The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

New York-stationed journalist Isabelia Herrera smiles, tucking her hair behind her ears. Herrera writes about music and Latinx culture as an Arts Critic Fellow at The New York Times.

So you wanna be a music and arts critic?

by Sally Zhu and Sarah Mohammed November 27, 2021

2021-22 New York Times Arts Critic Fellow and 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 Media honoree Isabelia Herrera never thought she would be a critic. She always loved music, especially music that reminded her of home,...

Reporter Ella Yee (10) reviews photos taken of a table tennis match between Director of Journalism Ellen Austin and Winged Post Managing Editor Mark Hu (12). All periods of news-based journalism students engaged in action photography practice today.

Journalism classes practice action photography during class

by Edward Huang, Reporter October 6, 2021

Journalism students in all three news periods sharpened their photography skills today by shooting action photography of their classmates outside Nichols Hall during the second half of class. Sophomore...

Upper school Intro to Journalism teacher Whitney Huang sits at her desk in the back room of the journalism classroom, holding her Harker Journalism mug. Huang, a 2008 alumna and Harker lifer, returned to Harker due to her deep connection to the schools culture and environment.

Meet your teacher: A return to Harker, 20 years later

by Sarah Mohammed, Features Editor October 3, 2021

Thumbing a photograph from 2000, new upper school journalism teacher and Harker alumna Whitney Huang (‘08) laughs with upper school activities director Kerry Enzensperger, recalling fondly each of their...

Junior class council representative and head of the Campus Life Committee Kris Estrada (11), senior class council representative Sujith Pakala (12) and sophomore class council representative Anaya Mandal (10) provided reminders to the school community, such as putting bowls, plates, trays and utensils away properly.

School meeting recap 8/31/21: Dress code, carpooling and casting

by Isha Moorjani, News Editor September 5, 2021

ASB President Dawson Chen (12) began the meeting and introduced head of school Brian Yager. Yager addressed the upper school students and faculty and spoke about expectations for the upper school campus...

As Student Press Freedom Week is taking place during Feb. 21 to Feb. 27, I have been thinking about the work our journalism staff has been doing. We have been holding the theme for this year in our hands: “journalism against the odds.” We have pushed past the boundaries to do what we have always done: served the community, provided an avenue towards truth, giving voice to the voiceless.

Open hands and truth

by Sarah Mohammed, Winged Post Asst. Features Editor March 17, 2021

I joined the journalism staff as a freshman — new to high school and unfamiliar with what student journalism meant. I loved to write and choosing to take journalism felt simple: I was excited by the...

Elizabeth J. Smith, the Director of Pepperdine Graphic Media, discussed COVID-19 coverage and equitable reporting in a visit with Harker Journalism on Dec. 9.

Pepperdine journalism advisor gives tips on covering diversity and inclusion in a visit to Harker Journalism

by Lucy Ge, News Editor December 13, 2020

Director of Pepperdine Graphic Media (PGM) Elizabeth R. Smith visited period four Harker journalism on Dec. 9, speaking about her experience advising Pepperdine University’s journalism staff and giving...

“I have a habit to live in the moment, whether thats taking a bunch of photos or writing down in my journals specific little moments that I thought were really nice,” Roberts said. “I think more and more now, really trying to live in the moment and trying to appreciate every single aspect of whats going on around me is definitely something I try [to] live by.”

Meet your teacher: Journalism teacher finds confidence through skiing

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler October 11, 2020

Imagine looking out at the beautiful Colorado mountains, which rise high above the rest of the world, covered in a blanket of snow. Imagine standing at the top of a slope with hundreds of feet of snow...

An illustration depicting  the reassuring power of being informed in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Editorial: Response to outbreak calls for corroboration

by Editorial Board March 7, 2020

With over 75,000 cases across 26 countries, as of Feb. 19 according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has raised health concerns, caused city-wide shutdowns and made...

Director of Journalism Ellen Austin explains the fundamentals of DSLR photography to visiting journalism students from Summit High School. The Summit students arrived during lunch and stayed through third period, where they participated in a photo scavenger hunt with Harker students.

Harker journalism program hosts Summit High School journalists for photography class

by Arushi Saxena and Sara Yen March 2, 2020

Encapsulating a fairy tale aura, a colorful gnome figurine stands out in defined focus in contrast to the blurrier leafy surroundings, an effect produced by bokeh, the out-of-focus result in photos using...

Presidents of the Chinese National Honor Society (CNHS), French National Honor Society (FNHS) and Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) Sana Pandey (12), Grant Miner (12) and Katie Chang (12), respectively from left to right, announce the three clubs upcoming shared club week. The three clubs will take turns selling cultural snacks during lunch and after school this week.

School meeting recap 12/2/19: Community service spotlight, Harker journalism update and re-opening of Nichols common area

by Lucy Ge, Asst. News Editor December 4, 2019

Avi Gulati (12) started off the first school meeting back from Thanksgiving break by introducing Kerry Enzensperger, director of upper school community service. For the second community service spotlight...

Mary Beth Tinker holds up a signed black armband to an audience of student journalists at the JEA/NSPA convention, a similar piece to the original black armbands she wore to protest the resulting casualties of American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Free speech activist Mary Beth Tinker inspires student journalists at annual NSPA convention

by Alysa Suleiman, Sports Reporter November 23, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bathed in a dim, warm orange glow, the expansive convention room exploded in a deafening round of applause as activist Mary Beth Tinker stepped onto the podium. To an audience of hundreds...

Humans of Harker (HOH) editor-in-chief Saloni Shah (11), TALON editor-in-chief Anthony Xu (12) and HOH profiler Esha Gohil (10) speak to attendees about the HOH project. More than 240 student journalists and advisers attended the presentation.

Journalism students travel to Washington, D.C. to attend national journalism convention

by Varsha Rammohan, Managing Editor November 23, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Journalism students from TALON, Winged Post and Harker Aquila traveled to Washington, D.C. from Nov. 19 to 23 for the JEA/NSPA fall journalism convention, in which the Winged Post...

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