The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“In every activity I do, there's always an element of making sure that my work can impact people. In what I've done, there are times when people question what I do or if what I'm doing is correct. For me, what is most important is that what I'm doing can have a tangible impact on someone else. As long as I believe that an impact can occur, then I want to do that regardless of what other people think," senior Valerie Li said.
Humans of Harker: Calling for change
“My favorite part is not even the content, just how all my family presented. I made a jeopardy one time about myself to see who knew me the best, and that was funny because I realized that they do pay attention more than I give them credit for. I appreciate my family more for that," senior Rithika Yamasani said.
Humans of Harker: Finding strength in connection
Humans of Harker: Data and dynamics
Humans of Harker: Data and dynamics
“Once people start lifting, they'll never be happy with how they look or how big their muscles are. It definitely makes them more self-conscious about how they look because a lot of people train for muscle size. Since I'm not trying to pursue lifting in college and it’s just for fun, I train for both. It's not exclusively one or the other," senior Jason Yi said.
Humans of Harker: Power through
“Food brings people together. Cooking is one of the very few things in our world that can do that. No matter where you go, you will always see families sitting around a table eating food. It's very powerful and I'm glad that my cooking club could be a part of that," senior Ian Gerstner said.
Humans of Harker: Crafting cuisine and catching critters
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
“I want to have been the one to at least help create several organizations. I want to create more of a culture as well and change it towards one of collaboration, rather than competition. Everyone is trying to compete against one another, trying to get the best grade, trying to get ahead on this project, but what I’ve learned after taking all these classes and doing all these projects is that we can do a lot more working together than trying to be the best ourselves," David Melisso (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Calm and composed

by Vishnu Kannan, Reporter • April 17, 2019

As David Melisso (12) sits in his Study of Visual Arts class, face resting on the palm of his hand, a sense of calm seems to surround him. Sporting a classic outfit - dark washed blue jeans, a dark blue...

“Both hacking and choreography are inherently creative things. With hacking and software development, you’re building something from the ground up; you start with nothing. You can create whatever you want and you end up with something that people can use and enjoy. Choreography is very similar. You start with nothing but an idea and you just build it up and see where it goes," Sonal Muthal (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The art of creation

by Delaney Logue, TALON Photo Editor • April 16, 2019

Arms outstretched and toes pointed as she holds her relaxed but steady position, Sonal Muthal (12) holds an air of sophistication and grace as she begins to move across the floor of the dance room. Face...

"Robotics started as my first exposure to the campus. It was a big part of my first few interactions at the school, but I think I almost immediately gravitated towards the teaching and collaboration aspect of it. And I think that's what makes me tick: building things, big or small, with others. I think it's better to be valuable to a group of people or a team than famous in the whole world," Joel Manning (12).

Humans of Harker: Collaboration

by Srinath Somasundaram, Opinions Editor • April 16, 2019

Joel Manning (12) speaks to a group of his peers using his arms to further emphasize his main points and putting everyone, himself included, to work on a new project. As executive president of Harker Robotics,...

“I really value honesty and being open with people that you're friends with. I think that the best way to have a healthy relationship with anyone is to be honest and kind of tell them how you're feeling in general, even if it's something that you guys aren't necessarily agreeing upon," Srija Gadiraju (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The impact of kindness

by Alysa Suleiman, Reporter • April 15, 2019

Straight black hair tied back in a ponytail and a worn out white lab coat around her shoulders, Srija Gadiraju (12) diligently pushes back her lab goggles while gloved hands expertly dissect a cat in upper...

“I learned how to spend time by myself and learned how to be alone. It’s peaceful to not have to worry about anything or worry about what anyone thinks of me all the time, and I think that has made me more confident and shaped me to realize that it doesn’t matter who I am with and that it is ok to be by myself. I’m not saying I’m an introvert, I still like to go out and do things—I just learned how to spend time with myself," Sahana Narayan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: The value of time

by Julia Amick, TALON Business Editor • April 15, 2019

Dressed in dark grey leggings, a navy blue sweatshirt and black flip-flops, Sahana Narayan (12) leans against the wall with her legs stretched out in front of her. Every so often, Sahana switches between...

“I want to be the person who can impact people, somebody who worked for others and always thought for the benefit of others,” Ayush Vyas (12) said. “I want to be that leader who was never overly vocal but still always cared and was vocal when someone needed to step up and say something. What often gets overlooked is a captain's ability to listen and learn, but to me, that's my most important value.”

Humans of Harker: Duality in leadership

by Srinath Somasundaram, Opinions Editor • April 14, 2019

The huddle rocks back and forth as Ayush Vyas (12) begins a chant, firing up the football team up as he leads them, storming, onto the field. “This year, on the football team, I had to take charge...

“If you do something, you should try to put as much effort into it as you can, because through my experiences, I’ve seen people who are really talented at what they do, but then they don’t put as much effort as they can and they kind of waste that talent,” Alex Yu (12) said. “Similarly, [there are] people who started from the bottom but then really worked their way up to the top.”

Humans of Harker: Splashes of music

by Nicole Tian, Reporter • April 14, 2019

After pushing past the black, wiry gate to the swimming pool, the air tingles with chlorine, and pop music blasts through a speaker in a faraway corner. Slicing through the water in crisp butterfly strokes,...

Kelsey Wu (12) waves the senior class flag while Karen Krause (12), Sahana Narayan (12) and Shania Wang (12) cheer to her left. The seniors earned the most spirit points this year.

Harker heats up for spirit week

by Emily Tan, Reporter • April 14, 2019

For members of the upper school community, the five days after spring break ended weren’t just any few days: it was spirit week, which meant over-the-top costumes, class competitions nearly every day,...

“[Reverse engineering] really started with robotics, there was one team that brought this really interesting mechanism to the world,” said Eric. “I could just, for the life of me, not figure out how it works. So I took a couple of videos, asked them for a couple of pictures, and I spent years on that. Occasionally I would spend an hour or so looking at it, trying to figure out how it works and a year or two later I finally figured out how it works. It made me realize that I love figuring things out," Eric Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Toy and Tinker

April 12, 2019

With the look of interest and wonder in his eyes, Eric Wang (12) ponders the complexities of common items such as door knobs and toilets to understand how they work and function as a quaint pastime. Reverse...

"I started following Kpop idols more these days because there’s more of a human aspect. If you get something just straight from the imagination, like in anime or something, sometimes they just start repeating. I like seeing actors because there’s no way for then to copy. Due to a lot of circumstances like plot and the actual capabilities of the actors themselves, each scene they act is going to look different. So I really appreciate that. And the camera work, if you mash all those together, usually it’ll come out with something different," Catherine Wang (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Getting real about realism

by Laura Wu, Co-People and Seniors Editor • April 11, 2019

Turning side-to-side on her stool in the art room, Catherine Wang (12) smiles as she starts to talk about one of her passions: J-dramas. While society often labels all TV shows as mindless and the same,...

“In robotics I’ve learned the mechanical and software engineering that comes with building a robot, programming it to move and perform tasks. At the same time, a big part of robotics is networking and socialization. An ability I’ve gained is to combine both the engineering aspects and also the more social aspects [of robotics]. Skills such as talking to judges, being able to present your ideas in a clear fashion and making friends with other people to work together and do well in competitions have been really important and useful,” Rithvik Panchapakesan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Building new horizons

by Muthu Panchanatham, Reporter • April 11, 2019

Safety goggles adorning his face, Rithvik Panchapakesan (12) stares intently at the complicated piece of machinery in front of him. His team watches behind him as he operates the manual mill to precisely...

“[Track] is just a fun time. A lot of my friends were there, and it kinda just taught me that if I work on something that I’m not good at, it’ll eventually get better. You’ll get better, but most importantly you’ll have fun,” Surya Gudapati (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Fun and games

by Erica Cai, Reporter • April 10, 2019

As he jogs a warm-up lap around the Blackford track, Surya Gudapati (12) cracks a joke to his friends, grinning over his shoulder. Laughter and exclamations mingle with the rhythmic thudding of sneakers...

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