Last week, Opportunity X, a nonprofit co-founded by Harker alumni, was awarded the $2,500 STEM Action Grant from the Society for Science, which organizes prestigious competitions such as the Regeneron Science Talent Search and Broadcom MASTERS.
“At Opportunity X, our mission is to bring cost-free science research opportunities to underrepresented and low-resource middle school students across the country via school enrichment programs, summer camps and science fairs,” said rising senior Alice Feng, a co-president of Opportunity X. The funds will be used to help further their efforts in bringing STEM education to underserved communities. The organization is currently staffed by 18 Harker student volunteers and seven Harker alumni as well as students from high schools around the Bay Area.
Opportunity X was founded in 2016 by Cynthia Chen ’20 and Adishree Ghatare, then a student at Saint Francis High School. Since then, the organization has held after-school programs at many area schools, including KIPP Heartwood Middle School, Morrill Middle School and River Glen School. Earlier this year, two programs were held at middle schools in Virginia. To date, the organization has held more than 850 research workshops in 18 schools. They now have branches in seven states, including Texas, Florida, Virginia and Alabama.
In 2019, Opportunity X held its first Science Fair at the Alum Rock Branch Library in San Jose, where students showcased their projects and received trophies for their work. Another Science Fair was held virtually in May of this year and included speakers from NASA, Google and Stanford University.
The STEM Action Grant program provides support to community nonprofit organizations that promotes STEM education to underrepresented communities. This year, Society for Science provided $165,000 in grants to 38 organizations across the country.
Rising junior Sarah Fathima Mohammed today was named one of five National Student Poets of 2021. The National Student Poets Program, which is run by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, selects five young poets each year from different regions of the country as National Student Poets. The program was started in 2012 by Michelle Obama and the Presidential Arts Committee and is open to students in grades 10 and 11 who have received a gold or silver medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. After being selected, National Student Poets spend the next year promoting poetry in their communities through works such as service projects, poetry readings and workshops as well as attending a variety of events.
The 2020-21 school year changed the way Harker was able to put on performances. With no way to host a full audience, our performing arts department had to think outside the box in order to perform for the community.
The upper school’s production of “Les Misérables” took on a whole new character as a feature-length film. Students spent weeks recording their lines at home before those audio files were meticulously spliced and arranged into a beautiful execution of the story. Once the audio was completed, the cast and crew arrived to film in the theater with a range of three to four cameras rolling at all times. In the days before COVID-19, the theater seats would have been packed with parents and students alike, but instead they sat empty as the actors went through take after take. Hundreds of hours of footage were sent off to be compiled into a feature length film, blurring the lines between play and movie.
Our annual Dance Show was made possible only through weeks of Zoom practice as students successfully choreographed via video chat. Within 90-minute time slots, each group was able to pull off amazing routines having only practiced in person on the day of filming. The Senior Directed Showcase officially signaled a return to “normal” with a 25 percent capacity audience and livestream, giving our students a final opportunity to perform at Harker. In all, the community came together to laugh, cry and watch some truly impressive performances that otherwise might not have happened in such a tumultuous year.
Enjoy a look at some of the best performing arts photos from this past year.
Last weekend, Harker football players participated in a seven-on-seven passing tournament with six other area high schools. Harker took second place overall, narrowly falling to host team Harbor High after a pass for a two-point conversion that would have sealed the game was batted away, leaving the final score at 12-13.
In passing leagues, explained Harker head football coach Loren Powers, teams focus on scoring with (and defending against) passing plays. Before the playoff tournament, Harker played four pre-seeding games.
“We were so proud of our football players today!” said assistant coach Juston Glass, who also directs Harker’s business and entrepreneurial programs. “Went into this tournament with just a few scrimmages under our belt and a half-summer of pretty intense and well-executed training and practice.”
The team celebrated its strong performance with a meetup at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz.
After over a year without sports, our Harker Eagles returned to the fields, courts, pools and tracks to compete in a historic season. Five varsity teams won CCS championships, four of which were firsts in school history. Varsity baseball performed an upset for the ages, coming back from a 14-5 deficit against Stevenson to win it all with an 11-run comeback. The varsity boys and girls golf teams swept the CCS tournament, each winning their first titles, while varsity girls tennis battled through a difficult season, first by upsetting Menlo’s 24-year league win streak, then by beating Menlo at home to win its first CCS championship. Last but not least, varsity boys volleyball won its second CCS title with a victory over Prospect High.
This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the incredible individual accomplishments by Harker athletes. With an impressive display of resilience and perseverance, track and field long jumper and rising junior Andrew Fu battled through a foot injury to win CCS with a jump of 21’ 8.25”. Varsity swimmer and recent graduate Matthew Chung won CCS in both the 100-meter butterfly and 200 IM. Varsity baseball pitcher and rising senior Mark Hu threw the first perfect game in school history, tying the CCS record of 18 strikeouts.
Take a scroll through this selection of the past year’s best athletics photos.
Recent graduates Vivian Jin and Katie Li were today announced as winners of college-sponsored scholarships in the final round of National Merit Scholars announced in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. The announcement brings the total number of Harker winners to 20. Congratulations to all of the students who were recognized in this year’s program!
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June 2:
Utkarsh Priyam ’21 was today announced as another winner of a National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship from Purdue University, bringing the total number of Harker winners this year to 18. These scholarships are funded by US colleges and universities and provide winners with funding for their undergraduate education for up to four years at the institution financing the scholarship. In April, Priyam was named a semifinalist in the 2021 Presidential Scholars competition. The next round of National Merit scholarship winners is slated to be announced July 12.
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May 19:
An additional 15 seniors won National Merit scholarships last week, bringing the total number of winners so far to 17. This round of $2,500 scholarships was awarded to National Merit finalists in each state who were assessed according to their academic achievements and their potential to do well in college. The winners were: Manasa Bhimaraju, Preston Ellis, Jason Lin, Andrew Lu, Claire Luo, Arya Maheshwari, Akshay Manglik, Krishay Mukhija, Aditya Singhvi, Andrew Sun, Betsy Tian, Daniel Wang, N Wang, Sidra Xu and Russell Yang.
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April 30:
Yesterday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced winners of corporate-sponsored scholarships in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. Seniors Fonda Hu and Helen Zhu were named winners in this round, each receiving scholarships from NVidia. Corporate sponsors award scholarships to National Merit finalists who are children of employees, are residents of the companies’ local communities or are pursuing careers in industries the sponsor supports.
This is the first round of winners announced in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. This story will be updated if and when more Harker winners become known.
On Saturday, 14 Harker students were among the first guests at the newly reopened Beat Museum in San Francisco. The museum features many of the original works of the Beat Generation of American writers, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and William S. Burroughs.
The museum was closed for the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the annual field trip taken by the students in Charles Shuttleworth’s class on Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation was also canceled. Upon hearing that the museum would be reopening, students jumped at the chance to visit.
During the visit, the students received a tour from Jerry Cimino, the museum’s owner, and listened to a talk by beat poet and biographer Neeli Cherkovski, who offered his perspectives on the Beat Generation’s great influence as a literary and social movement. The reopening was covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, which briefly mentioned the Harker students’ visit in their story on the event.
Harker had incredible results at the final speech and debate tournament of the season. The National Speech & Debate Association tournament took place online June 13-19. It is one of three major national championships. Thousands of students try to qualify to attend the tournament in each event, a few hundred are selected to compete, and only the top 16 competitors win awards. Harker had four students make it to their respective final rounds!
Rising senior William Chien was in the final round of domestic extemporaneous speaking and placed third. Chien said that his favorite thing about the experience was “meeting people from all across the country and getting to know their different backgrounds, ideas and perspectives.” Rising junior Michelle Jin was in the finals of international extemporaneous speaking and came in fifth. Jin commented that speech has helped her confidence, noting, “In [extemporaneous speaking], where you only have 30 minutes to organize your speech, you just have to trust yourself when you begin speaking.”
In congressional debate, recent graduate Andrew Sun placed third and was awarded the Leadership Bowl for Most Outstanding Legislator by his peers. Sun summed up his many years on the team, saying, “Speech and debate has been a defining part of my middle school and high school experience at Harker; I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Rising junior Arissa Huda also qualified to compete in congress.
In the middle school division, rising eighth grader Pavitra Kasthuri was a finalist in prepared prompt speaking.
Several Harker students were also named Academic All-American by the NSDA, placing them in the top 1 percent of student members in terms of speech and debate records and grade point averages. Recent graduates Andy Lee, Jason Lin, Akshay Manglik, Nathan Ohana and Andrew Sun, as well as rising seniors William Chien, Melody Luo, Deven Shah and Rohan Thakur were honored.
Harker coaches also received awards. Scott Odekirk was named an Educator of the Year! Only one to three coaches receive that award per year, out of thousands of coaches. Department Chair Jenny Achten was awarded a fourth Diamond, meaning that she has coached a large and successful team for 20 years.
Rising sophomore Arushi Sharma recently took top spots in two vocal competitions. The singer won a grand prize across all age groups in the 2021 US New Star Vocal Competition, in which competitors prepare two solo vocal pieces to perform. In the International Youth Music Competition, which featured submissions from across the world, Sharma took second prize in the Broadway, Disney and Musical Theatre category. A singer for more than 10 years, Sharma has performed in many Harker productions, including the spring 2021 production of “Les Misérables.”
Harker baseball won a thriller on Saturday to take its first ever CCS title. The Eagles were trailing top-seeded Stevenson 14-5 with two outs in the final inning when a string of batters, 12 in all, reached the bases. The incredible 11-run comeback was “mainly walks and singles,” coach Mike Delfino told the Mercury News, with a two-run double from recent graduate Andrew Chavez giving Harker the lead. Pitcher Ian Williamson ’21 earned the winning strikeout after Stevenson rallied to within one run of Harker with the bases loaded.
Harker track and field athletes also had a great weekend. Long jumper Andrew Fu, grade 10, won the first place medal with a 21’ 8” jump on his final attempt, his first CCS title. In her final meet as a Harker competitor, Anna Weirich ’21 finished second in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs, and the boys took fifth place in the 4×100 relay.
