The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“I find value in what I do because it makes people feel happy when they see us perform. It makes them feel encouraged. It brings spirit to people, and it brings our team together in the community. Dance — it's a community thing, not just moving," senior Zachary Soraire said.
Humans of Harker: Dancing in the spotlight
Humans of Harker: Crossing the finish line
Humans of Harker: Crossing the finish line
“I want to be known as someone that’s able to do my own thing, so goal-determined that I don’t let the failures stop me: someone who can take the situation and turn around to look at it from an optimistic view. I’ll just keep getting back up again and again and again," senior Rushil Jaiswal said.
Humans of Harker: Going the extra mile
“A lot of team members at Addax Games had more experience than me, so there is a lot of stuff that I don’t know as well as they do about those games. In general that would be bad, but when it comes to playtesting, that can be quite useful because not everyone who plays the game will be super experienced with board games," senior Saahil Herrero said.
Humans of Harker: Player to playtester
Humans of Harker: Charging through challenges
Humans of Harker: Charging through challenges
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
“Everyone's an unfinished puzzle. And that's part of the reason why I want to connect with different people. I feel that learning about someone's different experiences gives me a more complete perspective of the world and of the problems other people deal with. I might not be able to help them, but I can somewhat alleviate their pain and help them through their situations,” Kushal Shah (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Bonds for a lifetime

by Nicholas Wei, Humans of Harker Profiler • April 20, 2021

Business psychologists. Biotech entrepreneurs. Medical professors. These are just a few types of people with whom Kushal Shah (12) has formed connections and helped connect others. Whether he is meeting...

“The birth lottery is this idea that says when you're born, you have no determination to decide which family you're born into … It's like a lottery. You can’t control where you're born or what circumstances you end up in, or what you want to do. I'd like the ability to change that up — it's worth it,” Krishay Mukhija (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Details make a difference

by Heidi Lu and Ananya Sriram • April 15, 2021

Dressed in a polished and refined suit accentuated by a striped blue tie, Krishay Mukhija (12) focuses on the boy in front of him who is buttoning the cuffs of a crisp white shirt. Watching the boy fix...

“Being able to convey my emotions to an audience and being vulnerable to a group of people are aspects that I've grown in regarding dance. Learning how to take risks is a skill that has followed me outside of dance. There have been a lot of struggles throughout my years of dancing, but it has really taught me how to be persistent and resilient even when things get tough,” Karina Chen (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Dual discoveries

by Helen Zhu, TALON Managing Editor • April 15, 2021

Minutes before her number is called, Karina Chen (12) puts on her headphones and presses “play.” Listening to the music of her upcoming routine, she envisions herself on stage, deliberately selecting...

“I love to make people laugh or smile or try to brighten up their day, just a little bit. That's probably one of my favorite things to do. I’ve really enjoyed the brief interactions that I've had with everyone. I’ve known some of [my classmates] for 13 years now. It's kind of hard to not like them, even a little bit,” Ryan Tobin (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Soccer savant

by Tanya Karpinchyk and Sydney Ling • April 15, 2021

Wearing a deep green Harker jersey and blue cleats, Ryan Tobin (12) sprints to his opponent, getting closer and closer to the soccer ball. The crowd sits on the bleachers of Davis Field, watching anxiously,...

“I'm someone who overthinks a lot of things, but the one thing in my life that I don't overthink is why I do the things I do. It's more like I do them to the best of my ability — how can I learn the most of [what] I somehow stumbled upon. You make the best of what you have. It goes back to the idea of spontaneity and living in the moment,” Arusha Patil (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A world of facets

by Sara Yen, Winged Post Co-Editor-in-Chief • April 15, 2021

“It’s either a good time or a good story.”  Whether lost in the countryside of Peru, stuck in a blizzard in Iceland or captivated by a Buddhist temple in San Francisco, Arusha Patil (12) lives...

“The issue I see today is that pioneers aren’t really recognized. Do you know who invented the keyboard? I have no idea who did that. And we all use the keyboard today. So shouldn’t that be incredibly important? Shouldn’t we remember these things? I want to be the guy who makes people remember that. Remember why we have the things we have in the world, and how we got there,” N Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Seeking common ground

by Trisha Iyer, Reporter • April 14, 2021

Since he was a freshman, N Wang (12) has been creating a digital map of Silicon Valley with a specific purpose: sharing the Bay Area’s history. His vision is for the map to provide easier access to the...

“It's amazing the conversations that you can have [while volunteering] and the different perspectives that you can experience with these random people that you've never met before. Whether it be the people you're serving, or other volunteers, [by] going in and trying to be a little extroverted and make conversation, you can make these new connections and learn so much more about the world and the community around you,” John Lynch (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Reaching in and reaching out

by Emma Gao and Olivia Xu • April 14, 2021

In this chaotic world of online learning and irregular schedules, it is easy to lose track of time in a busy day of Zoom classes. Luckily, Harker students and faculty alike can rely on the Harker Bell...

“I realized I wasn’t being my true self [in middle school]. I was putting myself in a box. I used to be really intentional with the words that I was saying, but once I got open [as] I grew up, I lost that need to be completely filtered. That’s one of the best changes that has ever happened to me, just growing more confident,” Elaine Zhai (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Finding comfort in the uncomfortable

by Shreya Srinivasan, TALON Co-Editor-in-Chief • April 14, 2021

Upbeat music drowns out the sound of the starting engine as Elaine Zhai (12) backs her car out of the driveway. Turning out of her neighborhood, she navigates the streets of Saratoga, making her way to...

“Art is really important because it can celebrate the thoughts of an individual or an entire community, and it can express any kind of emotion, from joy to addressing major issues going on. Or it can just be for fun—something decorative to make the world a prettier place. Every piece of art makes the world a better place and a more connected place,” Maria Teplova (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A true craftswoman

by Arely Sun, Winged Post Lifestyle Editor and Social Media Editor • April 14, 2021

A broad canvas, bordered with shiny black tape, sprawls across a mint green wall. On it, a tangle of gray pencil lines delineates the outlines of several robots, and streaks of brown acrylic paint begin...

“A large part of how I grow, especially when I'm interacting with other people, is through being a good listener. I like being a listener, too; I've learned a lot from listening to other people. Listening seems really simple, but you can contribute a lot to someone else by just being a good listener, whether it's support or learning from them,” Betsy Tian (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Diving deep for understanding

by Emily Tan, Winged Post Features Editor • April 12, 2021

As president of the research club, avid researcher and book-lover, it’s no wonder that Betsy Tian (12) loves learning. In fact, “loves” isn’t even a strong enough word to encompass her unconditional...

“Being part of a team has always been my favorite part … we’ve basically grown up together, and it's pretty awesome. We also schedule a million team bonding days to hang out or go somewhere, because it’s important that you’re able to get along off the field,” Sarah Baicher (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Every kick matters

by Heidi Lu and Medha Yarlagadda • April 12, 2021

A perfect pass from one of her teammates, and the ball was in her possession. With her eyes focused on the goal and her heart racing, Sarah Baicher (12) took a deep breath and propelled the ball past the...

“I've always been observant of what other people are feeling and I've always wanted to help people. Experiencing my own struggles made me really understand what it feels like. I just want to make sure no one feels alone, no one should feel that way,” Vidya Jeyendran (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Soundtrack of soft science

by Sydney Ling and Katelyn Zhao • April 12, 2021

The charcoal sultry 3 a.m. track of Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” dances against the patter of rain as Vidya Jeyendran (12) sits at her desk.  When Vidya found herself in the confines of her home due...

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