The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
Humans of Harker: Pirouettes meet practicality 
Humans of Harker: Pirouettes meet practicality 
“Sometimes when you're in the midst of things, it's kind of hard to see whether things are changing for the better or not. One part of being a leader is knowing where to put your own time and effort and energy into. You have to understand that sometimes things won't work out the way you want them to, but you just have to keep moving forward. Things will not fail because of one mistake or bump in the road," senior Atharv Goel said.
Humans of Harker: Grit and gears
Humans of Harker: Sprinting towards self-fulfillment
Humans of Harker: Sprinting towards self-fulfillment
“I've been doing programming and CS for a while, but I get a lot more enjoyment out of making games. It's something that will give me something tangible compared to working on code problems or fine tuning some specific software. This is a lot more physical to me, even though it's still digital. It feels a lot more personal because it's something that I can physically play," senior Pranav Sukesh said.
Humans of Harker: For the love of the game
“Oftentimes on the Veena, I'm able to play out tunes that are familiar for the seniors. I played a lot of classics for them, which they really seem to enjoy. And it's been fulfilling because a lot of them have never seen the instrument before, so they'll come up to me after and ask me to explain how it works. It's really exciting for me to be able to share my culture and also connect with their culture," senior Hasini Namala said.
Humans of Harker: Culture and chords
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 lunch tray consists of turkey and rice from Mexican Fiesta, swedish meatballs and egg noodles from Main, fresh fruits from the salad bar and a cookie from the Auxiliary Gym. “Because teen athletes are still growing and developing, it’s important to ensure they’re getting enough nutrition and hydration,” registered dietitian Sara Leung said.

Finding fuel formula for teenage athletes

by Eva Cheng and Katerina Matta • November 15, 2023

Nationally-ranked tennis player Audrey Feng (11) relaxed during the second set of her match, coasting on a comfortable lead and looking forward to finishing strong. Suddenly, she felt her energy sap away,...

A house finch pinches a cherry blossom in its beak at the Washington Park Arboretum. The Washington Park Arboretum borders Lake Washington and is home to finches, ducks, turtles and other wildlife.

Out of the nest: 3 days in Seattle

by Claire Zhao, Co-STEM Editor • May 31, 2023

It’s my first time in Seattle, Washington –– the bustling city of coffee, greenery, planes, cherry blossoms, Pike Place, the Space Needle and tempestuous weather. All it took was a simple itinerary...

An illustration of some of our community's favorite fall foods. Read the article and following recipes to see what fall foods three community members love to cook.

Pick of the patch: Community members share their favorite fall foods and recipes

by Young Min and Sabrina Zhu • September 28, 2022

A slice of apple pie with a crispy, golden crust and a gooey, cinnamon-y filling. A perfectly tart and rich huckleberry sauce, spread atop a piece of pumpkin bread. A juicy chicken roast, surrounded by...

Despite their small number, Harker’s Latinx population continues to display the rich layers of their culture. Through hosting events such as La Noche Cultural on March 11 and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 with special dishes at Fresh Mex and paper decorations on bulletin boards around campus, they’ve allowed the larger Harker community to sample the vibrant art and accomplishments of Latinx and Hispanic people.

‘It’s about the culture, it’s about all we bring to this country’

by Kinnera Mulam, Emma Gao, Trisha Iyer, and Sarah Mohammed • June 2, 2022

“Let’s head over to Manzanita!” As the last note of the bell rings, students pour out of second period, rushing from buildings across campus to the cafeteria. Chatter fills the air as a long column...

LA restaurant recommendations: Food that fulfills and decor that delights

LA restaurant recommendations: Food that fulfills and decor that delights

by Sally Zhu and Lakshmi Mulgund • April 9, 2022

LOS ANGELES – Harker Aquila visited three Los Angeles-based restaurants during a trip to the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. From Pasadena to Downtown LA to West Hollywood, these...

Head chef of Korean fusion joint K’grill Kyung Yoon points at the menu board. K’grill is located on the fourth floor of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

Hotel hotspots: LA hotel features food and hospitality

by Alysa Suleiman, Irene Yuan, Sally Zhu, and Erica Cai • April 9, 2022

LOS ANGELES — Take a stroll down South Figueroa Street and you will find a towering 367-foot conference hotel boasting 35 stories and 40 meeting rooms: Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites. The largest...

Pacific Catch's Japanese Wasabi Original Ahi Poke ($16 for small, $19 for regular), which includes a wakame seaweed salad, sushi rice and Ahi poke, sits on a table. The restaurant's Cupertino Main Street location operates from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

A fusion of Pacific flavors and fares

by Olivia Xu, Reporter • January 28, 2022

Are you craving the soft tortilla and juicy fillings of a taco? Or do you hunger for some simple yet appetizing rolls of sushi? Or both?  At the heart of Cupertino’s Main Street Plaza resides Pacific...

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, Green Team hosted the multi-day long Harker EcoChallenge. Students and faculty members completed environmentally responsible tasks, like consuming meatless meals or travelling by bike, and submitted their accomplishments for points.

Global Reset: Food waste contributes to climate change

by Sabrina Zhu and Mark Hu • May 19, 2021

Every year, $936 billion worth of food is wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These 1.3 billion tonnes, equivalent to one third of all food produced,...

Nestled in the far corner of Cupertino Main Street Plaza, SomiSomi sells taiyaki, a Japanese fish shaped waffle with a red bean filling. However, SomiSomi blends American and Japanese desserts, offering a wider range of taiyaki fillings, including Nutella, custard or red bean, along with soft serve ice cream. 

Sweet treats to eat: the influence of Asian desserts

by Arely Sun and Emily Tan • August 28, 2019

The Bay Area is a hub of immigrants, leading to a fusion of cultures in every aspect of life. One noticeable example of this “melting-pot” is the popularity of Asian desserts among people of all backgrounds....

In lowercase serif font, Bone Kettle’s simple yet modern sign hangs in front of the restaurant. The eatery is located on 67 N Raymond Ave in Old Town Pasadena nearby the California Institute of Technology and the Metro Gold Line.

Bone Kettle serves fresh, bold Southeast Asian flavors

by Sara Yen, Assistant Features Editor • March 9, 2019

As soon as you walk into Bone Kettle, the first thing that most likely catches your attention is the modern design of the restaurant. Thin wooden panels and bold artwork pad the walls of the eatery, which...

5 mothers sit at the table, sporting cultural garb and sitting behind plates symbolizing their native cultures. From left to right, the cultures represented are Chinese, Indian, Persian, Peruvian, and African American.

Embracing our mother culture

by Lucy Ge, Sriya Batchu, and Esha Gohil • February 22, 2019

Peking duck wrapped in pancake. Shirin polo. Gulab jamun. Whether it’s crispy, sweet, fried, or cheesy, food can be found in family traditions and history of cultures all around the world. For April...

The seasonal Winter Pasta, consists of penne pasta, spicy sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes sauteed in a garlic butter sauce. It has a zesty taste with a light hint of pepper.

Tomatina brings modern twist on traditional Italian Cuisine

by Heidi Zhang, TALON Editor-in-Chief • January 26, 2019

Located at 5245 Prospect Road in the Westgate West Plaza, Tomatina provides a modern and innovative take on classic Italian dishes. Customers eating at Tomatina have the convenience of stopping by at many...

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