film club hosts second annual short film selection

by Mendy Mao, Assistant Copy Editor
December 6, 2023
Middle School science teacher Tina Kim poses for a caricature in the quad during Harker Day. The quad also had activities like bouncy houses, an inflatable obstacle course and foosball.

Students, parents, staff and alumni celebrate third annual Harker Day at upper school campus

by Lily Shi and Ashley Mo
October 13, 2023
Attendance Coordinator Ritu Raj smiles as she reads an email at the front desk in Main Hall. In addition to tracking the attendance of over 800 students at the upper school, Raj promotes wellbeing and supports those around her through resilience coaching.

Meet your staff: Compassion in coordination

by Mendy Mao and Ella Yee
October 1, 2023
Introduction to Journalism studemts listen as Kuhlmeier shares her perspective on fighting for her First Amendment rights as a high school journalist. Prior to Kuhlmeier's visit, Introduction to Journalism students studied court cases like Tinker v. Des Moines and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier to learn about freedom of speech and the press. (Provided by Kevin Oliver)

Be the change: Cathy Kuhlmeier discusses Supreme Court case, teaches Journalism students about press freedom

by Mendy Mao, Charlize Wang, and Ella Yee
September 28, 2023
Tvisha Ganesh (9) swims to defend against a St. Francis field player. Tvisha scored a point for her team during the first quarter of the game.

Varsity girls water polo defeated by Saint Francis 11-10 in overtime

by Mendy Mao and Ella Guo
September 28, 2023
Juniors Sam Parupudi and Sanaa Bhorkar paint the Class of 2025's eagle white. Each grade colored their eagle white ahead of Spirit Week in October, during which classes will decorate their respective eagles to their assigned theme.

Community jumps into year of spirit with Spirit Kickoff

by Felix Chen, Mendy Mao, and Kinnera Mulam
September 13, 2023
Running back Jackson Powell (10) powers through a Turlock Christian defender in the first quarter. Jackson ran for 62 yards against Turlock Christian, scoring 2 touchdowns.

Back with a bang: Varsity football dominates Turlock Christian 62-14 in home opener

by Brandon Zau, Kinnera Mulam, and Mendy Mao
September 10, 2023

Photo Slideshow Sept. 8

by Alena Suleiman, Alison Yang, Alvira Agarwal, Angelina Burrows, Ashley Mo, Brandon Zau, Claire Yu, Connie Xu, Desiree Luo, Ella Yee, Emma Gao, Emma Milner, Eva Cheng, Gemma Chan, Grant Yang, Janam Chahal, Jeremy Peng, Katelyn Zhao, Kevin Zhang, Lindsey Tuckey, Margaret Cartee, Mendy Mao, Mirabelle Feng, Ram Batchu, Selina Xu, Sidak Sanghari, Steven Jiang, Tiffany Zhu, Vivian Chen, Yifan Li, and Young Min
September 9, 2023
"One thing that figure skating really taught me was to manage your emotions and expectations and feelings. With investment banking, it's a very similar situation where you're constantly on edge. A lot of what you do isn't dependent on your own work. It's dependent on other people, or it’s dependent on the stock market. Those lessons will be able to translate very well into my actual career," Trisha Variyar ('23) said.

Humans of Harker: Figures and finance

by Mendy Mao and Jonathan Xue
August 14, 2023
Load More Stories