Graduates, friends and family were once again greeted by gorgeous weather and surroundings at the Mountain Winery on May 22 for the upper school’s ninth annual commencement ceremony. The Harker Chamber Orchestra, directed by Chris Florio, officially began the ceremony by welcoming the graduates with “Pomp and Circumstance.” Following the processional, Susan Nace directed the 2010 Graduation Chorus in her arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Following a brief welcome speech by Butch Keller, upper school head, salutatorian Adam Perelman addressed his classmates in a light-hearted speech; Andrew Zhou, who, as valedictorian, traditionally would have spoken, was not able to attend the ceremony because he was attending the U.S. Physics Olympiad team training in Maryland.
“I was so excited when I found out that I had the chance to speak today. And that’s not just because [college counselor] Mr. [Kevin] Lum Lung promised me twenty bucks if I mentioned his name in this speech,” Perelman joked. He went on to list the many accomplishments of the Class of 2010, which included but were not limited to winning consecutive spirit championships and running a marathon to honor John Near, the much-loved 30-year veteran history teacher who passed away last October. “What I’m trying to say is that, we’re kind of a big deal, class of 2010,” Perelman quipped.
The speech got another big laugh when Perelman reflected on how much the class had changed since freshman year. “A lot of you probably remember that back then, I looked a lot more like this!” he exclaimed, donning an afro wig.
Before closing, Perelman thanked the Harker teachers and families who helped him and his classmates become the people they are. He then thanked his fellow graduates “for making high school so unforgettable.”
After much applause, Catherine Snider conducted the 2010 Graduation Chorus, singing the Taylor Hicks hit “Do I Make You Proud,” before the day’s keynote speaker, San Jose Mercury News columnist Scott Herhold, took the podium. In his speech, Herhold made special note of the accomplishments that the graduating seniors had achieved as part of a collaborative effort.
In another yearly tradition, graduate and outgoing National Honor Society president Anjali Menon then passed the Lamp of Knowledge to upcoming senior and new NHS president Ashtyn Ka.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, then went to the stage to give his customary parting words to the senior class before individually awarding the diplomas to the class of 2010, along with Keller and Naomi Schatz, class dean and psychology teacher. Nikoloff and Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, then said their closing words before the Harker Chamber Orchestra performed the recessional piece, “March Heroique” by Saint-Saens, to bring the ceremonies to an end.
The graduation procedures officially began on May 20 with the Baccalaureate ceremony, during which the graduating class reflected on and celebrated the accomplishments of the senior class and wish them well in their future. It was also a time for the torch to be passed to the juniors, and to welcome them into their new roles as leaders.
During the ceremony the soon-to-be graduates and rising seniors were treated to a pair of special performances. Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, sang “The Circles of Our Lives” by David Brunner, and following a brief introductory address by Jennifer Gargano, the Harker String Orchestra, directed by Chris Florio, performed “La primavera” (“Spring”) from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos.
The Class of 2010’s dean (and upper school psychology teacher) Naomi Schatz gave a rousing speech to the departing graduates. She mentioned some of the ideas for the speech that were running through her head as recently as that morning, including a musical number with science teacher Kate Schafer. “I was going to ‘Hey Soul Sister’ while she accompanied me with an interpretive clog dance,” she joked. Proclaiming that she felt fortunate to have a job that she loves, Schatz advised the students to live their lives passionately. “Find out what it is that makes your heart sing and your soul soar, and by all means make sure to keep that as a major part of your life,” she said.
Schatz concluded her time at the podium by leading sing-a-longs to the songs “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “Forever Young.”
Valedictorian Andrew Zhou then got up to speak to his fellow graduates and to the juniors that would soon be carrying the torch. Zhou, who had been selected as a finalist to be a member of the United States Physics Olympiad Team, would unfortunately not be able to attend the graduation ceremony, as he was in Maryland for training camp during the exercises. Salutatorian Adam Perelman spoke in his stead.
In his speech, Zhou reflected on both the “halcyon” and “tempestuous” times that he and his classmates have had since their freshman years. “And now we stand,” he said. “Fledglings no more, prepared to leave this eagle’s nest to pass the torch on to our successors.”
“Disregard proportion, do not walk in a straight line, transcend that path and explore the diverging roots life,” he said to his fellow college-bound graduates. “Take that underwater basket-weaving class you stumble upon! Join that cow-tipping club that catches your eye!”
He advised the juniors to “think of the path you tread now, the infinite possible detours that lie in your future. Do not define yourself based on who you were, what you did. With such perspective, senior year will be the crowning pinnacle of your high school life, preparing you well for the vicissitudes of college and beyond.”
Harker was selected as the best overall national team in the “9th/10th Level” category in this year’s JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) competition. Coached by upper school math teacher Anthony Silk, the team of Gr. 10 students Lucy Cheng, Alexander Hsu, Revanth Kosaraju, Jeffrey Kwong, Ramya Rangan, Pavitra Rengarajan, Katie Siegel and Albert Wu won a $2,500 cash prize and a commemorative trophy. Each member of the team received a medal and certificate for their efforts.
The Harker Gr. 9 time also fared well in the competition, placing eighth in Division 2 among 46 teams. Harker’s four 11th/12th Level teams placed fourth, fifth, 17th and 19th out of the 166 teams competing in Division 2.
More than 10,000 students from 42 states competed in this year’s competition, which tasked students with finding ways to purify water as well as assess current water purification methods. Every year, JETS holds national team and individual competitions to promote engineering and technology careers to today’s youth.
In celebration of Mother’s Day, Pavitra Rengarajan, Gr.1o, recently performed in Mission San Juan Bautista’s annual Mother’s Day music concert. Rengarajan was the featured flautist in Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp.
Last month, Future Problem Solvers (FPS) had 54 students qualify for the Future Problem Solving Program of California’s state tournament. They went on to earn high honors in all divisions at the San Diego event.
Harker teams swept the board, winning first, second and third places in most divisions. Of those who received honors, three teams and four individuals will be representing Harker in the international finals June 10-13 in Wisconsin.
Harker had the record for the largest delegation from one school at the state finals.
The FPS program aims to challenge students to come up with creative problem solving. The students develop critical thinking skills by using imagination and classroom skills to solve problems in today’s world.
In San Diego, students were asked to solve an aquaculture food-distribution crisis. In a two-hour span, students wrote a 15-page document outlining the challenges, the underlying problem and different solutions. Harker students proposed various ideas, from a dynamic change in school curriculum to a complex international antitrust agency.
Teacher Cyrus Merrill, head advisor of FPS, would like to thank the assistant coaches, computer science teacher Susan King and communication studies teacher Steve Clemmons for being an instrumental part of the students’ success.
Merrill would also like to personally recognize the senior team, who have placed first in presentation of their action plan throughout their high school career. Merrill thanks the team for setting an example for others in leadership and creative thinking. “They have qualified for internationals every year since seventh grade,” Merrill said. “They will be sorely missed.”
Swimmers from around the South Bay swarmed at Harker’s Singh Aquatic Center and the surrounding areas as they prepared for the West Bay Athletic League championships. Harker swimmers, both boys and girls teams, are ranked second in the league and 17 Harker swimmers had qualified for Central Coast Section championships prior to today’s championships.
In April, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a nonprofit organization that honors the scholastic achievements of high school students, began releasing the names of winners in the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Harker’s Sarah Teplitsky was on that list.
The second round of winners has just been released. These are scholarships of $2,500 apiece, sponsored by National Merit’s own funds or, in a few cases, underwritten by corporations.
Harker has 21 seniors named in this round, the most in California. The schools with the next highest totals are Torrey Pines (San Diego) with 13 and Gunn (Palo Alto) with nine.
Congratulations to these seniors: Brandon Araki, Virginia Chen, Victor Chen, Jeanette Chin, Nathaniel Edwards, James Feng, Alex Fotland, Alex Han, Kelsey Hilbrich (underwritten by Tomkins Corporation), Sonya Huang, Vishesh Jain, Carissa Jansen (underwritten by UPS Foundation), Rachel Luo, Christina Ma, Arjun Mody, Adam Perelman, Mark Roh, Rashmi Sharma, Haran Sivakumar, Andrew Zhou and Kevin Zhang.
Recently two more sports said farewell to seniors following the final game of their season. The boys volleyball team congratulated graduating seniors Andy Fang, Ankur Ahuja, Chad Gordon, Eugene Huang, Jeffrey Tan, Kevin Fu, Kevin Liu and Rohan Chopra. Meanwhile, the girls lacrosse team said goodbye to Brittany Chu, Carissa Jansen, Connie Lu, Elaine Song, Julia Shim, Kelly Chen, Manasa Reddy, Miriam Lee and Virginia Chen.
Look to Harker News online in late May for the final round of senior night ceremonies. Boys baseball wrapped up its home season April 14, tennis had its final match April 22 and swimming finished April 28.
This year’s Evening of Jazz represented a first for Harker’s conservatory. It was the first concert to feature musicians from both the lower and upper school jazz bands. Director Chris Florio said he was “really passionate about [the school’s] instrumental program being strongly K-12.” He called the pairing of the bands “the newest example of how we’re succeeding with that goal.” The night got off to a rousing start with the lower school band performing first. Next up was the upper school band, featuring soloists Ben Tien, Dwight Payne, Frankie Nagle and Nikunj Donde. The show ended with an encore of “Brick House,” with solos from graduating seniors Aadithya Prakash, Sammi Werthen and Won Hee Lee.
In mid-April, Harker wrestlers Jason Mendel and Chris McCallaCreary, both Gr. 11, competed in the California USA Wrestling State Championship. Both boys completed the first day of the tournament with records of 2-1 and advanced to the second day, where they both scored falls. McCallaCreary, wrestling in the 160-pound weight class, then lost a close match and finished 10th in state. Mendel, wrestling at 112, advanced to the third-place match, performing well and finishing fourth. The top three wrestlers in the tournament made it to the California National Team, so Mendel just missed the cut-off. Congratulations to both wrestlers!
Swimming
Our swim teams competed in the prestigious Section Challenge Meet on April 24, with both boys and girls teams placing fifth overall. The boys were the third best CCS team in the meet, placing behind Bellarmine and Sacred Heart Prep, while the girls were the third best CCS team as well, behind Palo Alto and Mitty.
Track and Field
Harker had a great showing April 21 at their third track and field league meet. The girls placed first in this league contest, with Tiffany Kyi, Gr. 12, taking first in the long jump and Sonya Chalaka, Gr. 10, placing third. Ragini Bhattacharya, Gr. 9, placed first in the 1,600 and the 3,200, with Adrienne Mendel, Gr. 9, coming in second in the 3,200. Tanya Rai, Gr. 11, placed fourth in the 400, while Isabelle Connell, Gr. 9, took first in the 800 and second in the 200. The boys placed third overall. In the shot put Thomas Enzminger, Gr. 12, took first and Michael Chen, Gr. 9, placed third. In the 3,200 Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12, placed first, Tyler Yeats, Gr. 9, came in second and Richard Fan, Gr. 9, earned third place. Johnny Yet, Gr. 10, placed fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 200. Sumit Minocha, Gr. 9, took first in the 400 and third in the 100.
Volleyball
The boys continue to play at a high level, scoring an important league victory over Homestead on April 23 to improve to 7-1 in league. Jacob Chappell, Gr. 11, had 11 kills in the win. The team also placed fourth in the Los Gatos Tournament on April 24. Unfortunately, they lost in three games April 26 to Bellarmine, which is state-ranked #2 and section #1.
Baseball
Baseball defeated Pinewood on Friday 16-6 to improve to 2-2 in league play. Patrick Smith, Gr. 12, went four-for-four at the plate with two RBIs and a home run. Kevin Cali, Gr. 9, and Amir Mortizavi , Gr. 11, pitched well for the team.
Tennis
Harker’s tennis seniors shone as the varsity completed its regular season with a 6-1 victory over Crystal Springs on April 22. With the win, Harker finished second in the WBAL and looks forward to its seventh consecutive bid to the CCS Tournament. Akum Gill, Gr. 12, won at #4 singles in one of the most dramatic matches of the season, winning 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) in the third set tie-breaker. Number 3 singles player Ashish Mittal, Gr. 12, played a similarly exciting match, but came up short, losing 4-6, 6-3, 1-6. Number 1 doubles team and seniors Sanjeev Datta and Samir Datta won in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. In other matches, #1 singles Derrick Tzeng, Gr. 10, totally dominated with 6-0, 6-0. Number 2 Adarsh Ranganathan, Gr. 11, won 6-4, 6-4 and #2 doubles Nikhil Narayen, Gr. 10, and Nikhil Parthasarathy, Gr. 11, won easily, 6-1, 6-3. Harker finished the regular season with a 14-3 record and a 10-2 record in the WBAL, finishing second to Menlo.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse lost to Notre Dame 11-4 April 23. Goals were scored by Michelle Douglas, Gr. 9, Sammi Walker, Gr. 10, and Elaine Song, Gr. 12.