Victor Chen and Vishesh Jain, both Gr. 12, were just two of the many students keeping busy with internships this summer. Both, along with fellow senior Navin Sabharwal and Tiphane Delapine, Gr. 9, were interns at Hunter Laboratories in Campbell, which is owned by Harker parents Chris and Marcia Riedel (Randall, Gr. 9, and Hunter, Gr. 6). “I chose to do this internship because it offered me a great opportunity to work in an actual clinical laboratory setting,” Chen said. “I was able to gain insight into the routines, rules and regulations of the lab workplace, and the project that I chose has a significant and direct impact on patients’ health.”
While at Hunter Chen spent most of his time working on his own research project. “My project focused on human papillomavirus (HPV) and the effectiveness of a new test, based on messenger RNA, as a screening method for HPV infection and cervical cancer,” he said. His duties included assisting with the tests and analyzing the results.
Jain chose to do an internship at Hunter Labs “because it offered both a chance to experience science and research in the corporate realm and an opportunity to write a research article for a scholarly journal,” he said. “Further, the actual parameters and final destination of the internship were rather vague at first, but I enjoyed that flexibility and the choices it gave me throughout the summer.”
During the internship, Jain was given the responsibility of running a variety of calculations on the “enormous data collection of various cardiovascular tests and questions for over 3,000 patients,” he said. “I was given this data bank to sort and run a myriad of calculations with, from creating histograms for the tests, age and risk factors to revealing the prevalence of hidden risk markers in the population.”
Using his findings, Jain began writing an article “which involved additional calculations, research into other publications and preparation of a manuscript for review,” he said. He hopes that the article will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Jain said his favorite part of the internship was participating in meetings with Hunter Laboratories executives, which often included people from other companies. “These meetings both allowed me to practice presenting scientific material in an intelligible manner and gave me a glimpse into the real mechanisms and relationships in the corporate world,” he said.
Chen enjoyed the opportunity to work in the lab, “not just doing number crunching. I was very pleased that I could research with actual patient samples and have access to various high-tech equipment.”
One of several Harker students undertaking internships over the summer, Namrata Anand, Gr. 12, spent hers studying astronomy at UC Santa Cruz.
“I have always been interested in physics and engineering, but never truly realized the immense scale that physics extends to: the universe!” Anand said of her reasons to arrange the internship. “As a kid, I always wanted to be an astronaut, so when I noticed that Harker was offering an astrophysics internship, I leapt at the chance to virtually explore our sister galaxy, Andromeda.”
Anand, who was joined at UC Santa Cruz by fellow seniors Andrew Zhou and Kevin Zhang, studied the chemical makeup of the galaxy Andromeda. UCSC researchers, professors and students “have collected data over the past several years and I was given access to this data for my project,” Anand said. “I looked mainly at chemical spectra to detect the changing amounts of chemicals in stars and the appearance of different chemicals in various Andromeda star populations.”
The environment at UCSC was one of Anand’s favorite parts of the internship. “My professor and the college students were helpful, fun and encouraging. I was not expecting my internship experience to be so casual,” said Anand, who noted that much of what she learned was a result of the casual conversations she had with her mentors and fellow Harker students.
“This internship has not only piqued my interest in astrophysics but has given me a glimpse into what college will be like next year!” she said.
Senior Alex Han spent his summer as an intern at Stanford University’s Clark Center, where he studied bioengineering.
Growing up with eczema, asthma and allergies to various foods, Han became interested in immunology, and believed the internship would provide him with the access and tools to explore the field further.
“I thought that the research lab’s focus on both understanding the mechanisms of diseases such as cancer as well as testing drugs and gene therapy would give me a firsthand experience with immunological research,” Han said. “The lab also works closely with Stanford’s medical clinics, and … I felt that it would be a great opportunity to work with the researchers who are at the forefront of developing and improving medical treatments for children afflicted with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Han chose to do a research project at the Clark Center “in order to give myself the most consummate understanding of the research process and the greatest freedom with designing my own methods and ideas,” he said.
Although at first somewhat daunted by the task, Han went ahead with his plan to find out if the drug celastrol could induce heme oxygenase-1. “Because heme oxygenase-1 has been shown to promote wound healing and protect against various cellular stresses such as heat and oxidative shock, induction of the gene would demonstrate celastrol’s tremendous potential as a clinical treatment,” Han said.
In addition to learning more about his preferred field of study, Han also relished the chance to work in a top-flight laboratory, as well as meet and work with researchers from many disciplines. “Conducting biological research in a wet lab for the first time was a tremendous experience in of itself,” he said. “But being surrounded by such intelligent and enthusiastic researchers and having some of the most advanced resources in the field available for use made the internship truly memorable.”
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has made its final of four announcements of scholarship winners. The first announcement presented the winners of corporate sponsorships, the second, National Merit-sponsored awards, and the third and fourth, college-sponsored gifts.
These scholars, all now college freshmen, were chosen from the finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition, based on their PSAT scores from their junior year. According to NMSC, “College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.” This year 201 colleges and universities participated.
Congratulations to Harker’s five newest scholarship recipients: Stephanie Guo (University of Southern California), Juliane Tran (Rice University), Priya Thumma (St. Louis University), Chetan Vakkalagadda (Washington University in St. Louis) andKevin Xu (University of Southern California).
The school year officially kicked off on Aug. 24 as the classes of 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’13 gathered outside the Saratoga gym for the annual matriculation ceremony, welcoming students back from their summer activities and preparing them for the coming school year.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, began the ceremony by welcoming the board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff and students to the ceremony. “I am sure you will be relieved to hear that I am continuing the tradition of confining my talk to the equivalent of two pages of single-spaced, size 12 font,” he joked.
Touching on a nationwide topic in the education community, Nikoloff took the opportunity to discuss academic integrity. While acknowledging that academic dishonesty exists, he stated his confidence in the overall integrity of the Harker student body. The Harker community, he added, will continue to discuss the issue to gain a better perspective on the nature of academic integrity. “The faculty and staff, deans and administration will seek an open dialogue with you to further our common understanding of academic integrity,” he said. “We invite you to speak with any faculty or staff member about any thoughts you have on this topic.”
Butch Keller, US division head, then spoke to the students, extending a “welcome” to the class of 2013 and a “welcome back” to the returning sophomores, juniors and seniors. He shared with the students three essays written by three 2009 graduates, each from different backgrounds and having varied experiences as students. Each essay advised the new students to make the most of their time and to experience as much as they can of what Harker has to offer.
Keller also addressed academic integrity, saying that all students have a role in making sure that the “soul” of Harker stays true to the school’s promise of offering a fulfilling and enriching experience. “If the faculty is the mind of this place, then it is their responsibility to lead with integrity, and if you are the soul then it is your responsibility to follow with equal integrity and pride in earning your accomplishments the right way,” he said.
In between the speeches was a performance by last year’s student vocal group Camerata, who sang “Ah, Could My Eyes Behold Thee” by Orlando di Lasso, directed by Susan Nace, US music teacher. Their harmonious performance was met with warm applause.
Following Keller’s speech, ASB president Andy Fang, Gr. 12, introduced the 2009-10 class officers before leading all students in the recitation of the matriculation oath. The freshmen then signed the matriculation book.
More entertainment was on deck, as the student officers then put on their “Freshman 101” show, an amusing skit that introduced the class of 2013 to the various policies of the school. The story followed the familiar cast of “The Wizard of Oz” re-imagined as high school students, as they struggled with meeting the school dress code, picking a club to join and (gasp!) finding a date for the homecoming dance.
There was even a special guest appearance by Winny Huang ’09, last year’s ASB president, who played the part of a performing arts teacher auditioning the Tin Man for a role in a school production.
After the play, Nikoloff returned to the stage and wished the students well in the coming year, as they all departed to meet with their advisors and begin the year in earnest.
The Blackford gym filled with students, parents and coaches from Gr. 6-12 on Aug. 26 to meet, mingle and obtain information on sports programs and each other. Although fall practices are already under way for upper school athletes and middle school students will soon begin practices, all Harker athletes from Gr. 6-12 had an opportunity to meet their coaches, regardless of season. Gr. 6 boys Zachary Clausen, Nathaniel Stearns, Connor Powers and Spencer Powers were all excited for soccer to start, and were particularly looking forward to “beating St. Joseph’s again!” Explaining their passion, Stearns said, “Last year, we tied them 3-3 and beat them once.” This year, in addition to soccer, Clausen will play flag football and “maybe basketball.” Stearns will also play flag football, basketball and possibly baseball. Both Powers boys also plan on playing tennis.
Athletes Shireen Moshkelani and Ava Rezvani, both Gr. 11, put their names on the soccer sign-up sheet “with an asterisk saying we’re going to play when we’re seniors.” Anticipating a busy junior year, both volleyball players say they are “being good Harker students and planning our futures.” Priya Sadhev, also Gr. 11, plans on playing both soccer and varsity water polo this year, sports she has played for the past two years. She is thinking about playing water polo in college.
“I really like the dynamics of the sport, how you can foul people really hard under water,” Sadhev explained. In soccer, the closeness of the team is a plus. “I just like the team, how we all just really try hard together.”
Amy Rorabaugh, Gr. 12, is also an enthusiastic soccer player who will play both soccer and volleyball this year, as she has the past three years. She says the volleyball team is looking good this year, and “I think it’s going to be a fun season!”
After meeting coaches and catching up with each other, students and parents then met with the appropriate athletic director. Theresa Smith, Gr. 4-8 athletic director, and Dan Molin, US athletic director, each met with the athletes and parents from their divisions and presented an overview of the yearly sports offerings as well as other information regarding sports participation and safety issues. Following their presentations, there was a short college recruiting presentation by Rick Wire, a nationally-known speaker from Dynamite Sports. Let the seasons begin!
The Class of 2013 came together the Friday before school started, along with the Link Crew (senior mentors) and faculty advisors, for freshmen orientation day.
The program started with a general meeting followed by breakout sessions in the gym, and continued throughout the day with team-building activities on Davis Field and the Singh Aquatic Center. Welcome to the new group of Harker high schoolers!
Ramya Rangan, Gr. 10, recently earned a bronze medal at the 2009 China Girls Mathematical Olympiad (CGMO), held Aug. 12 – 16 in the city of Xiamen. Rangan was one of seven medalists on the U.S. team, four of whom were from high schools in Silicon Valley. The girls received a warm welcome upon their return home, and were interviewed by both ABC News and KTSF (Chinese).
A total of 51 teams from China, the U.S., Russia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore were present at the Olympiad. The U.S. team comprised finalists in the U.S. Mathematical Olympiad held earlier this year.
Aside from the math competition, an aerobics competition was held to promote togetherness among the CGMO competitors. Rangan and her teammates also did some sightseeing during their stay, going on a shopping excursion in Xiamen and visiting the Ocean Park Hong Kong theme park.
Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, thanked US math teacher Misael Fisico, who coached Rangan and the other Harker math students who competed in the various Olympiads throughout the year. “Your work is very much appreciated,” she said.
Fisico led the team from his native Philippines at the CGMO. “Despite the fact that I was the leader of the Philippine group, the U.S. team and the Philippine team bonded together on several occasions,” he said.
The Harker English Language Institute (ELI) once again welcomed dozens of overseas students to strengthen their English skills to help prepare them for the nation’s top boarding schools.
The ELI program hosted students from Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan, China and South Korea. Students spent several weeks learning grammar, speech and conversational skills through a series of classes offered at Harker’s Saratoga campus. Two of these students, Dora Liu from Shanghai and Eisuke Tosu from Tokyo, are preparing to enter Stevenson School in Pebble Beach in the fall, as a freshman and sophomore respectively.
Liu enjoyed the program, saying her English was “never better.” Because she seldom speaks English at home, ELI gave her the chance to speak the language conversationally while further building upon her skills.
Tosu, who had been visiting California prior to attending ELI, enjoyed the atmosphere of the Harker campus, calling it a “very good environment to study.” While attending school in Japan, his exposure to the English language was limited outside of everyday English classes.
ELI students study grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension, but also spend much of their time composing different types of essays.
“That helps a lot,” Liu said, as boarding schools often require essays as part of their entrance procedures.
The program also helped immerse students in the language by encouraging them to speak English outside the classroom, thereby strengthening their skills in everyday situations. In addition, the new ELI Conversation Buddy program grouped ELI students with current Harker students so they could discuss various topics.
The students also got to have a little fun. Field trips included the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Zoo and the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.
It’s the value of the program itself, however, that students will take home with them.
“This program is very helpful, and my first week it was a little bit hard for me,” Tosu said. “I think if I can study hard here, when I go to boarding school it will be very helpful. I’m really making an effort now.”
This year, English Language Institute (ELI) students had the opportunity to bolster their conversation skills by enrolling in the Conversation Buddy program. Running from mid-July until early August, the Conversation Buddy course had Harker Upper School students facilitate small group discussions with the ELI students about various topics, including personal beliefs, moral quandaries and cultural differences.
“It is my hope that these discussions will help the ELI students find a belief they feel strongly about that they can then write about,” said Jennifer Abraham, global education director, who led the program from July 20 until its conclusion.
One Harker student helper, Sean Morgan, Gr. 12, said the program offered the opportunity for him to spend part of the summer doing something that helped others. “I thought it would be good to try to use my knowledge of the language to help people learn English,” he said. “The students are eager to learn.”
Fellow senior Mark Roh enjoyed the chance to meet some students from different cultures, calling the Conversation Buddy program “a good opportunity to meet some international students and help them learn English.”
Student helpers also found it interesting to hear about the ELI students’ perspectives on cultural differences. “I was interested in the different styles of teaching between Asia and here,” Morgan said. One student he spoke with noted that it was considered rude to ask someone lots of questions in the student’s home country, which had an effect on how students were taught.
Abraham said that in addition to helping students build their skills in using everyday English, the Conversation Buddy program can also provide a break from the rigorous academic environment of the ELI program, due to its emphasis on learning to speak naturally and comfortably.
“I think after a long day of really intense studying, it’s just nice to take a deep breath and relax a little bit,” she said.