By Elaine Zhai, Harker DECA director of communications
Harker DECA celebrated DECA Month this year with multiple chapter events to allow members to bond with each other and build excitement about the upcoming DECA competitive season.
Furthermore, Harker DECA also completed the #DECAMonth Social Media Challenge, posting daily on all our media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Red Cross
During lunch on Nov. 29, Harker DECA partnered with Harker’s Red Cross Club on campus to assemble kits that held common toiletries, including toothbrushes, toothpaste and hand sanitizer, as well as stuffed animals to give to children from low-income families. DECA officers initiated the effort to help those who are less fortunate, and the packages were donated to the Safe Kids Committee of Silicon Valley Red Cross to hand out. Everyone enjoyed this simple opportunity to make a big difference in the community.
Teacher Thank You Gifts
To show appreciation for support from the faculty, Harker DECA individually thanked staff members by handing out customized travel/toiletry bags to every faculty member on the upper school campus. The gifts included a personalized note thanking teachers for their unending support and explaining about DECA. The small gift brought smiles and joy to all those who received them and also reinforced the strong relationships that Harker DECA hopes to maintain with the school community.
Volunteering for Thanksgiving
The Harker DECA officer team donated items, including ponchos, socks, water bottles, washcloths and more, for people in need to Haven to Home, allowing Harker DECA to make an impact on the greater community and also fulfill Harker’s community-oriented pillar. This was a great way to have fun while serving others and emphasized selflessness of leadership, especially in the times of need considering the recent California wildfires.
Basketball Knockout (Students vs. Faculty)
In late November, Harker DECA partnered with Harker Spirit to coordinate an upper school campuswide basketball knockout competition between the faculty and the students. Students were given the opportunity to represent their grades and play for spirit points as part of an ongoing competition between the classes. Furthermore, DECA sold Cream ice cream as part of its initiative to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
To encourage more students to attend, Harker DECA’s public relations team promoted the event by posting on all our social media handles, including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook. At school meetings, several DECA officers also announced this event and encouraged attendance among all grades by pinning fliers around the school advertising the event.
Although the basketball knockout competition was the largest event of DECA Month, the club held various other fundraisers, and handed out free bagels and Dippin’ Dots. During the week of the basketball competition, Harker DECA earned a net profit of about $2,500. All proceeds were donated to the MDA.
“Hosting a basketball knockout game was an amazing way for us to raise awareness for MDA,” said Anay Karwal, grade 11. “Because our school community loves basketball, many students came out to play and watch, and we were able to talk about MDA’s mission and how they could help. Selling ice cream and bubble tea also allowed us to raise a lot of money, which will go towards muscular dystrophy research. As a whole, not only was the event an immense success, but we also were able to work for a good cause.”
Mock Conference and Alumni Panel
On Nov. 17, Harker DECA hosted an intramural mock conference to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience and receive valuable feedback to better their knowledge and skills for the Silicon Valley Conference. The mock conference was the perfect opportunity to actively engage in their skills and apply entrepreneurial thinking. By inviting industry professionals to act as judges, students were able to hear real-life experiences and lessons. Harker DECA also invited six Harker alumni to speak on Nov. 16 about the knowledge that they acquired from DECA and how their experiences have helped them in college and beyond. Focusing on their personal journeys with entrepreneurship, students were able to interact with previous members and ask them questions about DECA and other business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker offers.
“The mock conference was an extremely interactive and engaging experience in which participants could receive feedback and advice from some of the best in the business on their role plays and soft skills,” said Elvis Han, grade 9.
Bagels for Business
On Nov. 15, Harker DECA handed out free bagels in front of Manzanita Hall along with pamphlets about opportunities to become more involved in different entrepreneurship programs around the campus and in general. This event helped attract students who are not currently involved in Harker’s business and entrepreneurship programs, and many students were encouraged and inspired to explore and participate. Moreover, the bagels were a welcome treat during a stressful weekend, contributing to Harker DECA’s purpose of improving our community and student well-being. Each attendee left with a happy stomach and an eagerness to become more actively involved in business and entrepreneurship.
Middle School Announcement
On Nov. 12, three Harker DECA Officers and their advisor traveled to the Harker middle school campus to announce the DECA Idea Challenge during a school meeting. Students learned of the logistics of the challenge, the potential prizes involved, and the mystery item that they were required to incorporate, which, for the 2018-19 DECA year, is paper clips! Interested students were given a chance to ask the DECA officers questions about the Idea challenge and DECA in general. A great opportunity to introduce entrepreneurship to prospective high school students, the Idea Challenge encouraged students to consider joining DECA in the future. The announcement left many students excited to explore entrepreneurship opportunities as they submit innovative proposals.
Yard Sale
On Nov. 9, Harker DECA promoted the program by providing the community with previous DECA merchandise and inciting excitement for the upcoming DECA year. Selling the vintage clothing offered an opportunity to recycle rather than waste while also fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Furthermore, the yard sale helped spread DECA’s brand image; after purchasing old sweatshirts and other clothing, students were often spotted wearing these items around campus. As a whole, this event allowed us to promote DECA in our upper school community and help the students by providing lower priced, quality clothes.
“I bought a hoodie from the DECA yard sale for $8. I had a lot of fun and now I can rep my DECA merch,” said Devanshi Mehta, grade 12. “It was a really smart way to earn revenue after last year’s season as well as get rid of excess quantities of merchandise. Go DECA!”
Ice Cream Social
On Nov. 2, Harker DECA hosted an ice cream social after school outside Manzanita Hall from 3-5 p.m. to mark the beginning of DECA Month. All students were invited to drop by for free ice cream with unlimited toppings in order to refresh themselves and relax after a long day. Bringing all members of the community together, the ice cream social allowed the DECA Officer Team to network with students and introduce some of the business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker offers.
“The ice cream social this year really allowed for the Harker DECA community to bond,” said Anvitha Tummala, grade 10, director of written events. “It was great to see so many excited Harker DECA kids and was a lot of fun!”
DECA Launch
On Aug. 18-19, more than 65 students attended Harker DECA’s fifth-annual DECA Launch, an event to introduce DECA to prospective members and to provide an overview of The Harker School’s business, economics and entrepreneurship department. Through alumni panels, detailed presentations, guest speakers, mock tournaments and interactive activities, students received a realistic idea of the upcoming DECA year. Furthermore, DECA Launch also featured the Innovation Challenge, which invited participants to create an innovative solution to solve a real-world problems. The products that teams developed included a virtual fitting room app, climate change-solving oil drill, and Tinder for roommates, among many others. As a whole, DECA Launch succeeded in exciting students, especially new members, for the new year.
“Through the numerous activities that we have planned, DECA Launch provides a great opportunity for students to become familiar with not only DECA and the B.E. department, but also the upper school as a whole,” said Shania Wang, grade 12, Harker DECA’s CEO. “This year, we introduced a lot of new changes based on feedback from previous years, which allowed us to host the best possible event for all of the students. We also had the most attendees compared to previous years, so I’m excited and hopeful for a successful year.”
About The Harker School DECA Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
By Elaine Zhai, Harker DECA director of communications
Harker DECA celebrated DECA Month this year with multiple chapter events to allow members to bond with each other and build excitement about the upcoming DECA competitive season.
Furthermore, Harker DECA also completed the #DECAMonth Social Media Challenge, posting daily on all our media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Red Cross
During lunch on Nov. 29, Harker DECA partnered with Harker’s Red Cross Club on campus to assemble kits that held common toiletries, including toothbrushes, toothpaste and hand sanitizer, as well as stuffed animals to give to children from low-income families. DECA officers initiated the effort to help those who are less fortunate, and the packages were donated to the Safe Kids Committee of Silicon Valley Red Cross to hand out. Everyone enjoyed this simple opportunity to make a big difference in the community.
Teacher Thank You Gifts
To show appreciation for support from the faculty, Harker DECA individually thanked staff members by handing out customized travel/toiletry bags to every faculty member on the upper school campus. The gifts included a personalized note thanking teachers for their unending support and explaining about DECA. The small gift brought smiles and joy to all those who received them and also reinforced the strong relationships that Harker DECA hopes to maintain with the school community.
Volunteering for Thanksgiving
The Harker DECA officer team donated items, including ponchos, socks, water bottles, washcloths and more, for people in need to Haven to Home, allowing Harker DECA to make an impact on the greater community and also fulfill Harker’s community-oriented pillar. This was a great way to have fun while serving others and emphasized selflessness of leadership, especially in the times of need considering the recent California wildfires.
Basketball Knockout (Students vs. Faculty)
In late November, Harker DECA partnered with Harker Spirit to coordinate an upper school campuswide basketball knockout competition between the faculty and the students. Students were given the opportunity to represent their grades and play for spirit points as part of an ongoing competition between the classes. Furthermore, DECA sold Cream ice cream as part of its initiative to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
To encourage more students to attend, Harker DECA’s public relations team promoted the event by posting on all our social media handles, including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook. At school meetings, several DECA officers also announced this event and encouraged attendance among all grades by pinning fliers around the school advertising the event.
Although the basketball knockout competition was the largest event of DECA Month, the club held various other fundraisers, and handed out free bagels and Dippin’ Dots. During the week of the basketball competition, Harker DECA earned a net profit of about $2,500. All proceeds were donated to the MDA.
“Hosting a basketball knockout game was an amazing way for us to raise awareness for MDA,” said Anay Karwal, grade 11. “Because our school community loves basketball, many students came out to play and watch, and we were able to talk about MDA’s mission and how they could help. Selling ice cream and bubble tea also allowed us to raise a lot of money, which will go towards muscular dystrophy research. As a whole, not only was the event an immense success, but we also were able to work for a good cause.”
Mock Conference and Alumni Panel
On Nov. 17, Harker DECA hosted an intramural mock conference to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience and receive valuable feedback to better their knowledge and skills for the Silicon Valley Conference. The mock conference was the perfect opportunity to actively engage in their skills and apply entrepreneurial thinking. By inviting industry professionals to act as judges, students were able to hear real-life experiences and lessons. Harker DECA also invited six Harker alumni to speak on Nov. 16 about the knowledge that they acquired from DECA and how their experiences have helped them in college and beyond. Focusing on their personal journeys with entrepreneurship, students were able to interact with previous members and ask them questions about DECA and other business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker offers.
“The mock conference was an extremely interactive and engaging experience in which participants could receive feedback and advice from some of the best in the business on their role plays and soft skills,” said Elvis Han, grade 9.
Bagels for Business
On Nov. 15, Harker DECA handed out free bagels in front of Manzanita Hall along with pamphlets about opportunities to become more involved in different entrepreneurship programs around the campus and in general. This event helped attract students who are not currently involved in Harker’s business and entrepreneurship programs, and many students were encouraged and inspired to explore and participate. Moreover, the bagels were a welcome treat during a stressful weekend, contributing to Harker DECA’s purpose of improving our community and student well-being. Each attendee left with a happy stomach and an eagerness to become more actively involved in business and entrepreneurship.
Middle School Announcement
On Nov. 12, three Harker DECA Officers and their advisor traveled to the Harker middle school campus to announce the DECA Idea Challenge during a school meeting. Students learned of the logistics of the challenge, the potential prizes involved, and the mystery item that they were required to incorporate, which, for the 2018-19 DECA year, is paper clips! Interested students were given a chance to ask the DECA officers questions about the Idea challenge and DECA in general. A great opportunity to introduce entrepreneurship to prospective high school students, the Idea Challenge encouraged students to consider joining DECA in the future. The announcement left many students excited to explore entrepreneurship opportunities as they submit innovative proposals.
Yard Sale
On Nov. 9, Harker DECA promoted the program by providing the community with previous DECA merchandise and inciting excitement for the upcoming DECA year. Selling the vintage clothing offered an opportunity to recycle rather than waste while also fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Furthermore, the yard sale helped spread DECA’s brand image; after purchasing old sweatshirts and other clothing, students were often spotted wearing these items around campus. As a whole, this event allowed us to promote DECA in our upper school community and help the students by providing lower priced, quality clothes.
“I bought a hoodie from the DECA yard sale for $8. I had a lot of fun and now I can rep my DECA merch,” said Devanshi Mehta, grade 12. “It was a really smart way to earn revenue after last year’s season as well as get rid of excess quantities of merchandise. Go DECA!”
Ice Cream Social
On Nov. 2, Harker DECA hosted an ice cream social after school outside Manzanita Hall from 3-5 p.m. to mark the beginning of DECA Month. All students were invited to drop by for free ice cream with unlimited toppings in order to refresh themselves and relax after a long day. Bringing all members of the community together, the ice cream social allowed the DECA Officer Team to network with students and introduce some of the business and entrepreneurship programs that Harker offers.
“The ice cream social this year really allowed for the Harker DECA community to bond,” said Anvitha Tummala, grade 10, director of written events. “It was great to see so many excited Harker DECA kids and was a lot of fun!”
DECA Launch
On Aug. 18-19, more than 65 students attended Harker DECA’s fifth-annual DECA Launch, an event to introduce DECA to prospective members and to provide an overview of The Harker School’s business, economics and entrepreneurship department. Through alumni panels, detailed presentations, guest speakers, mock tournaments and interactive activities, students received a realistic idea of the upcoming DECA year. Furthermore, DECA Launch also featured the Innovation Challenge, which invited participants to create an innovative solution to solve a real-world problems. The products that teams developed included a virtual fitting room app, climate change-solving oil drill, and Tinder for roommates, among many others. As a whole, DECA Launch succeeded in exciting students, especially new members, for the new year.
“Through the numerous activities that we have planned, DECA Launch provides a great opportunity for students to become familiar with not only DECA and the B.E. department, but also the upper school as a whole,” said Shania Wang, grade 12, Harker DECA’s CEO. “This year, we introduced a lot of new changes based on feedback from previous years, which allowed us to host the best possible event for all of the students. We also had the most attendees compared to previous years, so I’m excited and hopeful for a successful year.”
About The Harker School DECA Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
The boys basketball team went 1-2 at the Lynbrook Tournament last week. The Eagles opened the tourney with a 31-41 loss to Los Altos with Giovanni Rofa, grade 11, leading the scoring with 11 points. The boys then defeated host Lynbrook 54-38 with Jack Connors, grade 11, leading the way with 15 points. Finally, the Eagles fell to Mills 32-48 in their final game with Connors once again leading the offense, this time with nine points. This week, the boys travel to Redwood Christian on Tuesday.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team went 1-2 at the Santa Clara Tournament last week, bringing its season record to 5-2. The girls lost to host Santa Clara 34-51 in the opening round with Akhila Ramgiri, grade 12, scoring 17 points. In the second round, the Eagles fell to Capuchino 25-65 with Ramgiri, Maria Vazhaeparambil, grade 10, Advika Phadnis, grade 10, and Prameela Kottapalli, grade 12, each chipping in four points. The girls finished the tourney with a 55-39 victory over Andrew Hill. Ramgiri and Brooklyn Cicero, grade 9, led the way with 10 points each. This week, the Eagles travel to Harbor on Tuesday and host San Lorenzo Valley on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
Last week, the boys soccer team defeated Saratoga 4-0 to up its record to 2-1. The boys host Del Mar on Wednesday and travel to Lynbrook on Friday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team fell to San Mateo 1-5 and Wilcox 1-0 last week. This week, the Eagles host Yerba Buena on Tuesday and Lincoln on Thursday.
Fall All-League
Congratulations to all the fall athletes named to their respective all-league teams.
Girls volleyball finished second in CCS and was led by Emily Cheng, grade 11, who was named to the first team; Katrina Liou and Allison Cartee, both grade 12, who were second team selections; and Michelle Ning, grade 10, who was an honorable mention.
Anna Weirich, grade 10, Ritika Rajamani, grade 9, Ryan Adolf, grade 12, and Aditya Singhvi, grade 10, each earned cross country honorable mentions.
The girls tennis team earned a CCS berth with Santoshi Tirumala, grade 10, and Liza Egorova, grade 12, each making the first team, with Gina Partridge and Amanda Cheung, both grade 11, earning second team honors, and Sachi Bajaj, grade 10, receiving an honorable mention.
The co-league champion girls water polo team was represented by MVP goalie Arushi Madan, grade 11; first team selections Abigail Wisdom and Samantha Yanovsky, both grade 12; and Cassandra Ruedy, grade 11, who earned a second team selection.
The CCS Academic Champion boys water polo team was represented very well on the all-league rosters. Matthew Hajjar, grade 12, was league MVP and a CCS honorable mention, with Bobby Bloomquist and Jacob Kim, both grade 12, earning first team selections. Andrew Chang, grade 12, made the second team and Arjun Akkiraju, grade 11, and Leon Lu, grade 12, received honorable mentions.
The Harker football team is not affiliated with a league, but the coaches did give out team awards. Jared Anderson, grade 12, was the team MVP; Marcus Tymous, grade 12, was the Defensive Skill Player of the Year; Ayush Vyas, grade 12, was the Offensive Line Player of the Year; Anthony Meissner, grade 12, was named Offensive Skill Player of the Year; Devin Keller and Giovanni Rofa, both grade 11, earned the Special Teams Players of the Year; Trevor Thompson, grade 12, was the Co-Defensive Line Player of the Year; and John Zeng, grade 9, was the Scout Team Player of the Year.
Girls golf had a historic year as the team was the league champ, second in CCS and seventh in NorCal. Sophie Zhang-Murphy, grade 9, was league champ and the league MVP, with Katelyn Vo, grade 11, Natalie Vo, grade 10, and Tina Xu, grade 9, earning first team selections. Olivia Guo, grade 10, landed on the second team.
By Elaine Zhai, grade 10, Harker DECA Director of Communications
In mid-November, almost 50 students from the Harker DECA chapter flew to Anaheim for the DECA Western Region Leadership Conference (WRLC). Marking the beginning of the 2018-19 competitive season, this event was Harker DECA’s second time attending WRLC, a non-competitive conference designed to provide students with competitive tips. Through workshops and keynote speakers, students bonded with one another and developed skills to prepare themselves for their next conference.
“This year’s WRLC was a really great experience that had a good balance between being fun and also informative,” said Shania Wang, grade 12, Harker DECA CEO. “I felt that the workshops and speakers had really important messages and was able to learn from each of them, and the competitive aspect was also super helpful in terms of introducing members to competitions. At the same time, being in Anaheim and having chapter time really allowed our chapter to come together and get closer while forming lasting memories. As a whole, even being a senior, I definitely feel that it was an overall well-done conference that had a lot to offer to everyone.”
Members staging in the conference are as follows:
Competitive Event Testing Session
Claire Luo, grade 10
Shania Wang, grade 12
Ronit Gagneja, grade 11
Riya Gupta, grade 12
Role-play Tournament
Riya Gupta, grade 12
Shania Wang, grade 12
Yejin Song, grade 9
Mahi Kolla, grade 11
DECA Garage Top 3 Finalists
William Chien, grade 9
Shrey Khater, grade 9
Vinay Sudarsanam, grade 9
Students opened the visit by preparing for the introductory workshops that afternoon, which included an alumni story session, DECA Competition 101 and a Tell Your Story workshop. Attendees were then given the rest of the afternoon to participate in the Competitive Event Testing Session and grab dinner before the opening session.
In the opening session, DECA members from throughout the Western Region, including California, Arizona and Washington, assembled to hear the keynote speakers share their stories of success.
On Friday, the chapter gathered to attend the general session and listen to speakers share insightful lessons they have learned throughout their professional careers. Students were given the opportunity to engage with experts in various fields, and left feeling inspired and encouraged to pursue their own dreams. Creating a perfect environment to network with students from other states, these educational and interactive workshops served as learning experiences for the chapter.
“As a first-year DECA member, the workshops provided a more fun and interactive way of learning about the DECA experience,” said Tuhin Chatterjee, grade 10. “I’ve definitely gained a variety of skills, and I look forward to applying them in future conferences.”
After a busy day of workshops, students were able to unwind and spend time bonding with one another and enjoying the attractions of Disneyland.
On Saturday, all members of the chapter participated in the DECA competitive events. In round one, where they competed against other students in a role-play tournament, judges were able to give students feedback and constructive criticism on their performance to prepare them for future competitions.
“The role-play mock competition was overall an incredible learning experience for the students,” said Claire Luo, grade 10, Harker DECA director of role-plays. “For many of the attendees, this was their first role-play in an actual conference setting, and it gave them a great taste of what to expect. In particular, they got to do the role-play in front of an actual judge, which was a new and eye-opening experience for many of the members. The role-play itself was also really interesting and allowed the students to come up with all sorts of creative marketing ideas and plans. In all, I thought that the mock role-play competition benefited the students a lot, especially as they prepare for their next conference.”
Throughout the morning, students also visited The Hub to support fellow members of the Harker DECA chapter, Phil Han, grade 11, vice president of competition; Anay Karwal, grade 11, director of technology; and Enya Lu, grade 12, vice president of California DECA, in the DECA Fashion Show. Furthermore, William Chien, Vinay Sudarsanam and Shrey Khater, all grade 9, participated in the DECA Garage Pitches and placed in the top three among teams from across the nation.
Then, students attended another set of workshops, which covered various topics including creative storytelling and public speaking. Again, these workshops provided a unique experience for new members, who could not only socialize with other like-minded students but also develop and hone useful life skills.
On Saturday evening, members of Harker DECA gathered for a quick excursion at BowlMor Lanes in Anaheim. For two hours, students were able to relax and compete with one another while snacking on mozzarella sticks and buffalo wings.
“Chapter bowling was a really fun experience because I got to take some time out of the trip to relax, interact, and have fun with my roommates and talk more to the other chapter members,” said Alysa Su, grade 9. “It’s a great way to connect with some people you might not have known before and a great bonding experience for the entire chapter.”
Students finally convened for the closing session. While there, students watched as Chien, Sundarsanam and Khater represented Harker DECA in the DECA Garage Shark Tank Panel Pitches, presenting their proposal in front of a panel of judges and hundreds of students. Students also experienced a performance by Brian Nhira, a former contestant on The Voice, and after the closing session, members gathered to take a chapter photo and pose with Nhira.
“DECA Garage was a great experience overall,” said Chien. “In the beginning, we were introduced to Jason Lucash, the founder of Origaudio, who has appeared on Shark Tank. They then let us start working on making our company and developing our pitch. After that, we had to do a form of crowdfunding where every student was given DECA Dollars, and we had to convince them to invest in us. Our company raised enough money to be in the top three, giving us the opportunity to present in front of five sharks and the 1,500 people attending the conference. In the end, we didn’t win but it was still the highlight of my DECA career so far. Huge thanks go out to everyone in Harker DECA, the officers and my teammates, as none of what happened would have been possible without them.”
Overall, Harker DECA’s experience at WRLC was definitely a learning one, where students were able to network with students from across the nation and develop the critical skills to aid them in becoming competitively successful in the future. The chapter looks forward to applying their newfound knowledge to the first competitive conference of the 2018-19 season, the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference. Go Eagles!
About The Harker School DECA Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
In late November, CareerConnect was excited to have Kai Huang, the co-founder of Guitar Hero, speak about starting a company, succeeding in it and becoming an angel investor.
Huang began by discussing his experience in college, and how he changed his major to something he never expected he would enjoy, which later helped his future companies succeed.
He talked about starting RedOctane, the company that founded Guitar Hero, with his brother, and discussed the origin of the idea for the company. He also talked about expanding the company to include other services, such as dance pads, and eventually the Guitar Hero program.
Huang also shared the various challenges of beginning a startup, such as figuring out how to maintain and expand revenue, and financial troubles startups may encounter. He mentioned that while creating the game, the company struggled to keep from going bankrupt a few times. Once the game was released, it became an instant hit with sales going up every year; in the fourth year after the game was released, it made over $1 billion in sales.
It was inspiring to hear Huang discuss his hardships honestly, as well as share how his hard work paid off. He also discussed his current career pursuits as an angel investor and gave students a brief insight into some of the companies in which he has invested, such as Manticore Games, an electric bike company. He ended the talk with a Q&A session about Guitar Hero and his experience in the gaming industry, as well as what aspects of his investment portfolio he finds compelling.
Sasvath Ramachandran, grade 9, commented that, “The talk was very informative and [I learned] that all entrepreneurship is connected in some way, no matter the industry. … You don’t know what’s going to happen but have to adapt based on the situations.”
Freshman Sujith Pakala said of the event, “The talk was really interesting, and knowing I might want to start a business in the future, this talk helped me learn that no business plan is set and things can change.”
Overall, the talk was a great success. Students were able to learn some valuable lessons about how to start a company, and also were exposed to potential struggles that they may have to deal with as future entrepreneurs while starting a company.
The upper school show choir, Downbeat, was recently accepted into the 2019 Varsity Vocals International Championship of High School A Cappella, a global competition highlighting high school a cappella groups. They will travel to Portland, Ore., in January to compete in the quarterfinal round. Varsity Vocals organizes a cappella competitions for high school and college students that attract thousands of singers from across the world every year. The collegiate-level competition is featured in the “Pitch Perfect” series of films, which has become one of the highest-grossing musical comedy franchise of all time.
“We are thrilled to receive this wonderful opportunity!” said Downbeat co-director Jennifer Sandusky. “It will provide a new performance venue for our singers’ musical growth with adjudicated feedback on our singing and performing skills.”
In a Harker alumni chain reaction, following his employment at DoorDash, Barrett Glasauer ’09 has co-founded WanderJaunt, which partners with property owners to maximize value for short-term rentals.
Post-Harker, Glasauer went to the University of California, Berkeley, and picked up an electrical engineering/computer science degree. “While at college, I joined a fraternity, TKE [Tau Kappa Epsilon]” said Glasauer, “and made a bunch of friends who I’m close with to this day – and am lucky enough to have a number of them working with me at WanderJaunt.”
After graduation, Glasauer joined Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company, and led teams of engineers and data scientists helping protect clients from cybersecurity and fraud threats. “After 2.5 years at Palantir, I wanted to get closer to a true startup and reached out to Andy Fang (Harker Class of 2010) about openings at DoorDash,” said Glasauer. “He mentioned that they were starting up a business operations team, which sat at the intersection of data and strategy. It was a great fit for what I was looking for and I had a great time working with a bunch of other Harker alum, notably David Kastelman (Class of 2009), Rohan Chopra (Class of 2010) and Kevin Fu (Class of 2010).
“While at DoorDash, I met my two co-founders for WanderJaunt, Andres Green and Michael Chen. Andres was a general manager for the city of Boston and Michael was building out a bunch of our back-end merchant operations functions. They had a pretty terrible Airbnb experience during a DoorDash East Coast summit, and we got to chatting about how we’d do it better using what we’d learned building an operational tech company. That’s really the genesis of WanderJaunt – the belief that we could take our experience growing a three-sided marketplace at DoorDash with a ton of operational complexity and apply it to the short-term rental space.
“Airbnb, Homeaway, Expedia and all the rest of the online travel agencies (OTAs) had proven that people wanted to stay in homes over hotels when they traveled. The growth proved the fit was there, but the experience from both a host and a guest perspective was littered with inconsistency and operational complexity. It’s that inconsistency that prevented people like my parents from ever trying Airbnb. We believe that we can bring the best of both worlds together to create amazing guest experiences.”
The team finds properties to update and rent out by searching Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and Redfin for properties available for rent. They also go direct to apartment buildings and lease a number of units at once, using multiple listing services to find properties that are about to go back into the rental market. “We also have acquired a significant chunk of our portfolio through referrals from people we manage properties for. It’s a pretty easy sell for most homeowners – more money, less work,” Glasauer noted.
“To get the properties ready, we have an internal activation team that handles everything from design, painting, furniture install to cleaning and photography,” Glasauer said. “We’ve basically got the process down to a point where we can have a property go from unfurnished to ready for guests within 10 days of us signing the lease. In order to facilitate this speed, we maintain a warehouse in each of our operational markets that stores 15-plus homes worth of furniture at a time to help us combat any lag in furniture delivery. When we first started two years ago, it would take us a full month just to get a single property ready. This November, we’ve managed to activate 20 individual properties.”
The company started out partnering with owners to operate their properties, but is evolving to maximize the use of company resources. “We’ve learned that our business model allows us to create much higher yields on a piece of real estate than owners would get in the traditional long-term market,” said Glasauer. “Looking into the future, we want to capture both the yield upside as well as the appreciation of the real estate asset. To do that, we’ve started raising a private equity real estate fund with the explicit purpose of buying and selling real estate. We expect to buy our first homes by Q2 of 2019.”
Glasauer is clearly a seeker of adventure! When asked what the scariest part of starting a company was, he replied, “Truth be told, I was more scared at the beginning of not taking the chance and I was fearful that if I didn’t take the leap, I would forever kick myself or wonder what could have been. For me, viewing the whole journey as a crazy learning experience that I wouldn’t get in any other company mitigates most of that ‘fear.'”
After all the planning and groundwork, it was exciting to actually open the doors of the first property, he said. “I think getting our very first guest was a huge moment for us,” said Glasauer. “It was the first validation that we could actually put something out there that people were interested in experiencing. I also think it resonated deeply with us that we were building the right thing when we got our first reviews where people said we gave them the best short-term rental experience they ever had or talked about how we helped their family get through things like a funeral or provided a great place to celebrate a birth.”
The journey has been thrilling as Glasauer grows into his management role. “To use a sports analogy,” said Glasauer, “when we first started out, I could be a player 100 percent of the time and it was super clear how outcomes were affected by my inputs. As I’ve played more and more of a team captain or a coach role as the [organization] has grown, the distance between my immediate inputs and the eventual outcomes that we deliver have also grown. It’s been personally challenging to feel like I have less control over the actual output since it requires a larger number of involved players to get to (reach?), but also incredibly rewarding to see super talented people working together to solve problems I never could on my own.”
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 Glasauer, “or folks who’d love to own a P&L [profit and loss concern] and help build the business from the ground floor by running entire markets in Phoenix, Austin and soon Chicago! Further, if anyone owns investment properties in the Phoenix or Austin area, I’d love to chat!”
The girls basketball team became champions of the Pescadero Tournament as it went 3-0 and outscored its opponents 165-60 over the weekend. In their opening round game, the girls defeated Averroes High 67-5 with Prameela Kottapalli, grade 12, Sara Sullivan, grade 11, and Maria Vazhaeparambil, grade 10, each scoring 9 points. Next, the Eagles took down Mendocino 53-19 led by 11 points from Akhila Ramgiri, grade 12. In the championship game, Ramgiri scored 12 points as the Eagles defeated Pacific Bay Christian 45-36. Ramgiri also was selected to the all-tournament team. The girls begin the Santa Clara Tournament this Wednesday.
Boys Basketball
Over the weekend, the boys basketball team went 2-1 at the James Lick Tournament losing in the championship game in overtime. The Eagles started the tournament with a 69-31 win over San Jose High with Richard Wang, grade 12, and Jarrett Anderson, grade 12, each scoring 12 points. The boys then took care of Fremont High 54-28 led by 13 points from Jack Connors, grade 11. Finally, the Eagles fell to Wilcox 60-63 in OT with Anderson and Connors leading the way with 15 points each. The Eagles begin the Lynbrook Tournament this Thursday.
Girls Soccer
Last week, the girls soccer team opened their season with a 1-1 tie against The King’s Academy and a 5-0 win over Independence. This week, the Eagles host San Mateo on Tuesday and travel to Wilcox on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team began its season with a 2-4 loss to South San Francisco last week, but rebounded with a 4-2 win over San Mateo later in the week. On Wednesday, the boys travel to Saratoga.
Wrestling
The wrestling team travels to the Los Gatos Tournament in early January to open its season.
Over the Thanksgiving break, the girls basketball team opened its season with a 65-24 win over University Prep Academy. Alexa Lowe, grade 9, led the Eagles with 14 points followed by 10 points from Sara Sullivan, grade 11. This Thursday, the girls travel to Pescadero to begin the Pescadero Tournament.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team officially opens its season this Thursday by competing in the James Lick Invitational Tournament.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team opens its season on Tuesday by hosting The King’s Academy at 3:30 p.m. at Davis Field.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team hosts two games this week to open its season. On Wednesday, the boys take on South San Francisco and on Friday, they face off with San Mateo, both at 3 p.m. on Davis Field.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestlers will compete at the Los Gatos Tournament in early January.
Alumni Sports
Vivian Wang ’18 Has been making a name for herself on the Princeton swim team! In her first match, a tri-meet with Florida Gulf Coast and Florida Atlantic, in the 100 back, she took second to her team captain by 9/100ths with 57.50. Wang came back in the 100 fly, winning with 56.70. Go alumni Eagles!
More than a dozen Harker students attended the QuickBooks Connect Conference at the San Jose Convention Center last week as part of Harker’s CareerConnect program.
This year’s topic was “Anything is Possible.” Attendees listened to a welcome speech from Brad Smith, CEO of Intuit, who explained the power of connections and the importance of hard work to achieve goals.
Next, Intuit’s executive VP Sasan Goodarzi (who takes over as Intuit CEO in January) spoke about Intuit’s innovative technologies that can help small and large businesses grow. Afterward, attendees got to hear journalist Lisa Ling interview a panel of three entrepreneurs about their experiences starting their companies.
Dylan Lauren, founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar, spoke about how she combined art, fashion and pop culture to create the world’s largest candy store. Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring, a company aimed at reducing crime in neighborhoods using a Wi-Fi video doorbell, spoke about how his company grew from a Shark Tank reject to a billion-dollar company. The third speaker was Simon Enever, founder of Quip, a company dedicated to making brushing teeth simple and better. Each speaker gave meaningful insights on the process of starting a business and shared interesting experiences from his or her own journey as an entrepreneur.
“It was super duper interesting and just a great experience. I learned a lot about managing your business and just how to make your business thrive and grow as a whole,” said Laszlo Bollyky, grade 9.
For the rest of the day, attendees explored company booths and attended breakout sessions. This year, there were 90-plus companies with booths, including Chase, Aero, PayPie and Gusto.
“We learned a lot about how to network with people and how to interact with people to make connections,” said Michelle Liu, grade 9. “Most of the companies we talked to were the payroll companies. The people would talk about the company, and ask if we had questions. It was a very good learning experience.”