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
"I mainly build model kits because it’s pretty relaxing. I can just spend like 10 hours listening to music and kind of decompressing after the week’s over, and I’m not doing the thing that’s stressing me out. I think a lot of us are stressed out by school and stuff but it’s nice to get away from it all. [Building model kits] is definitely a daunting hobby to get into, like on Reddit and Instagram’s model pages, [you might think] all of this stuff this guy did is really good, but that guy probably has ten years of experience doing it. If you like how it looks, then it’s good. There isn’t any objective quality, if you like it, you like it," Andrew Koonmen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Piece by piece

by Erica Cai, Reporter • May 12, 2019

Leisurely reclining on a cushioned chair in Manzanita, hands clasped behind his head, Andrew "Andy" Koonmen (12) smiles subtly as he pulls to mind the relaxing atmosphere he experiences when building model...

“Whatever side of the political spectrum you fall under, a lot of things you might think are true are not true if you delve a little deeper,” Jay said. “It doesn’t mean you stop supporting whatever you support, I think it’s more important, but I think you sound more educated with you present a point with evidence to back it up," Jay Menon (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Informed discourse

by Irina Malyugina, Photo Editor • May 12, 2019

When he’s with his friends, Jay Menon (12) speaks quickly, delivering concise, acerbic remarks by the minute, then laughing assuredly at his friends’ responses, a confident, calm smile on his face....

“I think we all put too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, and we forget that maybe there’s some beauty in that imperfection. When we come to that realization, we can be happier as people and as a community. I am still working on finding the balance between striving to be my best self and just being okay with who I am," Anika Rajamani (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Roots and resilience

by Irene Yuan and Emma Gurleroglu • May 11, 2019

The crowd cheers wildly as Anika Rajamani (12) sprints from third base, black hair streaming out from underneath her helmet. A cloud of dust rises as she slides into home base just as the fielder catches...

"I’ve got a pretty good life and have a lot of reasons to be happy. And I want other people to be happy, too, [so] I always try to be the best supporter that I can be. I [am] a feminist and ally, because I can’t just sit around… I need to do my part and help out. I actively participate, because if I don’t decide to be really committed, I won’t be able to make a real impact. If you want change to happen, then you need to do your part to make change happen," Damini Kaushik (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Joy in spreading joy

by Helen Yang, Columnist • May 11, 2019

With dangling silver earrings and bold, framed glasses resting gently on her face, Damini Kaushik (12) brings life to the otherwise still backdrop of greenery with her easy smile and light banter. Some...

"The human experience is timeless, and humans have been trying to understand it and study it for so long. I think with AI, there's a really unique opportunity to better understand what makes us human, what aspects of our humanity are important, and I think technology can help us do that," Nikhil Dharmaraj (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Disruption

by Nicole Chen, Editor-in-Chief • May 9, 2019

Nikhil Dharmaraj (12) always walks with purpose. With his signature grey backpack, white sweater and classic blue jeans, his pace– faster for the usual second semester senior– emits an aura of gravity....

“Something that is really important to me and how I live my life is the idea that, if I have the capacity to help someone, I should. I don’t want to be the person that ignores an issue, no matter how small it is. Whether it’s just me checking in about how their day or sharing personal advice, I think that there’s never a reason for me to ignore someone else’s problem," Emmy Huchley (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Behind the curtain

by Esha Gohil, Reporter • May 8, 2019

Curled, golden hair frames her face as Emmy Huchley (12) confidently strides across the Patil Theatre stage, fully immersed into her role as the lead, Hope Cladwell, in the musical Urinetown. As the spotlight...

"I think of myself as caring about being feminist. It’s not necessary saying ‘hey, I’m feminist!’ or going to all those feminist rallies. I just never want anyone to think that I can’t do something just because I’m a girl, or that I’m worse than someone just because they’re a guy, or that guys are more capable. Making it clear to everyone that I’m not lesser, or no girl is just because they are a girl, is really important to me," Ria Gupta (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Unconventional resilience

by Devanshi Mehta, TALON Editor-in-Chief • May 3, 2019

As the captain of the varsity girls soccer team and a softball enthusiast, it’s no secret that Ria Gupta (12) thrives and grows in athletic settings. “I absolutely love soccer,” Ria said. “Being...

"In my experiences, not just in the classroom, but also teaching other students, I've learned that you can learn a lot of things like empathy, and that's helped me build stronger relationships with people, including my teachers, because when I teach my students they know that they're learning from someone who's been through it before. When I tell them about my personal experiences, I know that that can be really helpful," Sumantra Banerjee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: To teach is to learn

by Saurav Tewari, Reporter • May 2, 2019

Poised and ready, Sumantra Banerjee (12) executes multiple taekwondo moves with a focused look in his eyes. His movements come off as lasers, unpredictable yet laser-focused on the target. Sumantra’s...

"I feel like [my art] sort of reflects me in that it’s really disparate in what it's about. There’s a wide spectrum of things that I enjoy working on. I feel like that sort of reflects me in that I’m not just artsy, edgy, whatever, but I’m also not just carefree and humorous. I have a little bit of both, and so does my art," Karan Gupta (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Evolution

by Delaney Logue, TALON Photo Editor • April 30, 2019

On a cool February afternoon, Karan Gupta (12) sits in a relatively quiet corner of Manzanita. His fingers drum against the table, lips upturned in a thoughtful smile. He runs his fingers through his slightly-overgrown,...

“I want everyone to have their own memory of me. I feel that I can’t even characterize myself in one way. But because there are so many things that I participate in, I want everyone to have their own idea and reflection on what I meant to them," Cameron Zell (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The octopi within

by Julia Amick and Kathy Fang • April 29, 2019

Cameron Zell’s hand reaches up towards her ear and fidgets with her earring. The light catches the stud as she spins it around. A timid smile forms on her face, and she lets out a small laugh. Despite...

“The most effective thing for me to be doing is probably just inspiring people. It's a very small chance that I'd be able to do something to change the world, so maybe I'll help that if I inspire a thousand different people," Ryan Adolf (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Sense and serenity

by Michael Eng, Reporter • April 28, 2019

Emblazoned on many students’ laptop screens is CheckPCR, an application that improves the user friendliness and overall functionality of the PCR system by allowing students to customize settings and...

“Whatever I do I want to make sure I'm helping people and helping society. I’m planning on going into some computer science kind of field and I feel a lot of companies are a detriment to society, like Facebook with their scandals. I very much disagree with that, so I'm trying to find something that would fit me and helping other people while following my passions," Robert "Bobby" Bloomquist (12) said.

Humans of Harker: “Mochi with the red bean inside”

by Sriya Batchu and Kathy Fang • April 27, 2019

Sitting on picnic benches in the upper school quad, Robert “Bobby” Bloomquist’s (12) face lights up as he enthusiastically talks about water polo. Bobby didn’t always play water polo. He actually...

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