Laura Lang-Ree, Harker performing arts chair, and Ann Luceña ’04 both performed Saturday at South Bay Musical Theatre’s 60th anniversary celebration, “Welcome to the Sixties.” Lang-Ree sang a solo rendition of “See What It Gets You” from Stephen Sondheim’s “Anyone Can Whistle,” while Luceña was a part of a group that performed a medley of 1960s folk songs, including “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle.” During her time at Harker, Luceña was a member of the middle school choral group, Harmonics. She most recently served as the CEO of San Ramon Regional Medical Center.
Last week, Forbes’ Steven Savage published a story featuring Tara Chandra ’06’s company, Here We Flo, as one of three women-run companies selling plant-based consumer products to help reduce the use of plastics. Chandra and co-founder Susan Allen established Here We Flo, a feminine hygiene product company, in 2017 after meeting while pursuing master’s degrees at the London School of Economics. Here We Flo launched in the United States in 2020 and currently has three product lines.
Last week, Harker students attended a guest lecture by cardiologist Shalini Bhambani ’02, who provided insight into her profession with a series of case studies of patients she had helped.
In one case study, a patient required an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, a device that monitors the heart for irregular heartbeats and delivers an electric shock to restore a normal rhythm. Another case study involved a patient suffering from endocarditis due to a staph infection, and needed a heart valve replaced. She described two types of synthetic valves and their respective pros and cons. Bioprosthetic valves use bovine, porcine or equine biological material that do not form clots but need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years, while mechanical valves made from titanium and carbon can last for the rest of the patient’s life but are prone to forming clots.
Last month, sophomore Emma Milner published a feature on Harker Aquila about Robert Rothbart MS ’00, who now plays basketball professionally in the Israeli National League. The story was selected as Best of SNO by Student News Online and was praised by Rothbart, who said, “I have been interviewed hundreds of times in my career, and this is hands down the only article I cherish.” The story goes into Rothbart’s early life in former Yugoslavia and his difficulty adjusting to American life after joining Harker as a fourth grader when his mother was hired as a basketball coach. Rothbart began playing basketball at Harker that same year and soon decided he wanted to be a professional player, following in his parents’ footsteps.
Members of the Class of 2002 got together at the upper school campus on Dec. 17 for their 20th anniversary reunion. The event was held in the campus’ auxiliary gym, which brought back fond memories for the alums of the upper school’s first graduating class.
“It’s not like your 20-year high school reunion happens all the time,” said Isabella Liu ’02, who helped organize the event. “And we were the first graduating class. It always comes up whenever we’re together.”
In addition to reminiscing with each other over food and drinks, the alumni also met with longtime faculty members and visited some of the campus facilities that have sprung up since their graduation.
“I have such warm memories of my entire Harker experience that I made a point of coming back for the reunion,” said Alex Janofsky ’02. “Now that I have school-aged children, I am increasingly reflecting on my own grade school experiences to share with them.”
On Nov. 28, Simar Bajaj ’20 received the Foreign Press Association’s Science Story of the Year award, for a piece he penned for The Guardian in August about pig-to-human heart transplants. Bajaj, who currently attends Harvard University, went to London to receive the award in person. A video has been posted of Bajaj receiving the award, as well as some of his remarks. The FPA is the world’s oldest press organization, dating back to 1888. Bajaj is the youngest awardee in the organization’s history.
This past weekend, Harker alumni Melissa Chen ’08, Kacie Kaneyuki ’10, Rebecca Liu ’13 and Daniza Rodriguez ’13 – who is also the upper school girls basketball coach – participated in some friendly competition with Harker students in this year’s alumni basketball game. Several alums who planned on competing unfortunately could not attend, so the alumni team was graciously joined by junior varsity coaches Melissa Cabrera and Pip Chan. The first alumni basketball game was held in 2013 and takes place every year over the Thanksgiving break.
On Saturday, three outstanding alumni – Alex Abarca ’09, Daniza Rodriguez ’13 and Amanda (Polzin) Sullivan ’06 – were inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame, along with the entire roster of the 2007-08 girls varsity volleyball team, one of Harker athletics’ greatest success stories. Sullivan and former volleyball team member Candace Silva-Martin ’09 were unable to attend in-person and Zoomed into the ceremony from home.
A highly prolific scorer, Abarca was a four-time boys varsity basketball MVP for the Eagles and posted more than 1,700 points. In his junior year, he was named the Private School Athletic League MVP. As a senior he was named to the WBAL First Team, a San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Week, declared Harker Athlete of the Year and received the Eagle Award, which is given to athletes who demonstrate extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm, expressed in their willingness to help their teammates, act as role models and offer their maximum effort to every task. He graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business management economics from UC Santa Cruz, where he also played basketball. Abarca now lives in San Jose and works as an accounting manager at AEye Inc., and is married and a father to a 7-month-old son.
In addition to being named co-MVP of the girls varsity basketball team in her senior year, Amanda Sullivan (née Polzin) received an honorable mention for the All-West Bay Athletic League Team. While performing as a key member of the team, Sullivan — who was born with amniotic band syndrome — also dedicated her time to serving student athletes with disabilities. She began volunteering with the Special Olympics, which eventually led to her winning the top prize in the San Jose Sports Authority’s REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) Youth Scholarship Program, an annual award given to Bay Area high school student athletes who have met significant challenges in order to achieve in both athletics and academics. She went on to study human development in college and found a fulfilling career in social work. Sullivan currently resides in North Carolina and is married with two children.
Daniza Rodriguez set a number of records in her time as a member of the girls varsity basketball team. She at one point held the record for most career points (1,214), most points in a season (511) and the best start to a season for any Harker athletics team (11-1). She received many accolades over the course of her upper school career, receiving Harker’s Female Athlete of the Year award in her sophomore and junior years, winning the Eagle Award in her junior and senior years and being named the WBAL Skyline League MVP and to the Skyline League First Team All League. She went on to play women’s basketball at Whittier College and has since returned to San Jose, where she works as a space planner at Cushman & Wakefield. In 2018, she assumed the role of coach for the girls varsity basketball team, which had a historic season that included a first-ever league title win and an appearance in the CCS finals.
The 2007 girls volleyball team remains one of the most successful teams in Harker’s athletic history. The team’s historic 38-5 run included a 12-0 league record, a win at the Maui Classic tournament and the first appearance Central Coast Section ranking ever achieved by a Harker athletics team. The season culminated in an appearance at the state finals against Santa Fe Valley Christian, in which the Eagles fell short but nevertheless left a permanent impression with their phenomenal talent, work ethic and record-setting performances. Featuring no fewer than three Harker Athletics hall of famers — Tanya Schmidt ’08, Kristina Bither ’09 and Candace Silva-Martin ’09 — and coached by decorated Harker veteran Theresa “Smitty” Smith, this team stands as one of the deepest in Harker athletic history to ever take any field or court. Due to their contributions not only to the team’s success but to this landmark chapter in Harker’s athletic legacy, all members of the team were recognized with this special induction.
Bajaj became interested in science journalism after taking creative writing classes at Harvard, and to date has contributed 24 pieces for various outlets, including Time, WIRED and Scientific American. More of Bajaj’s journalistic work and other writings can be found at his website.
At the International Linguistics Olympiad in the Isle of Man in July, Rishab Parthasarathy ’22 received a silver medal and helped Team USA Red place first in individual competition and take the bronze with a tie for fourth in the team competition. Parthasarathy earned his spot on the team toward the end of the 2021-22 school year after placing fourth overall in the North American Linguistics Open Competition. He was also a finalist in the 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search.