The Harker wrestling team dropped its league opener to Los Altos last Thursday, but Davis Howard, grade 11, and Anthony Contreras, grade 10, each picked up wins. Over the weekend, the Harker wrestlers traveled to Cupertino High for the Bianchini Memorial Tournament. Diego Figueroa, grade 11, and Kobe Howard, grade 9, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the JV tournament, while Davis Howard placed fourth in the varsity tournament. They travel to Saratoga High this Thursday for another league matchup.
On the middle school level, Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, placed second in the 12 and under division at the California Republic Tournament, which is one of the top tournaments in the state. Johnsen wrestles for Harker during the late winter season and for Bay Area Dawgz Wrestling Club during the off season.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost to Pinewood 3-1 and Crystal Springs Uplands 6-1 last week. Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 11, scored the lone goal for the Eagles vs. Crystal Springs. The girls team looks to pick up its first win of the season on Tuesday as it hosts Sacred Heart Prep at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys Soccer
Winning its third game in a row, the boys soccer team has been on fire as of late. Last Wednesday the boys team defeated Sacred heart Prep 2-1, getting two goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9. The team travels to Crystal Springs Uplands today at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two tough league games this past week. In a 73-54 loss to King’s Academy, Rohan Desikan, grade 12, led the Eagles with 17 points, while Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, added a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Later in the week the Eagles fell to Sacred heart Prep 72-46. Roy Yuan, grade 9, led Harker with 17 points. The Eagles host Pinewood on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Blackford.
Girls Basketball
Coming off back-to-back losses, the girls basketball team rebounded as it defeated King’s Academy 52-37 last Friday. Jordan Thompson, grade 11, once again led all scorers with 23 points. (Jordan also got some love from CalHiSports.com this week: http://www.calhisports.com/2016/01/07/state-stat-stars-of-the-week-110/). Joelle Anderson, grade 11, added 20 points of her own in the win. The 10-3 Eagles host Mercy Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Blackford.
On Wednesday the boys soccer team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep and defeated the Gators 2-1 behind two goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9. This was the first time in at least 10 years that Harker has defeated its league rival on its campus! Congratulations boys and good luck at Crystal Springs Uplands next week.
Commissioner’s Cup
Within the WBAL, there is a little-known competition known as the Commissioner’s Cup, in which a point value is given for all varsity results and tallied up throughout the year. For the first time ever, after the fall season, the Harker girls are in first place. Great job cross country, tennis, volleyball, golf and water polo for giving the Eagles a great start toward the Commissioner’s Cup!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
During his recent appearance as a guest speaker at Harker’s upper school, Al-Jazeera America’s “The Stream” co-host Wajahat Ali MS ’94 reflected on his time at Harker and engaged the packed audience with stories about his work and life as a Muslim-American.
Born to Pakistani immigrant parents, Ali attended Harker from 1986 to 1994. He joked to an enthusiastic, receptive crowd about having lentil stains on his shirt, only speaking Urdu until the age of 5, and being “born and raised in ‘Fremont-istan,’ California.”
The alumnus also spoke fondly about a favorite lower school teacher, Sue Peterson, whom he credits with helping to push him toward becoming the professional playwright, journalist and public speaker he is today.
“She had asked us to write a one-page story. I ended up writing 10 pages. She told me it was a great story and had me recite it in front of the entire class, and then again at a talent show for older students,” recalled Ali, during the assembly held on the morning of Sept. 19 in the upper school gym. “That was the first time I realized I had power in my voice, because I shared my story.”
Ali visited Harker at the request of senior Shay Lari-Hosain, editor-in-chief of Wingspan, the upper school’s long-form magazine. Lari-Hosain, who introduced Ali at the assembly, had previously interviewed him for a Wingspan story about issues that Muslim-Americans face. That article got picked up by a leading English-language newspaper in Pakistan. Following the introduction, Ali took the podium, discussing not only his days at Harker, but his time as a student at the University of California, Berkeley, and how that led to publishing his play “The Domestic Crusaders” in New York. The play, which centers around a Muslim-American family coming together and dealing with their problems, was the first thing Ali had published. It broke box office records at Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York and received the 2011 Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theatre.
After a stint as a freelance correspondent at news organizations including CNN and the Wall Street Journal, Ali went on to become a co-host at Al-Jazeera, despite various struggles, even briefly being homeless and living in a shelter at the age of 30.
Before that, as a young college student, he experienced his first real taste of bigotry after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Then a senior at UC Berkeley and the head of the university’s Muslim Student Association, he recalled how, in the post-9/11 climate, he was forced to become a “professional Muslim,” constantly defending his role of student leader and activist.
“As a ‘professional Muslim,’ you have to be a walking Wikipedia article … an instant expert on Islam, Qur’an, Shari’a, Hamas, hummus, Fatah, fatwas, Iran [and] Salman Khan,” he said, jokingly, but nonetheless making a serious point.
Throughout his address, he stressed the importance of being true to yourself, and not being pressured by the standard Silicon Valley “checklist” of success (what he called the “Holy Trinity”) to become a lawyer, doctor or engineer.
“Blow up the checklist. … Be the most authentic version of yourself,” he advised the students in attendance. “If you fall, hope you have the courage to raise your hand out and have faith that someone will pick you up, and once you guys make it, which you will, my request for you is to reach out across the aisle and help that dude who might be seen as a problem.”
Ali received a standing ovation after concluding his talk by stressing the far-reaching importance of storytelling among minorities, especially youth. His own future plans include continuing to tell his stories with a possible book project in the works.
“I loved how Wajahat Ali was able to connect with the students. His stories were funny, relatable, and carried a deeper message. I have never in my seven years at Harker seen so many students walk out of an assembly smiling and inspired. I was surprised that he spoke more about his life story than discrimination per se, but I think that it carried his message effectively,” observed Michael Zhao, grade 12.
Lari-Hosain said he was thrilled that Ali’s visit was such a success and still generating continued conversation among upper school students and faculty alike. (To read a story about Lari-Hosain’s outreach work in Pakistan: https://staging.news.harker.org/grade-12-student-spends-summers-performing-outreach-work-in-pakistan/.)
“He was an inspiring figure,” said Elisabeth Siegel, grade 12, “navigating through hurdles and setbacks left and right. He gave the audience a much-needed perspective, especially in the current political climate of the world, of what life was like growing up Muslim in America, a religious minority group that went from being the object of ignorance of a majority of Americans pre-2001 to the religious minority considered by a good portion of Americans to be a demographic threat.”
After the assembly Ali participated in an informal question and answer session with about 40 students in the journalism room. He then took part in a diversity discussion in math teacher Lola Muldrew’s classroom.
“Allow yourself the space to fail. Make up your own checklist,” Ali reiterated during those subsequent discussions.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
This fall two popular Harker programs expanded their offerings thanks to generous grants from the Paramitas Foundation. The business & entrepreneurship (B.E.) department and the lower and middle school performing arts programs each received support from the foundation, which was founded by Harker parent Winston Chen.
Chen launched the Paramitas Foundation in 1992 with the mission to support universities, and environmental and community service organizations. Since then, the foundation has set up numerous scholarships and research projects. Chen and his wife, Phyllis Huang, are the parents of Harker students Karina Chen, grade 7, and Nicole Chen, grade 9.
Growth of the Business and Entrepreneurship Department
Because of the Paramitas Foundation’s past and current pledge of support over the next two years, as well as other contributions, the B.E. department has been able to enhance its program and add to its staff. Launched in 2013, the department has rapidly grown to offer a variety of inspiring programs providing business and entrepreneurial education, leadership opportunities and career preparatory programs to upper school students.
“The Paramitas Foundation grant has been essential to the development and expansion of all that we have done within the business and entrepreneurship department,” said Juston Glass, B.E. director. “The programs that bring opportunities for our students to grow as emerging leaders, budding entrepreneurs and future business professionals wouldn’t be available if it weren’t for the generosity of the foundation and Mr. Chen. I am very grateful for their support, enthusiasm for our mission, and kindness to provide us the resources to make it all possible.”
The business and entrepreneurship curriculum focuses on developing real-world business acumen, entrepreneurial readiness and innovative skills. Students learn about marketing, finance, management and entrepreneurship through introductory business courses, attending multiple business and entrepreneurial events held throughout the year, and by participating in the Harker DECA chapter, an internationally recognized, award-winning competitive business organization.
Junior Alexis Gauba said that taking part in the various programs in the B.E. department has given her opportunities and experiences that will be invaluable going into college and beyond. “As a part of CareerConnect, I’ve been able to see visionaries like Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey speak at conferences and build up a professional network by interacting with leaders in various fields. Through DECA I’ve been able to write business plans and pitch product ideas to judges at international competitions, and now I’m able to mentor younger members as they are doing the same,” she shared.
CareerConnect is a student-led networking, career preparatory and professionalism program for rising sophomores and juniors, designed to prepare Harker students for future success in college and the workplace.
Harker also partners with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to bring students an intensive and experiential program focusing on corporate strategy, entrepreneurial principles, financial literacy, business plans, and how to grow and develop one’s business endeavors.
Meanwhile, TEDxHarkerSchool, which this year drew more than 250 attendees, is a program of local, self-organized events that brings people together to share a TED-like experience.
Last December, B.E. held its inaugural Harker BEcon2014, a business, economics and entrepreneurship conference for Bay Area students featuring a wide variety of respected Silicon Valley business professionals.
Performing Arts Soars to New Heights
At Harker’s lower and middle schools, performing arts classes include music, theater and dance instruction. Through these classes students build literacy, learn problem-solving and teamwork, build poise and confidence in performing and develop a stage presence early on that carries over into the classroom and in their future academic careers.
One such program is Dance Fusion, Harker’s grade 4-6 girls and boys dance ensemble. This by-audition group comprises skilled dancers who work together at a fast pace to learn and perform routines with high energy, precision and enthusiasm. In addition to weekly classes, students who land a coveted spot in the group attend weekly rehearsals for their special performances.
Dance Fusion regularly performs its high-energy routines at the annual Harker Family & Alumni Picnic as well as the multi-campus holiday assemblies. “I am thankful for the support the Paramitas Foundation has given to Dance Fusion. By supporting the hiring of guest choreographers, the foundation makes it possible for me to spend more time choreographing and preparing the students for their performances,” said Gail Palmer, K-8 dance instructor and Dance Fusion’s director.
Dancer Anna Bean, grade 5, reported that one thing she really likes about Dance Fusion is how “it lets you get out of your comfort zone. You are challenged to the point where you are having a lot of fun. The week before [a show] is hard but it really prepares you!”
In addition, funding allowed for the purchase of a portable sound system and a projector for the middle school dance room, both of which are a huge help with rehearsals.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
The speech and debate team is off to an amazing start in the 2015-16 competition season, with scores of students already attending tournaments. Perhaps most impressive, the team has experienced success across the entire program, with many awards won by young students in their first or second year of competition.
Broad-Based Team Success
Each division of the large speech and debate team has had notable accomplishments this year. Nearly every trip has produced multiple awards while helping students hone their skills.
In public forum debate, Abhinav Ketineni, Eesha Chona, Sorjo Banerjee, Jasmine Liu and Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 12; Alexander Lam and Emaad Raghib, grade 11; Emily Chen and Karena Kong, grade 10; and Cindy Wang, Clarissa Wang, Ashwin Rammohan and Erana Wan, grade 9, have all won awards in tournament competition.
In congressional debate, juniors Aditya Dhar and Michael Tseitlin, and freshman Jason Huang have placed highly.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Karen Qi, grade 12; Srivatsav Pyda, grade 11; and grade 9 students Neha Tallapragada, Kelly Shen, Satvik Narasimhan and Suraj Pakala have experienced success and won awards at tournaments.
In speech, Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, and juniors Divya Rajasekharan, Sana Aladin and Andrew Tierno have performed well and won awards.
And in policy debate, Panny Shan, grade 12; Molly Wancewicz and Anika Jain, grade 11; and Megan Huynh, Jacob Ohana and Amandeep Ahluwalia, grade 10, have won awards.
The middle school speech and debate team began its competition season in November at the San Francisco Middle School Fall Classic. Avi Gulati, Jason Pan, Vibha Arramreddy, Annie Ma, Cynthia Chen and Nash Melisso, grade 8; Krishay Mukhija, Zain Awais and Andrew Sun, grade 7; and Rishi Jain, grade 6, all received gold medals for their excellent performances.
At the same event, silver medals were won by Jeremy Ding, Reiya Das and Sachin Shah, grade 8; Sidra Xu, Aditi Vinod and Akshay Manglik, grade 7; and Anshul Reddy, Arnav Jain, Aimee Wang, Alina Yuan and Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6.
This broad-based success from students in grades 6-12 is noteworthy. Speech and debate coach Greg Achten noted that while the whole team has excelled, he is particularly impressed with the early season awards won by the speech team, noting, “So far this year, four different speech students have won tournament championships. That is already more tournament championships in a single season than our speech team has ever won and the first semester is not even over.”
New coach Sandra Berkowitz also has been very pleased with the success and work ethic of team members, saying, “As a new teacher and coach at Harker, I am delighted to be a part of a strong speech and debate program that is the epitome of an inspired learning environment. I am impressed with the commitment our debaters and speakers have to honing their craft, and to building their individual argumentation and persuasion skill sets while at the same time fostering an overall Harker team spirit.”
Young Debaters Doing Well
One of the most impressive features of the team’s early success is how many of the awards have been won by middle school students, freshmen and sophomores. “The middle school program had a fantastic first tournament of the season,” said coach Karina Momary. “It was great to see so many young students grow in their confidence levels in presenting and defending their ideas against their peers.
The numerous gold and silver medals our students brought home is a strong reflection of their hard work.”
Momary’s work preparing the middle school students for tournaments also has paid dividends this year as alumni of the middle school program have already started achieving success in the varsity division. At the Holy Cross tournament in New Orleans, freshmen Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang reached the quarter nals in the varsity division of public forum.
At the St. Francis tournament, sophomore Megan Huynh was named a top ve speaker in the varsity division of policy debate and freshman Neha Tallapragada was the top overall speaker in varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate. At the Mission San Jose speech tournament, freshman Nikhil Dharmaraj was named the champion in original oratory.
Speech and debate department chair and coach Jenny Alme noted that, “The overwhelming success of our younger students, especially those who are competing and winning awards in the varsity division, points toward a very bright future for our program. It is, of course, wonderful when our juniors and seniors do well, but it is really special when freshmen and sophomores win awards in varsity. The school should be proud of their successes.”
Looking ahead, the team has several more months of regular season competition before the state and national tournaments in the late spring. An interesting new tournament is being added this year. NASA and The George Washington University collaborated to create the inaugural NASA Astrobiology Debate Tournament, which will be held in February 2016. The tournament will allow students to do scientific research about the ethics involved in the discovery of life on other planets. This unique opportunity will allow students to combine their passions for science and debate and promises to be an exciting event.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
TEDx
On Oct. 17, 220 students participated in TEDxHarkerSchool, an innovative youth-only conference that “featured nine amazing speakers, 10 interactive booths and 30 inspirational mentors,” said Shannon Hong, grade 12, who helped organize the event.
“Our mission is to promote ideas worth sharing – social equality, astronomy, politics, genetics and much more,” she added. “We fully believe that youth can be the ones who change the world, and we hope to enable revolutionary thinking within our community. This year, we had an amazing speaker lineup,” including Stanford geneticist Michael Snyder; youth activist Helen Kassa; international property lawyer Neel Chatterjee; Kelly Sawyers, senior campaigner at Change. org; Leila Janah, social entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Sama Group; Raja GuhaThakurta, profes- sor of astronomy at the University of California, Santa Cruz; writer and Harker senior Kaity Gee; DoorDash CTO Andy Fang ’10; and upper school chemistry teacher Smriti Koodanjeri.
Innovative companies hosting booths included the makers of Nod, a virtual reality device, and Puzzlebox Orbit, a mind-controlled drone. “Moreover, 28 industry professionals joined us for a mentorship luncheon in which stu- dents in groups of five or six ate with a mentor of their choice. We hope to inspire students to pursue their dreams and share important ideas,” Hong said.
TEDxHarkerSchool team members are Hong and fellow seniors Aashika Balaji and John Jerney; juniors Aditya Dhar, Srivatsav Pyda, Rahul Shukla and Peter Wu; and sophomores Emily Chen, Dolan Dworak, Kaitlin Hsu, Neelesh Ramachandran and Anooshree Sengupta.
CareerConnect
In early October, the CareerConnect program hosted a LinkedIn profile workshop at the upper school campus. Students and faculty were invited to learn more about creating effective profiles from LinkedIn employees James Gatenby, manager of Web development, and Asha Chandrashekaran, senior software test engineer. Students without an existing account were taught how to create one, while current users were shown what materials they should add while still high school students.
A few weeks later, in early November, 13 students from CareerConnect attended the QuickBooks Connect 2015 Conference at the San Jose Convention Center, where they participated in a session called “21 Principles of Persuasion” by Jason Nazar, tech entrepreneur and a current contributor to Forbes and Business Insider as well as the CEO of Docstoc.com. With 21 key steps, Nazar introduced persuasion skills that can be used in high profile negotiations as well as in everyday life.
Students were free to explore different booths from a variety of startups, where the exhibitors offered free merchandise and shared their stories of entrepreneurism with students.
Following the Nazar workshop, students headed to the main stage for two impressive keynote addresses: Brian Grazer and Oprah Winfrey. Grazer, an Academy Award-winning producer and co-founder of Imagine Entertainment, opened the session with his story of success.
“He emphasized perseverance and gave an anecdote of how he made it a mission to always reach out and connect with new people,” said Lucas Wang, grade 11. “Oprah Winfrey then took the stage and gave a speech on intention, stating, ‘It’s the energy of the intention that is going to come back to you, because intention is everything.’ Students … need to understand why they’re doing something and what they hope to achieve,” Wang added.
“Overall the attending students got a glimpse in on the entrepreneurial scene in the valley as well as learning new key skills in persuasion,” continued Wang. “The lessons taught by Grazer and Winfrey provided life skills and advice to the students that can apply to everything.”
Harker Podcast Network
The B.E. podcasters launched a new series in September called the “Explained Series.” Recently released episodes include “Venture Capital: Explained with Dharmesh Thakker,” general partner at Battery Ventures; “Digital Health: Explained with Dr. Sangeeta Aggarwal,” of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center; and “Car Dealerships: Explained with Jeremy Beaver,” of the Del Grande Dealer Group.
DECA Report
Along with tuning up members’ business sense, DECA reaches out to help various organizations, and members were busy this fall!
In late October, 11 Harker DECA members participated in the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Muscle Walk. There were multiple booths where participants could make arts and crafts to raise money for MDA. Additionally, there were speakers who told their stories about battling muscular dystrophy. Alexis Gauba, grade 11, said, “It was valuable to understand more about the disease and how we can help support the cause.”
A few weeks later, Harker’s DECA crew threw an ice cream social outside of Manzanita Hall. The team of officers set up a table where they laid out ice cream and multiple toppings. Sanil Rajput, grade 12, said, “The ice cream social is always a great event as it gets everyone in the Harker community excited for DECA, regardless of whether they’re in the club or not.” The idea behind this event was to bring the Harker community together in a fun and informal way with tasty ice cream and fun music, and get members excited for the upcoming DECA season.
That same week, the group held its second annual mock conference to help improve competitive results and prepare new members for the upcoming DECA season. Members interested in improving testing and role-playing skills arrived at the B.E. classroom – the Innovation Center – on a Saturday, took tests and practiced the role-playing that takes place in actual competitions. Shreyas Chandrashekaran, grade 10 and director of role-plays, noted, “The mock conference was a great start to the competitive season, and really helped our members gure out what they need to improve on to be successful this year.”
In mid-November, DECA held its most popular event of the month: a school- wide capture-the-flag game. Partnering with Harker Spirit, Harker DECA turned this chapter event into a class competition. Sophomores took on seniors, while freshmen battled juniors. Juniors took the top slot followed by seniors, sophomores and freshmen.
“Capture-the-flag was a great success which really got the whole Harker community together and excited for a fun event,” said Logan Drazovich, grade 12, Harker DECA’s vice president of public relations. “It has definitely been the most-enjoyed chapter campaign for DECA Month so far.”
Just prior to the Thanksgiving break, DECA held another MDA fundraiser, Hoops and Scoops, at which faculty played a DECA team in an enthusiastic basketball game while other DECA members sold ice cream and toppings outside. The group raised about $350 in that effort.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
On the evening of Sept. 12, senior Arun Shriram combined his love of music with his drive to help others by holding a fundraising concert on behalf of Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. The event raised nearly $4,000.
Called “Around the World!” the concert, held at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in Cupertino, showcased music from several different cultures. More than a dozen Harker students were involved in the effort.
Appearing on saxophone was Harker staff member Alejandro Osorio, who works at Harker’s tech help desk. Of Shriram, Osorio said, “He’s a very good musician. He comes from a musical family and in his own right is really talented.”
“The concert was a phenomenal success!” noted Shriram, who learned to play the Indian drums from his father.
“I started this concert after being inspired by my role as an Indian percussionist in the San Francisco World Music Festival. There were professional musicians from all around the world, including Tibet, India, China, Latin America, Korea, Azerbaijan and Uganda. I knew that a lot of my friends at school were very talented in music, and being an Indian percussionist as well as an orchestral percussionist, I was able to bring in friends from both worlds and present music from different parts of the globe. That’s why I called it ‘Around the World,’ and I chose the charity Make-A-Wish because I feel that their mission really aligned with me.”
The concert “was absolutely magical,” noted Smriti Koodanjeri, Harker chemistry teacher. “The artistry, love and giving from so many Harker students brought tears to my eyes. The fusion of Eastern and Western music was simply outstanding!”
Each year, tens of thousands of volunteers, donors and supporters like Shriram advance the Make-A-Wish effort to grant the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. In the United States and its territories, on average, a wish is granted every 37 minutes.
To see a video of the musicians: http://bit.ly/1X33sVm
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Earlier this year, three Harker seniors signed to play their sports for their chosen universities. Read on to find out more about their history with their sports and how Harker enabled them to follow their dreams of becoming stellar student-athletes.
Shannon Richardson Volleyball Stanford University
Shannon Richardson’s varsity volleyball career has been filled with highlights. As a high schooler, she accumulated 853 kills, 159 aces and a .178 hitting percentage, all well above the national average. An avid beach volleyball player since the seventh grade, she first became interested in the sport after seeing it in the summer Olympic Games. “At first, it was more recreational,” Richardson recalled. “I would play in a few tournaments over the summer and did rather well, but I eventually discovered that traveling to Southern California to play was a whole different situation.”
Inspired by the tougher competition, Richardson began making more frequent trips to Southern California. She now spends a month of every summer living with friends in Hermosa Beach to be closer to the higher level of play.
Her love for beach volleyball stems from, among other things, the environment. “Naturally, things are more relaxed at the beach, so tournaments are so much fun because you get to spend time with friends, go to the water, and play the sport you love,” she said. Beach volleyball is also a lot more open-ended and driven by the players than indoor volleyball. Coaching during games is limited and practices are organized and held by players. “There are no set teams and coaches; players choose if they want to improve or not,” Richardson said. “This allows me to be passionate and take control of my own development in a fun and relaxing way.”
Because there are only two players to a team in beach volleyball, players tend to get more touches on the ball, which helps sharpen their handling abilities in other situations, including indoor volleyball matches. “I personally feel like beach volleyball improves my ball control much more than indoor does purely because you get more touches in a shorter amount of time,” she said.
A Harker “lifer,” Richardson attributes her ability to balance her academic and athletic careers to the skills she learned in school. It is also where she discovered her love for playing sports. “I am a ‘lifer,’ so I played a bunch of sports in the lower school and in the middle school,” she recalled. “You would find me on the football field, playing with the boys in the fall, then on the soccer field, the basketball court and on the volleyball court.”
Richardson also noticed similarities in preparing for tests both athletic and academic. “By playing many sports and having to stay on top of my academic responsibilities, I matured quickly and was able to take on more rigorous classes in the upper school, while playing a varsity sport and trying to get recruited,” she said.
With a stint at Stanford on the horizon, Richardson is looking forward to tackling a whole new set of challenges. “I hope that in the four years I spend at Stanford, I can become a better player and a better person,” she said. “I know that the relationships I make in my time there will be ones to treasure, much like the ones I have made at Harker.”
Johnathon Keller Football Claremont-McKenna College
Signing on to play for Claremont-McKenna College was a decision of careful consideration for Johnathan Keller, who had offers from many schools, including Ivy Leagues. “However, after visiting many schools, I knew two things: I wanted to stay with the California weather, and I wanted a school where I could play as a freshman and not red-shirt or be on the bench until my later years,” he said.
In addition to its great academic programs and sunny Southern California climes, Claremont-McKenna also promised to start playing Keller in his freshman year.
Keller’s football lineage speaks for itself. His cousin Jeff Garcia was a four-time Pro Bowl NFL quarterback who now works on the St. Louis Rams’ coaching squad. Keller drew inspiration from watching his cousin on the eld as a child. “I used to think it was amazing watching him play in front of so many people,” Keller said. He started playing the sport at 8 years old and moved on to tackle football once he reached grade 6.
The talent seems to run in the family. So far this year, Keller has recorded nearly 350 yards as a wide receiver with 58.2 yards per game.
“I enjoy the competition in football and all the great memories that are made with the other players,” he said. “The football team is like a family to me.”
He credited Harker’s teachers with helping maintain his academic standing while also following his passion for football, and noted that many recruiters were aware of Harker’s academic reputation. “Knowing this,” Keller said, “they weren’t worried that I was short of any academic credits or if it would be hard getting used to the rigorous academic environment of college.”
Oisin Coveney Soccer Swarthmore College
Oisin Coveney doesn’t remember how he got started playing soccer. That’s because when he started playing, he was just 2 years old. “However, I kept playing the sport because I could be creative on the field,” Coveney reminisced. “I loved trying to dribble and beat players, and pretend I was on the best soccer team in the world.”
The rhythms of a soccer match and the potential for creativity are what Coveney enjoys about the sport. “There’s a beautiful flow to soccer where you have to constantly think about where your teammates and the opponent’s teammates are, where the ball is going to be, and how we can score another goal,” he said.
The dedication of Harker’s teachers were of utmost importance to Coveney’s success as a student-athlete. Like Keller, Coveney found that recruiters were well aware of Harker’s academic pedigree, which made the recruiting process much easier than anticipated. “With Harker, I was able to pursue my dream of get- ting into a great school and playing soccer in college,” he said.
Coveney said he is excited to join Swarthmore’s soccer team, which is a force in the Centennial Conference. “A lot of hard work will definitely be involved,” he said, “but I can’t wait to get a chance to prove myself to my teammates, my coaches and the school.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
This fall marked one of the most impressive athletic seasons in Harker’s history. From junior Niki Iyer making another run at a state title, to the football team making it to the postseason for just the second time in school history, there was plenty of action to cheer on!
In addition to the extraordinary athletic season, the Eagles also dominated in the classroom. The Central Coast Section (CCS) recognizes the top five team GPAs per sport for each season, and the Eagles cleaned up! Boys and girls cross country, boys and girls water polo, girls golf, girls tennis, and girls volleyball all placed in the top ve in their sports, with boys cross country (3.792), boys water polo (3.779) and girls golf (3.822) leading the CCS in their sports. Congratulations to all the hard-working student-athletes!
Football
Varsity football finished its regular season with the best-ever record for a Harker football team (8-2) and a second place league finish. The team lit up the scoreboard all year long to the tune of 38 points a game, and the defense sti ed opponents, allowing fewer than 14 points a game. These kinds of numbers gave the football program its second postseason berth in school history. The season ended in the first round of the North Coast Section D4 playoffs at Fortuna High. But the future looks bright for the Eagles as they graduate only five seniors and will return seven starters on offense and nine on defense.
The team also piled up many league accolades:
Bay Football League Co-Offensive MVP: quarterback Nate Kelly, grade 10 Bay Football League Co-Defensive MVP: safety Anthony Contreras, grade 10 First Team All-League: James Pauli, grade 10, Demonte Aleem, grade 9, Jadan McDermott, grade 10, Johnathon Keller, grade 12 Second Team All-League: Jalen Clark, grade 10, Saketh Gurram, grade 11, Trenton Thomas, grade 12, Will Park, grade 11
“Our players were committed all season to being the best young men that they could be, on the eld, in the classroom and in the community,” said coach Mike Tirabassi of the athletes he worked with this season. “We will continue to work hard off-season to proudly represent our school.”
Volleyball
The girls volleyball team had another terrific year, qualifying for the program’s 16th CCS appearance! Finishing up the regular season as co-champs in the WBAL with an 18-8 record, the team entered the CCS D4 playoffs with a No. 3 seeding and a first round bye. In the quarter nals, the team defeated Santa Cruz High in three games led by 11 kills from Rachel Cheng, grade 11. The semifinals matched the team with a familiar foe in league rival Menlo. The scrappy Eagles fought on until the end but, ultimately, fell in four games. Lauren Napier, grade 10, and Jackie Chen, grade 12, led the team with 12 kills each.
In addition, Doreene Kang, grade 12, and Cheng were each given rst team honors in the WBAL. Chen, Melissa Kwan, grade 10, and Lindsey Trinh, grade 11, were named to the second team, and Shannon Richardson, grade 12, was an honorable league mention.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the girls this year,” stated coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith. “Our seniors have been on the varsity team all four years so it was a great run with them.”
Cross Country
The girls cross country team qualified for CCS for the rst time since 2008, and ended its season with an eighth place section finish. Leading the way was Niki Iyer, grade 11, who was the league champ for the second time in three years, as well as the second place finisher in the D4 CCS finals. Her CCS finish allowed her to race in the state finals where she finished fifth in a field of 192 D4 runners.
“Niki continued to develop into one of the top runners in the state, and certainly the best in Harker history,” said coach Scott Chisam.
The boys team was led by Connor O’Neill, Jack Rothschild and Lev Sepetov, all grade 12.
“This group trained better than any previous team,” said Chisam. “Both teams had an excellent group of freshmen join the team, a wave that will show fine dividends in the next years.”
Girls Golf
The girls golf team nished the season with a 6-4 record and a win at the WBAL Championship at Poplar Creek in an exciting tie-breaker over Menlo. Ashley Zhong and Daphne Liang, both grade 12, posted career bests at Poplar Creek, and Katherine Zhu, grade 10, won the individual league title. That team win also gave the Eagles their first CCS berth in 10 years, where they finished with a respectable eighth place. Zhu tied for third in CCS and ended her season at NorCals tied for 12th place overall in a field of 83 golfers, a substantial improvement from her 19th place finish last year on the same course.
Water Polo
The boys team ended the season with an impressive 15-9 overall record and a 12-5 league record, averaging almost 15 goals a game. The girls team ended its season with a 6-16 record, going 4-13 in league play.
Girls Tennis
Ending the season with a strong 13-3 record, the girls tennis team continued its stellar play in the WBAL league tournament. For only the second time in school history, Harker had league champions in doubles as Lizzie Schick, grade 10, and Pam Duke, grade 9, teamed up to place rst overall in the doubles bracket. Freshman Liza Egorova placed third in singles, while the team of Gloria Guo, grade 10, and Izzy Gross, grade 12, placed fourth in doubles.
The Eagles received a No. 8 seed in the CCS team tournament which sent them directly to the second round, where they defeated Sacred Heart Prep.
Waiting for Harker in the quarter finals was eventual CCS champion Menlo, which ended the Eagles’ season. But the team of Duke and Schick still had a chance for CCS glory in the doubles tournament where they were seeded No. 2. Duke and Schick defeated Mountain View and Mitty in the first two matches, sending them to the semi nals to face Menlo-Atherton. In the semis, Schick and Duke won a highly contested three games, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, to become the first Harker doubles tennis team to make the CCS finals. The duo fought hard, but lost to a very strong Los Altos duo. Congratulations to both on an amazing season!
Overall, it was a great fall season. Congratulations to all the Eagles!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Eleven Harker singers took part in the American Choral Directors Association’s Coastal Region Honor Choir concert Nov. 19-21, alongside some of the best high school singers in the Bay Area.
Eight students were part of the Mixed Choir: Krishna Bheda, Karina Butani and Sumi Wadhwa, grade 10; Mia Giammona, Ashwin Rao and Tiffany Zhu, grade 11; and Madhu Karra and Gurutam Thockchom, grade 12. Three sang in the Women’s Choir: sophomores Anika Banga and Morgan Douglas; and Rithi Jayam, grade 9.
After three days of intensive rehearsals, the students performed at First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto. They were prepped by Susan Nace and Jennifer Sandusky, upper school choir directors.
“Susan really did a lot of prep work with the kids prior to the Honor Choir rehearsals,” noted Sandusky.
Singers will advance to the California All- State Honor Choir event, to be held Feb. 11-13 in San Jose, based on scores from their successful regional auditions.