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
“A large portion of my interest in math and why it's so fun for me is because at some point, I learned how to apply it to different areas. I found out about this concept called mathematical biology, and I was so fascinated by it. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is the moment, this is destiny.’ I could model biological systems with math,” Ananya Sriram (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Destiny of design

by Alena Suleiman, Aquila Co-Editor-in-Chief • March 25, 2024

As the sun dips below the horizon, a breathtaking scene unfolds. Hues of crimson and gold settle into the tranquil mystery of night. For Ananya Sriram (12), this mesmerizing sunset represents the delicate...

“I can look over at other people for silent encouragement and you can smile. If I was by myself on stage, I wouldn't have that. I would just be me in the spotlight. It's easier knowing that there are that many people in the audience when you have everyone else who's going through it with you,” Saloni Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Shining in solidarity

by Hima Thota, Co-Features Editor • March 13, 2024

Spotlights shine down onto the stage as an announcer presents the winning dance team in the garba dance contest, an event dedicated to celebrating Gujarati folk dance. Saloni Shah (12) and her teammates...

Humans of Harker: Living unapologetically

Humans of Harker: Living unapologetically

by Brandon Zau, Aquila Photo Editor • March 13, 2024

THWACK. The sound of a small, black, bouncy ball with strips of orange plastic encircling it hitting a wall reverberates during lunch period. Outside the weightroom, a group of friends  laugh with...

“When you’re a perfectionist, you just want to delete everything and start over constantly. Even though it’s a bad thing, doing that helps me parse out my thoughts more and helps me understand what I don’t want to include in my writing, and what I like about my writing, which helps me narrow down my ideas into a final draft that I am happy with," Anika Maji (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Writing the right

by Claire Bauschlicher, Reporter • March 8, 2024

Enveloped by dozens of books that line the shelves around her, Anika Maji (12) pours the stream of words in her mind onto the screen. With her hands dancing across the keyboard, she uses imagination...

“When I get into an activity, I try to gain experience and use that experience to help others. I really enjoy helping people and providing guidance to them. I want people to remember me as someone who’s willing to use my knowledge for the better and make an impact on others’ experiences,” Justin Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Ace-ing analytics

by Aryana Bharali, Humans of Harker Profiler • March 8, 2024

In a world dominated by specialists, Justin Chen (12) stands as a remarkable outlier. Not only does Justin excel in the corporate realm, but also on the tennis court, where the demands of strategy and...

“Speech and debate is a wonderful way for people to find their voice, learn how to speak up, how to think quickly on their feet and how to articulate their ideas extremely clearly. Talking through arguments, what makes a good speech, what are some aspects of public speaking such as eye contact or expressiveness, or changing the tone of your voice — these are all aspects that I strive to pass down and spread to people around me,” Max Xing (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Forums of confidence and connections

by Kevin Zhang, Aquila Managing Editor • March 8, 2024

Frantic thoughts raced through Max Xing’s (12) mind as one last competitor unleashed a barrage of arguments through the computer screen during the online 2022 Tournament of Champions (TOC) semifinals....

“Both sports and art teach you how to fail and not get caught up on overthinking things, like, ‘How could I have done this better?’ You move on to the next point, you move on to the next day. You move on to the next piece. It's very challenging to just not lose motivation and abandon it,” Catherine Wong (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Whims of creativity

by Hima Thota, Co-Features Editor • March 8, 2024

Click. Catherine Wong (12) turns on her drawing tablet, the screen lighting up. She quickly clicks on the drawing app, which presents a screen with rows of pens of varying color and inks at the bottom...

Humans of Harker: Tackling challenges through teamwork

Humans of Harker: Tackling challenges through teamwork

by Shaina Cohen, TALON Reporter • March 4, 2024

As the clock counts down, just a few seconds remain in the first half of the 2022 Homecoming game. The football team prepares for the last play at dusk, and Kevin Bettencourt (12) readies himself,...

“I love folklore, I love fairies, and I love Lord of the Rings. I want to make art that feels magical because that’s what I like, but it was also at that point where I knew that it had to have depth,” Maya Cheshire (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Blooming in art

by Young Min, Co-A&E Editor • March 4, 2024

Maya Chesire (12) sweeps her brush from side to side, covering the canvas with bursts of browns and greens. Framed by two tall trees on either side of the painting, an Irish Bog Man stands in a hole dug...

“Teaching robotics is probably one of the hardest things I've done so much trying to transition into that teacher's mindset. Not only do I have to teach the material, I have to understand how they are understanding it to help them learn. That's been a very big challenge, but something that's also been very rewarding. It's made me think a lot more about the choices that I make with regards to design," Ronald Cartee (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Designing with detail

by Ella Guo, Humans of Harker Profiler • February 9, 2024

Frenzied shouts echo as teams run around fixing incoming problems from their robots. Among them, Ronald Cartee (12) finishes the final changes, ensuring the robot works for the team’s success in...

Humans of Harker: Playing songs of happiness

Humans of Harker: Playing songs of happiness

by Angelina Burrows, TALON Co-Sports Editor • February 9, 2024

Hands grasping a microphone, Ben Cha (12) looks toward the blinding lights of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center. Though he performed with Jazz Band many times before, this show was different. Instead...

“Leading is about being confident because you have to learn to tell people what to do, and that's not something that I was used to. But by the end of it, you're like, ‘Okay, I have to do this because this is my job.’ You can tell the actor, ‘Hey, can you do that again?’ or ‘Move over here. We're going to shoot that again’ or ‘You did great. Just do it again so we can get a different angle,’” Emily McCartney (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Creative director, directive creator

by Ella Guo, Humans of Harker Profiler • February 9, 2024

With the sun gradually setting, the sky suddenly began to darken, creating an atmosphere of pressure as light faded. Noticing the change while shooting a short horror film, Emily McCartney (12) knew...

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