Very nice article from the Napa Wine Project on Jarvis Estate Winery. Will Jarvis ’97 is noted as having pioneered a current offering, Science Project, while at Harker!
Jason Lin, rising junior, was named a distinguished finalist by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and was celebrated in the Los Altos Town Crier.
These class notes originally appeared in the summer 2019 issue of Harker Magazine.
In Memoriam
It is with the deepest sadness that we report on the deaths of two of our young alumni.
Jason Yu ’12 passed away in a traffic accident in Seattle on May 6. Jason was involved in swimming, water polo, robotics and more during his three years at the upper school. A celebration of his life was held in Seattle on May 10.
Sandip Nirmel ’17 passed away on May 23 after an extended illness. At Harker Sandip was involved in student council, Model UN, DECA, research, golf, Challenge Success and more. He was attending Harvard University. A memorial was held at Harker’s upper school campus June 22. For complete biographies of Jason and Sandip please visit news.harker.org. Cards may be sent to Kristina Alaniz, alumni director, at The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA, 95129.
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2002
Since leaving big law, Tiffany Tuong Vi Duong, has traveled the world to better understand her true passion: advocating for the oceans. She has honed her policy and advocacy skills, immersed herself in field experience (Amazon rainforest, shark tagging, coral restoration), and now is focused on creating real change for the wild places she loves most. See the feature on Tiffany on page 48.
2003
Shabnam Aggarwal was interviewed for a Q&A in The Swadle, a “media platform with a strong feminist lens” from India. Shabnam discusses her book, “Freedom to Fail: Lessons from My Quest for Startup Success.” Some great questions were asked, and some great answers given, about women in technology, first efforts at entrepreneurship and dealing with discrimination in business. Check it out! https:// theswaddle.com/a-chat-with-shabnam- aggarwal-author-of-freedom-tofail- lessons-from-my-quest-for-startupsuccess/
Gabrielle DeMers married Eric Snyder on the beaches of Mexico on April 27, 2019. The couple met in Baltimore, where Gabby is an opera singer. Guests at the wedding included Julia Gitis ’03, Angela (Pullen) Halusic ’03, and Lisa Schwebke ’04. Then, on May 17, Gabby and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were given Harker’s inaugural Life in the Arts award. See the box on page 61 for details.
2005
Kristen (Hulberg) Hunsbedt and husband, Mark, welcomed a second baby boy, Cameron Hunsbedt, on October 18, 2018. He joins big brother Andrew, age 2. Kristen and family reside in the Santa Cruz mountains.
2007
Anna Huang married Gergely Svigruha in Budapest, Hungary. Albert Wu ’04 and Siobhan Stevenson ’07 were members of the bridal party, and Natalie Torban ’07 was also in attendance.
2008
Tiffany Liou was awarded the 2019 Radio Television Digital News Foundation Michele Clark Fellowship. This award goes to a young, promising minority professional in television or radio news. Tiffany is currently a news reporter for WFAA in Dallas, Texas.
2009
On May 17, 2019, D.J. Blickenstaff, along with Gabrielle DeMers ’03, was given Harker’s inaugural Life in the Arts award. See the box above for details.
In 2016, Barrett Glasauer co-founded WanderJaunt, which partners with property owners to maximize value for short-term rentals. While working on his electrical engineering/computer science degree at the University of California, Berkeley, he met friends who would later join him at WanderJaunt. He has worked for Palantir Technologies, and also worked at DoorDash with other Harker alumni, including co-founder Andy Fang ’10, David Kastelman ’09, Rohan Chopra ’10 and Kevin Fu ’10. While there, he met his future partners. The team finds properties to update and rent out by searching Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and Redfin for properties available for rent. The company is growing rapidly and WanderJaunt, like so many companies, is seeking good workers. “We would love to talk to software engineers and data scientists located in SF,” said Barrett. Read all about the company and Barrett’s journey at Harker News:https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9G8.
Candace Silva-Martin reports, “Over the course of this past year, I have experienced many difficult and amazing life changes. Last May I started a new position as a senior consultant data scientist at Deloitte, specializing in machine learning solutions for government clients. In January, I bought a beautiful home in Northern Virginia, and less than a month ago, I got engaged in Portugal to my longtime boyfriend, Matt Stagg. We look forward to starting this next chapter of our lives together!”
Nicole Woods got engaged to Jon Mattox.
Justin Iso won $10,000 for his Christmas cookies on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge! Justin, a software engineer working on computer imaging, beat out professional bakers. He noted he would love to be a fulltime baker, and it looks like he is off to a great start! Justin, who works in New York City, also has been a sculptor and painter, which he said contributes to his cookie designs. In 2017, he won Best Baking Blog in the World awarded by Saveur Magazine. Check out his baking blog at http://chefiso.com.
2011
Adi Parige reports, “I recently released my debut album under the moniker Dothead. The record is a fusion of psychedelic rock with lyrical contemplations on South Asian identity. While some songs are a reflection of my views on Indian politics and history, others tackle more universal themes of mental health and love through the unique lens of the Hindu mythology. If you’d like to listen, the album is available on Spotify and iTunes!” You can keep up to date on Adi’s journey as Dothead by following him on Instagram at @dothead_tunes.
2014
Zina Jawadi visited the upper school campus in April to address students at a National Honor Society event. Zina is a former president of the Hearing Loss Association of America — California and was recently elected a member of the HLAA national board of directors. She was diagnosed with a hearing impairment at age 8 and, as a middle school student at Harker, began to advocate for the hearing impaired. She continued her advocacy through high school, college and grad school at Stanford. Zina spoke about Harker’s ongoing quest to promote diversity. Read more about her amazing efforts here: http://www.hearinglossca.org/zina-jawadi.
2015
Agata Sorotokin was named a 2019 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow for her drive, creativity, intellectual spirit and commitment to the values at the heart of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. The fellowships support outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing a graduate education in the United States. Agata will be using her fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in music at SUNY Stony Brook. Read her bio here: https://www.pdso-ros.org/meet-the-fellows/agata-sorotokin
Hannah Bollar was recently interviewed by Siggraph, a prestigious international computer graphics organization. Hannah worked at both Cesium and Nvidia as a computer graphics software engineering intern in 2018 and is working on a master’s degree in science, engineering, computer graphics and game technology at the University of Pennsylvania. Read all about her unique path! https://www.siggraph.org/discover/inspiration/member-profiles/hannah-bollar
Cindy Liu received the FrederickEmmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award, which is given to the top 5 percent of engineering seniors at Stanford. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in biomedical computation, she will be pursuing a master’s in advanced computer science at Cambridge University as a Churchill scholar.
Savi Joshi recently led a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $3,000 so she could publish a cookbook, “Keeping it Hot: An Unofficial Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Cookbook.” This epic feat was accomplished from recipes Savi had concocted all in her college dorm kitchenette including classics like mac and cheese, and sugar cookies to more innovative dishes, such as Cheetos bagels and Cheetos-filled macarons.
Nitya Mani was awarded the J. E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement from Stanford University and was also given an honorable mention for the 2019 Alice T. Schafer Prize for excellence in mathematics by an undergraduate woman.
Mishi Vachev was one of 25 students worldwide chosen as a 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists Conviron Scholar. She received her bachelor’s degree this spring and said, “I hope to pursue a Ph.D. in plant breeding and to specifically work on breeding crops for Third World countries or populations in need of improved agriculture.” You can check out more about Mishi and this wonderful honor in an article from Eckerd College at https://www.eckerd.edu/news/blog/eckerd-senior-accepted-into-plant-biologists-program/
2016
Zarek Drozda recently co-authored an environmental impact report that helped prompt the city of Chicago to pass a resolution committing to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Zarek founded a student-run nonprofit last year at the University of Chicago that focuses on public policy research, named the Paul Douglas Institute. If you have project ideas or want to support its work, please reach out!
2017
Harker’s college counselors visited a series of colleges in New York City and the surrounding area and met up with a trio of Harker alumni, Divya Rajasekharan, Kshithija (KJ) Mulam and Sanjana Marcé, all currently sophomores at Columbia.
2018
Katherine Zhu has been tearing it up in women’s golf at the University of California, Berkeley. She’s been named to the All-Pac 12 team with an honorable mention as a freshman! https://www. instagram.com/p/BwZ88_YFllT/
Reunions
The annual Grand Reunion was held on Oct. 6, 2018. This gathering honored the 5-, 10- and 15-year reunion markers for the classes of ’03, ’08 and ’13 but was open to and attended by multiple years in between and beyond. Alumni enjoyed music, food, a photo booth, epic time-capsule openings and tours of the newest building additions to campus.
The Class of 2008 held an additional celebration in a December gathering at Doppio Zero in Cupertino, where more than 40 alumni caught up over pizza and laughs!
125th Anniversary Alumni Regional Tours
More than 100 Harker alumni from the classes of 1979-2015 attended events held in New York City and Los Angeles.The last leg of the special anniversary tour will be celebrated in August in San Francisco.
While visiting New York City for the “Harker in New York,” event, Joe Rosenthal, Harker’s executive director of strategic initiatives, enjoyed visits with Howard Tsao ’91 and brothers Dennis Wang ’80 and Alexander Wang ’98. Mr. Rosenthal’s travels continued onto Asia where he attended several different receptions with boarding alumni who had attended the Harker English Language Institute.
This year’s final leg of the annual Keller tour took Butch and Jane Keller back to Southern California and then on to Colorado where they visited alumni from both UCLA and the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Visual arts teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparzaspent the spring break visiting some of her former students currently attending college arts programs or already working in the field on the East Coast. Alumni included Kelsey Chung ’10, Alisa Su ’18, Matthew Ho ‘15, Matt Gehm ‘09, Alexandra Gross ’17, Jeffrey Hsu ’15 and Juhi Gupta ’15.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Harker Magazine.
When Ella Fitzgerald Park – complete with green grass, a jungle gym, a basketball court and two 60-foot murals – opened in summer 2018, Alexa Bush ’02 got to see firsthand the impact she is making in the world.
“We wanted to create a neighborhood that felt complete, intentional and cared for without having to build a single house,” she told online news source Citylab in an article about Detroit’s new holistic approach to redevelopment.
Bush was recruited by Detroit planning director Maurice Cox, who was one of her professors at the University of Virginia, where she earned her master’s degree in landscape architecture. Cox had a vision to focus on three different neighborhoods to create a model for redevelopment, and he encouraged Bush to leave the private sector to rebuild Detroit.
“Everything about Alexa’s story – her family’s roots in Detroit, her natural inclination to show empathy towards others, a design thesis spent reflecting on neighborhood vacant lots – has prepared her to ably guide residents toward courageous design solutions,” said Cox. “Alexa is such a wonderful role model for young professionals looking for their own path to making a positive difference in the world.”
Today, as design director for the city, she is leading a team of three planners and designers who are responsible for neighborhood planning, development and open space projects for the east side of Detroit.
The east side of Detroit is where Bush’s mom grew up – so when her then-boyfriend-now-husband asked her to move to Michigan after graduate school, it felt right.
Similarly, the decision to go to Harker for high school felt right many years ago. Bush was a member of the inaugural freshman class at Harker when it opened the upper school in 1998.
“Alexa was a huge part of steering the direction of the student body in those first years,” remembered Theresa “Smitty” Smith, head volleyball coach who coached Bush for four years. “It was tough to be a member of that first class, as we were all learning together how to be a high school. Alexa was a positive role model, a leader by example and a multitalented student.”
Members of the first class – who dubbed themselves “the guinea pigs” – bonded as they paved the way for Harker’s upper school. Bush commuted to Harker from Morgan Hill, so when the time came to look at colleges, she knew she wanted a campus where she could walk or take transit.
After a visit to Boston and acceptance to Harvard University, she packed up and headed to the East Coast. She studied visual and environmental studies, which cultivates skills in both the practice and critical study of the visual arts. She chose film production as her focus and thought commercial film was her future.
“I had an internship in New York working on a film and thought this was my path,” said Bush. “But then my senior year, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do, which was hard but felt right.”
She graduated from Harvard and landed a job at Google, where she worked for two years. It was interesting, but she realized that a desk job wasn’t for her because she wanted to be more creative and actually create tangible products, she explained. So she applied to graduate school and chose the University of Virginia to study landscape architecture.
She couldn’t have predicted how life after Harker would unfold, but she remembers sage advice a college advisor gave to her years ago when he said, “Alexa, I know you are successful and you like to plan your future, but sometimes you have to just be open to other things happening and then allow them to happen.”
Bush couldn’t agree more; she looks back on her journey and realizes that so much of it was being in the right place at the right time, despite all her planning and hard work. “Being open to opportunity can be incredibly rewarding,” Bush reflected.
Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Harker Magazine.
There is a whole new world in medicine, thanks to technology,” said Rupan Bose ’07. “I’ve been lucky enough to have fantastic mentors, grow up in an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship, and be surrounded by extremely successful people at Harker.”
But, of course, it’s more than just luck. Bose is driven to make an impact in the world and he’s on his way to doing that through his studies in medicine and his passion for technology.
Bose came to Harker in fifth grade and stayed through the upper school, where he served as ASB president his senior year. He appreciated how Harker emphasized the intersection between different fields and trained him to think in a very multidisciplinary way. Bose focused on science and math but learned many valuable skills through his electives and other non-STEM courses.
“These teachers taught me to look at the world from a non-scientific view. I owe a lot to them, because even in science there’s art,” said Bose, who spoke at the fountain dedication for former Harker English teacher Cheryl Cavanaugh, who died of cancer in 2007. “Dr. C knew English wasn’t my strongest subject, but she took so much time after class to help me. I was honored to give the speech; it was a monumental, vivid and emotional experience that I will carry with me forever.”
As Bose remembers his past, he also looks optimistically toward his future as he completes his residency as a doctor of internal medicine.
Bose grew up in a house filled with engineers, so it was initially a surprise to his close-knit family when he veered toward medicine instead of technology.
Bose studied neuroscience/pre-med at the University of Southern California. He then went on to pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology, with a particular interest in entrepreneurship, at the University of Pennsylvania, because he appreciated the combination of medicine, technology and business.
It was while at Penn that he started seeing that medicine could be greatly improved by technology, and his worlds of medicine and technology began to merge.
He then moved back to Los Angeles and started working at the USC Center for Body Computing, a digital health research and innovation center that is at the forefront of the intersection of medicine and technology. There, he focused on developing wearable sensors, mobile medical apps and virtual reality models for health care.
While working at the CBC, he decided that next step to pursuing his dream of changing the world through medicine and technology was to become a doctor. So he returned to USC, this time attending the medical school with a focus on internal medicine and as a part of USC’s new health, technology and engineering dual medicine-technology program.
“Rupan is a remarkable, open-minded and naturally gifted leader who inspires others to confront challenges and pursue their goals,” said Jacob Bongers ’07, who attended Harker and USC with Bose. “I remember years ago having a frank discussion about career anxiety and uncertainty. He listened intently to my concerns and offered precious advice about how the future is always uncertain, but finishing projects, tasks and degrees is such an important and valuable skill to cultivate. His words renewed my motivation to finish my Ph.D. and drove me to look to the future with confidence.” (Read Harker Magazine’s profile on Bongers in the fall/winter 2018 issue.)
Bose and Bongers forged a strong friendship during their years at Harker and then USC. As the ever-humble Bose reflects back on his time at Harker, he realizes how important and formative it was.
“Harker pulls together some of the most impressive, amazing and friendly people,” said Bose with pride. “These people are the movers and shakers who are changing our world, and I’m just lucky I got to know them.”
Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective
At yesterday’s school meeting, Zachary Wong ’19 was presented with The Forgotten International’s 2019 Compassion Award for his work bringing water to impoverished regions of Nepal via the nonprofit organization Water In Nepal, which Wong founded and runs with other California high school students.
Founded in 2007, The Forgotten International works to alleviate extreme poverty around the world, especially for women and children, by supporting community organizations it believes will have the most impact.
Wong traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal, in December of last year to help construct a sedimentation tank for the village of Patlyachaap. The sedimentation tank filters out sludge that builds up in water sourced from a pond near the village and is expected to last up to 100 years.
After being presented with the award, Wong thanked his parents and teachers and reminded the students to “remain kind, remain compassionate, remain grounded.”
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Jason Yu ’12 passed away in a traffic accident in Seattle on May 6, 2019; he was 23. Yu was involved in swimming, water polo, robotics and more during his three years at Harker’s upper school. His obituary can be found here.
Yu’s parents, Charles and Sharon, wrote, “Jason loved nature and being outdoors. His life was full of adventures and excitement. Jason’s passion outside work was to ‘ride my bike and fly my drone.’ His humor and positive attitude were infectious. Jason loved his family. He was especially protective of his little brother, William. He wrote on the first page of his notebook in Chinese “没有什么比家更重要!” (“Nothing is more important than family!”) He kept the notebook next to his computer at work. Jason will always be dearly loved by his friends and family!
“Over 100 friends and family attended a memorial service for Jason in Seattle on May 10, including colleagues from Amazon and classmates from WAB, The Harker School and Purdue University. We are grateful for the outpouring of love, support and prayers from everyone who knew Jason. We LOVE and MISS you so much, Jason!!!”
A memorial service in the Bay Area to celebrate Yu’s life will be held on Saturday, June 8 at 10:30 a.m. at the Alameda Family Funeral Home, 12341 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga, CA 95070. In lieu of flowers, tax-deductible donations may be made to the “Jason Yu Memorial Scholarship in Computer Science” at https://giving.purdue.edu/inMemoryofJasonYu
Please send messages to Yu’s father, Charles Yu, at xiyu@yahoo.com or cards to Nicole Hall at The Harker School, Nicole Hall, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose CA 95129. Contact communications@harker.org with questions.
May 242, 2019
It is with deep sadness that we note that Sandip Nirmel ’17 passed away May 23, 2019, with his parents at his side, after an extended illness while at Harvard University. He was a computer science student exploring artificial intelligence, finance and entrepreneurship.
Nirmel attended The Harker School starting in grade 6 in 2010. He was class president in grades 9, 10 and 11, and associated student body president in his senior year. Nirmel was secretary-general of the Model United Nations Program, a member of the research program, a member of the congressional debate team, a four-year member of the varsity boys golf team and a member of the Challenge Success team. He was also a member of the DECA chapter at Harker. As a class agent for the Class of 2017, his commitment to Harker was ongoing.
Following Harker, he attended Harvard University where he studied computer science with a focus on mind, brain and behavior. He would have graduated in 2021. While at Harvard, he was a case team leader at Harvard College Consulting Group, senior investment research analyst at Harvard Financial Analysts Club and vice chair of the Harvard Society for Mind, Brain and Behavior.
Prior to starting at Harvard, Nirmel interned at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he helped develop an artificial intelligence solution to automatically segment histological imaging data. He also worked in the Ocean Biogeochemistry Lab of the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, where he took a data-driven approach to identifying drivers of sinking behavior of Antarctic phytoplankton and ice algae.
A man of many interests, Nirmel noted on his LinkedIn page, “I am an ambitious, fast-paced CS undergraduate at Harvard. I take on the toughest challenges and overcome them with a smile on my face. I live by a simple motto: ‘Why not?’”
He lived his motto. Nirmel volunteered with the organization Youth on Course, founding its volunteer program and a small grants program. He attended and spoke at fundraisers for the group. He was on the organization’s leadership council for four years, serving as president for 18 months before graduation. For his dedication and hard work, he was given The First Tee/Youth on Course Sandy Tatum Leadership Award.
Nirmel earned numerous honors and awards, including being named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, National Merit scholar, Regeneron Science Talent Search Top 300 scholar and Siemens Competition semifinalist. He also earned a rare perfect score on the AP Microeconomics in his senior year.
Nirmel spoke Chinese and Spanish, along with English.
He was published as well. His papers include “Distribution of Phaeocystis Antarctica-Dominated Sea Ice Algal Communities and Their Potential to Seed Phytoplankton Across the West Antarctic Peninsula in Spring”; “Geoengineering: Turning Back the Climate Change Clock?”; and “Carbon Sinks in a Changing Climate: Relative Buoyancy and Sinking Potentials of Various Antarctic Phytoplankton and Ice Algae.”
Nirmel was also a musician of note, having passed the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music’s examinations for grade 5 music theory, grade 8 piano and grade 8 violin.
Jennifer Gargano, Harker’s assistant head of school for academic affairs, noted Nirmel was “one of the nicest and most mature students that have gone through our halls. He was one of our Challenge Success student representatives who worked with our committee to make some important changes in the areas of balance and wellness.”
Our deepest sympathies to the family, classmates and friends of this wonderful young man. Private memorial services were held in Massachusetts.
A memorial service will be held in Nichols Auditorium at The Harker upper school, 500 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, on Sat., June 22, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.. Donations can be made to San Jose Animal Shelter’s “Guardian Angel Fund.” http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=2765
Send cards to Kristina Alaniz, Alumni Director, The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.