The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“For me, discipline can only happen when I try the things that I really like. Since I like basketball and I like guitar, I'm willing to contribute to the discipline. It's not really discipline at that point — it's passion," senior Advay Monga said.
Humans of Harker: Dribble and drive
“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
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
“It's fun to not care and not care about something and just do it for the fun of it, which we don't really get to do at Harker. I find that these extracurricular activities like diving, soccer or even League of Legends are really fun to do in my free time. It's good to just have some fun once in a while. And I think exploring new ways to do this is really, really valuable," Jack Dawson (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Diving deep

by Andrew Chang, TALON Co-Sports Editor • May 24, 2019

Feeling the rush of the sub-60 degree water through his ScubaPro bodysuit, Jack Dawson ('19) dives deep underwater under the slow-crashing waves of the Monterey Bay, contemplating which direction to go...

"At this point, I have honestly no clue at all where exactly I'm going to be in 20 years, but just the freedom of knowing that I can control where I want to go and that if at any point I do change my mind, I have the power to take whatever I have in my own hands and change my future. That’s very valuable to me, just knowing that I have freedom to choose is what makes me happiest," Helen Yang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Compassion and choice

by Emma Gurleroglu, TALON • May 23, 2019

Her lips move a mile a minute as she begins to speak about one of her greatest passions: BTS. Helen Yang (12) closes her eyes, tipping her head back as she lets out a gleeful laugh, spinning into another...

"I think there is an element of personality in music. If you give people the same melody or the same sample or idea, they're going to come up with different things based on this given input because of the differences in their own worldview experiences and styles. Personally, I like the romantic styles a lot. Romantic is when people started experimenting with chords and focusing more on the feeling of the music. I think those pieces are really pretty because of that," Annabelle Perng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Not so quiet after all

by Anthony Xu, TALON Editor-In-Chief • May 22, 2019

When you’re passing by from class to class, you might see Annabelle Perng (12) walking quietly through the hallways, keeping to herself. You might have her in some of your classes, and notice how quiet...

"Football taught me how to work hard and play with teammates. Most importantly, it has given me my best friends," Jared Anderson (120 said.

Humans of Harker: Strongest as a team

by Eric Fang, News Editor • May 22, 2019

Jared Anderson’s gray eyes stared down the soccer ball in the palm of his hand, concentrating on performing the trick he rehearsed countless times. With a flash, his palm turned and the ball dropped…...

“When you think about it, we’re only sixteen years old,” Prameela Kottapalli (12) said. “How much can we do? We can’t even vote. I’m aware of this. The people my age are aware of this. But the world doesn’t give us straightforward opportunities to make a difference. So writing was the way I could be able to promote awareness. So this was the breakthrough that I had for journalism, but it was also the breakthrough that I had in life.”

Humans of Harker: Power in words

by Emily Chen and Irene Yuan • May 22, 2019

Behind the tinted doors of the journalism room, Prameela Kottapalli (12) is always hard at work. You can find her completely immersed in her work, constantly writing and editing, fingers flying over the...

"I think everyone has their own path and their own way of going through life, and I think that it is important that we all appreciate each other’s strengths and interests while developing our own," Aneesha Kumar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Accept and improve

by Anika Rajamani, Reporter • May 21, 2019

The lights go down in the theater, as the live musicians tune their instruments. Aneesha Kumar (12) waits anxiously in the wings, calming herself before the dance begins. As the singing starts, she steps...

"I realized that I really didn't want to be a quiet Chinese girl I want to be outspoken and overcome those stereotypes and really try to improve on some of the better qualities. Who wants to be that little girl crying because she can't speak up? I would be so mad because when I see that in other people, I get really mad. Like, “Why don't you just speak up?” But then I'm also a little bit [like] that person, so I really try to be better," Taylor Lam (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Leader and supporter

by Jin Tuan, Lifestyle Editor • May 21, 2019

Bright brown eyes and a genuine smile greet the world as Taylor Lam (12) sits in the sun on the Shah patio, discussing her passions and pets. A naturally shy person, Taylor finds that her passion for helping...

Members of both JV and Varsity dance stand in a line and execute a move from Olivia Esparza's (12) senior showcase dance.

Behind the Scenes: Students rehearse for annual Senior Showcase performance

by Esha Gohil and Gloria Zhang • May 21, 2019

The annual Senior Showcase premiered the performances of graduating Certificate Program seniors and their accompaniments last Friday at 7 p.m. in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s Patil Theater...

“Some of my friends are a lot more social than me, but they’ve pushed me to open up and try new things,” Laura Wu (12) said. “I’m kind of sad that I’m leaving the school, but in some ways, I’m excited because I’m going to be starting over in a new place and meet even more new people.”

Humans of Harker: Breaking barriers

by Sabrina Takemoto and Olivia Guo • May 20, 2019

While she may have a calm and quiet demeanor, Laura Wu (12) has become a leader throughout her years in high school. From serving as Seniors and People's editor in yearbook to volunteering for the Interact...

“For me, mountain biking is about the experience and the community and people you hang out with. I don’t dwell much on what place I finish, but more on improving my time, meeting new people, hanging out with my friends,” Chris Leafstrand (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Robotics and Relaxation

by Saurav Tewari, Reporter • May 20, 2019

As soon as the after-school bell rings, Chris Leafstrand (12) makes his way towards the Robotics Lab, where he spends countless hours designing Team 1072’s robot. Then, during competitions, he is on...

“I would describe myself as a mix of Midwestern values with the Silicon Valley spirit. Grounded, hardworking, always trying to lend a helping hand. In high school, all those things flourished and led me to run for Student Council, join journalism, dance, play tennis and express my opinions while trying to support others along the way,” Anjay Saklecha (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A helping hand

by Aditya Singhvi, Sports Editor • May 19, 2019

Surrounded by a group of friends, Anjay Saklecha (12) can often be found laughing and relaxing on the couches in Shah Hall. Always accompanied by a twinkle in his eye, his smile — wide, playful and somewhat...

“Nothing right now matters. I know it sounds pessimistic but I really don't think it is. I personally don't think there is a set purpose for anyone's life, and in that sense it can become exactly what they want it to be. Your life is what you make of it and I take that very literally. There is no set way of doing things, so just focus on what matters to you and if everyone does that then we the world would just be so much happier,” Neha Tallapragada (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Connecting with community

by Sriya Batchu, Reporter • May 19, 2019

At first, Neha Tallapragada (12) sat and talked quietly while holding her blue Contigo water bottle, but as time passed, she opened up and was not afraid to voice her thoughts. One thing that has always...

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