The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“Even when I’m doing a character exercise, I’m creating. Sometimes I’m explicitly writing out what I see in my head. I used to be really stuck on writing. In the past, the only writing I could do other than analytical essays would be something like a personal narrative. But now that I’ve learned to embrace this other side of me, I think about it, I close my eyes, type out every plot point and then build off of that," Abbie Samuel ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: Worlds of wonder
Humans of Harker: Balance and drive
Humans of Harker: Balance and drive
“I like having to face challenges and then being able to overcome the challenges. I like it when there's a technical difficulty or there is a task that seems impossible, such as getting the robots to do monkey bars, but then as you work with a group of people and you think about it, you find a solution that seems feasible," Akul Goyal ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: The light in the circuit
“Being part of water polo has made me more disciplined. Part of it is for personal gain, but I also get more joy from helping others than helping myself. Water polo has a major team component that drives me to work harder to both benefit myself and also the team members I’ve known for so long," Oskar Baumgarte ('25) said.
Humans of Harker: Making waves
Humans of Harker: From theorems to tools
Humans of Harker: From theorems to tools
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
“Going out, and people complimenting me on my Indian dresses and stuff like that, I think just helped me see, ‘why am I hiding my difference?’ I think we should all celebrate our differences. I think dance really helped me see that because everybody I went to dance class with was so proud of their heritage and their culture, and so I was like, ‘why shouldn't I be?’,” Adhya Hoskote (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Choosing happiness

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Organizations, People and Social Media Editor • March 9, 2020

The vibrant colors of her dress shine on stage, drawing all attention to a dancer as lights shine onto her. Flowing through each movement with practiced perfection, she begins to tell a story through the...

“Be different. It’s really important for you to have your own personality and interests. That’s part of the reason why I called my company Persona because I feel like you have to have your own unique persona where you can have your own beliefs, have your own perspectives,” Anay Karwal (12) said. 

Humans of Harker: Never losing focus

by Lauren Liu, Reporter • March 4, 2020

To photograph is to fiddle with the scale of the world. To collect photographs is to collect tokens of the world. It’s an illusion of depth, an art of perspective, for photographs give people an imaginary...

“There are always things you need to improve on. As I improve, the pieces do get harder and I’m constantly finding different things I need to work on. Definitely, from day to day I don’t really hear any improvement, but if I listen to myself from a year ago compared to now, I can still hear the improvement. At a certain point, you focus less on technique and more on creating your own sound,” Rachel Broweleit (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Freedom in music

by Olivia Guo, Humans of Harker Profiler • March 3, 2020

Fingertips brushing the surface of the tensioned strings, Rachel Broweleit (12) places her hand into position on her varnished cello. As she slides her bow gently across the strings, the notes of Prokofiev’s...

“As citizens of the United States and being a part of the greater collective, it's imperative and incumbent upon all of us to be aware and present in everything that's happening because we all have a stake in it. It doesn't matter what you want to pursue in life, it's still essential to be civically engaged regardless of political affiliation,” Sriya Prathuri (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Connecting with politics

by Sriya Batchu, Reporter • March 3, 2020

Wearing her signature puffy jacket, Sriya Prathuri’s (12) hands move left, right, up and down as she gestures wildly around her. She brushes a leaf of the brown bench as she scoots over a couple of inches...

“Soccer is a means of expressing myself. I play midfielder, which means that I have to think of creative or interesting ways of working with the team to score around defenders. To me, part of my want to be adventurous and fun to be around is rooted in my role as a midfielder,” Asmit Kumar (12) said. 

Humans of Harker: Meaningful meetings

by Srinath Somasundaram, Opinions Editor • March 2, 2020

As Asmit Kumar (12), clad in a green Harker jersey and high socks over his shins, receives the ball with the inner side of his blue and white cleats, teammates immediately cry out for a chance to score....

“The analytical thinking skills that I’ve learned from taking classes and practicing math have helped me to analyze the world in a more theoretical way. Sometimes when I see things in the world, I can attribute [them] to different theoretical ideas,” Grace Huang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Logic and levelheadedness

by Arely Sun, Co-Lifestyle Editor • March 2, 2020

A gray and white pile of fuzzy floral fabric squirms on a beige couch in English teacher Christopher Hurshman’s room. Peeking from the soft edge of the blanket, Grace Huang (12) groggily sits up from...

“Trying to be friends with as many different people as possible has been really cool and also kind of life changing because I think I've definitely become a different person. Since coming here and just getting to know different people and accepting them has been really interesting for me, and I think that it's a really good thing to learn early on in your life,” Allie Lee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Love is the secret ingredient

by Shreya Srinivasan, TALON Managing Editor and Business Manager • February 28, 2020

Have you ever been on eleven cruises and traveled the world by sea? Did you ever join a summer immersion program in Spain? Are you known for your hugs? You may not be able to answer all these questions...

“I’m most proud of how I've developed my personality throughout middle and high school. I have switched between friend groups with people that I thought I fit in with and then … it just didn't work out. I think I've finally found the people … that I really enjoy my time with and think I can spend my last year of high school with,” Haley Arena (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The final countdown

by Vasudha Subramanian and Pelin Unsal • February 26, 2020

With a short amount of time left on the clock, Haley Arena (12) dribbles the basketball across the court as her teammates cheer from the sidelines. Her dirty blonde hair sways behind her as she swiftly...

“Most of my interactions were tied to the circumstances of the moment. In order to step beyond that, and get to a more meaningful relationship, [I realized] there has to be something more to it. And I think being more vulnerable is a good way to get there,” Evan Cheng (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Conversing with clarity

by Arya Maheshwari, Co-Managing Editor • February 26, 2020

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God.  “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald,...

“In research, you start out with a plan, and most likely there is something you didn’t account for, so you have to spend time looking through that. You don’t have to think about things in terms of setbacks. If you don’t accomplish what you set out to do, it’s not really a setback,” Emily Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Empowerment through exploration

by Tiffany Chang and Smrithi Sambamurthy • February 25, 2020

Boundless curiosity. Scientific ambition. Light-hearted humor. The intersection of these spaces is where you’ll find Emily Liu (12). Whether she is working with X-rays for her biology research, asking...

“You see everyone around you excelling so much, and then you don’t really want to put yourself out there. I didn’t share my research, I didn’t share my photography, I didn’t share anything. Recently, I’ve started being more open about [my work]. I realized that if I keep comparing myself to other people, I will never be able to take pride in my own work, and I think that is really important,” Naviya Kapadia (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Curiosity cures

by Anika Mani, TALON Reporter • February 24, 2020

Laughing as she grabs a clean white lab coat and tosses it across her shoulders, Naviya Kapadia (12) prepares for her upcoming anatomy class. She warmly greets her teacher before carefully examining the...

“I would say I am not at all somebody who thinks in the long term. If I had to define a goal that I think is even possible for me to follow or that I would even be interested in pursuing is just to never be bored, stave off boredom,” Vani Mohindra (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Grasp the nettles

by Gloria Zhang, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief • February 24, 2020

Vani Mohindra (12) appears to have a knack for orange. An orange rain poncho? Check. An orange prison outfit — or rather medical scrubs? Check. She has sported them all. Just days before Halloween,...

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