Junior Venkat Sankar was recently named one of 20 national finalists in this year’s USA Biology Olympiad. He will attend a special training program to decide which finalist will represent the United States at International Biology Olympiad this summer in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“It feels great to be selected as a finalist,” Sankar said. “I’m excited about spending 12 days at the camp with other finalists who are very passionate about biology.”
The USABO begins with two rounds of exams. The first is a 50-minute series of multiple-choice questions, and the second contains multiple-choice questions with more than one possible correct answer and an essay portion. Sankar put considerable time into preparing for the exams. “The baseline preparation was to master Campbell Biology, the AP Biology textbook,” he said. “Beyond that, I also used a college level book on plant biology.” His 2015 summer internship also gave him additional advanced knowledge on biochemistry and molecular biology, “which turned out to be very useful as well.”
Sankar said he will be studying cell biology and reviewing wet lab techniques to prepare himself for the final stage of examinations, which take place in June. Good luck!
“Bye Bye Birdie” was recently nominated for Outstanding Overall Production and Outstanding Supporting Actress (for Zahra Budhwani, grade 11, in the role of Mae Peterson) in the 2016 Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 23 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. If she wins, Budhwani will perform in front of industry professionals at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City, and audition for scholarships to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Congratulations!
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Weekend audiences took a fun-filled trip back to the late 1950s during the Harker Conservatory’s performances of “Bye Bye Birdie,” which ran April 15-17. Directed by Laura Lang-Ree, this rollicking period piece takes place primarily in the fictional town of Sweet Apple, Ohio, where love-struck teenager Kim MacAfee (Mia Giammona, grade 11) wins a contest to receive a kiss from rock ’n’ roll heartthrob Conrad Birdie (Emre Ezer, grade 11), who has just been drafted into the army. Conrad’s appearance in the town sets off a series of events involving jealous lovers, disapproving parents and plenty of fun-filled musical numbers!
Backed by the “Bye Bye Birdie” Band (led by musical director Catherine Snider), the cast did a wonderful job realizing Charles Strouse’s score, which was splendidly interpreted by Katie O’Bryon’s choreography. Scenic designer Paul Vallerga, costume designer Caela Fujii and Harker’s go-to lighting designer Natti Pierce-Thomson brought their great instincts for visuals to the production.
Harker Latinists and classicists wrapped up some tough exams and came out shining!
National Latin Exam
More than 154,000 students across America and in 19 foreign countries took this year’s National Latin Exam. As usual, Harker students did a terrific job. Of the 41 upper school students who took the exam, 35 won awards. Special congratulations to Andrew Semenza and Edgar Lin, both grade 10, who earned perfect scores!
Nine gold medals (with summa cum laude certificates): Lin; Semenza; Bobby Bloomquist, grade 9; Peter Connors, grade 10; Alexander Lam, grade 11; Mathew Mammen, grade 9; Nicole Selvaggio, grade 9; Allison Wang, grade 12; and Alexander Young, grade 9.
Fifteen silver medals (with maxima cum laude certificates): Divija Bhimaraju, grade 10; Josh Broweleit, grade 9; Timothy Chang, grade 9; Cameron Jones, grade 9; Sara Min, grade 9; Arthur Oung, grade 9; Ayush Pancholy, grade 9; Akshay Ravoor, grade 9; Ashwin Reddy, grade 9; Kaushik Shivakumar, grade 9; Elisabeth Siegel, grade 12; Alyson Wang, grade 9; Tiffany Wong, grade 9; Peter Wu, grade 11; and Heidi Zhang, grade 9.
Eight magna cum laude certificates: Justin Au, grade 10; Isabelle Gross, grade 12; James He, grade 11; Era Iyer, grade 11; Sarisha Kurup, grade 11; Michael Kwan, grade 10; Winnie Li, grade 11; and Arnav Tandon, grade 11.
Three cum laude certificates: Allison Cartee, grade 9; Clarissa Wang, grade 9; and Tiffany Zhao, grade 9.
National Roman Civilization Exam
Harker students also did well on this year’s National Roman Civilization Exam. More than 1,800 students nationwide took the exam. This year, five students from Harker took the exam and they all won awards!
A total of 675 students nationwide participated at the advanced level, 95 of whom earned gold medals, including two from Harker: Alexander Lam and Venkat Sankar, both grade 11.
A total of 900 students nationwide participated at the intermediate level, 123 of whom earned gold medals. Harker had two gold medalists, Lin and Semenza, as well as a silver medalist, Ravoor.
National Latin Vocabulary Exam
This year over 2,500 students nationwide took the National Latin Vocabulary Exam. Seven Harker students took this year’s exam and all won awards.
Latin 3: 570 students nationwide took the exam; 82 earned gold medals. Ravoor earned a gold medal, while Kaushik Shivakumar, grade 9, earned a silver medal.
Latin 4: 300 students nationwide took the exam. Semenza earned a silver medal.
Latin 5: 115 students nationwide took the exam; 19 earned gold medals. Four Harker students earned awards: Lam earned a silver medal, Sankar earned a gold medal, Allison Wang, earned a gold medal and Wu earned a bronze medal
National Classical Etymology Exam
Over 5,500 students nationwide participated in the National Classical Etymology Exam. Eleven Harker students participated and eight earned awards.
Advanced Level: 1,848 students nationwide participated; 262 gold medals awarded. Li and Nikhil Manglik, grade 11, earned silver medals.
Intermediate Level: 2,317 students nationwide participated; 388 gold medals awarded. Lin, Pancholy, Semenza and Shivakumar all earned gold medals; Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9 and Ravoor earned silver medals.
Medusa Mythology Exam
Finally, results are in for the Medusa Mythology Exam. Allison Wang and Young each earned a corona laurea (laurel crown/wreath; equivalent to a fourth place award). Rahul Bhethanabotla, grade 10, Manglik, Min and Ravoor each earned a corona olivae (olive crown/wreath; equivalent to a fifth place award).
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Grade 5 Sets Sail at Performance of ‘Pirates! The Musical’
Adventure on the high seas was in store for audiences of this year’s grade 5 show, “Pirates! The Musical,” directed by Kellie Binney-Smart and performed Jan. 28-29. A cast of 132 took the stage for a series of sea shanties about their swashbuckling exploits. In addition to the fifth graders, several faculty members joined in on the fun, including Katie Molin, Shelby Guarino, Jared Ramsey, Gerry-Louise Robinson, Kate Shanahan and Kristin Giam- mona. Songs performed during the show included “A Pirate’s Life for Me,” “Stowaway,” “King of the High C’s” and “The Pirate King.”
Upper School Dance Show Joyfully Reminisces About the ’80s and ’90s
A huge cast of 140 dancers paid tribute to the songs and styles of the ’80s and ’90s at the 2016 upper school dance show, “Mixed Tape: Songs to Dance To,” held Jan. 29-30 at the Blackford Theater. Separated into two acts – one for each decade – the show featured a total of 21 routines, set to such hits as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Wham!’s “Wake Me Up,” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Musicians Impress Audiences at Winter Concert
Middle and upper school student musicians performed this year’s Winter Concert at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater Jan. 15-16, displaying their many talents in a variety of styles. The concert featured performances by the Grade 6 Jazz Band, Grade 6 orchestra, Grade 7-8 Jazz Band, the upper school’s Lab Band and The Harker School orchestra.
Four Middle School Instrumentalists Selected for All-State Bands
Four Harker middle school students were chosen to be members of statewide ensembles that performed in February at the California All-State Music Education Conference. French hornist Kai-Ming Ang, clarinetist Jenny Shaw and flutist Anika Tiwari, all grade 8, were selected for the California Band Directors Association’s All-State Junior High School Concert Band. Trumpeter Leland rossi, grade 7, was selected to play with the CBDA’s All-State Junior High School Jazz Band, making him the rst Harker student to play for an all-state jazz band. Together, these four students represent the largest group of Harker middle school students ever selected to play for all-state ensembles.
Middle School Dancers Earn High Honors at Competition
Harker dance students Karina Chen, grade 7, and Chloe Chen, grade 8, recently competed at the Hollywood Connection dance competition in Santa Clara, where they won a first place gold medal for lyrical dance in the 11-13 age group. Karina also earned the chance to receive a Hollywood makeover, while Chloe was put in the running for a special studio scholarship for a week of unlimited classes at the Millennium Dance Complex.
Both students are enrolled in Harker’s middle school dance program as members of the grades 7-8 girls dance group Showstoppers, and Karina was previously a member of Dance Fusion, the coed dance group for grades 4-6.
Congratulations to these two young talents!
Series of One-Act Plays Featured at Student Directed Showcase
The Harker Conservatory opened 2016 with its Student Directed Showcase, which took place at the Blackford Theater Jan. 8-9. one of the most rigorous courses in the performing arts program, the Student Directed Showcase puts four seniors each in charge of putting on a one-act play. In addition to directing the play, the students are tasked with handling every stage of its production, from casting to promotion to visual effects.
Grade 1 Students Gather to Celebrate the Holiday Season in Song
On Dec. 15, just days before the winter break, the grade 1 homeroom students of teachers Imelda Kusuma, Cindy Proctor, Larissa Weaver and Rita Stone gathered on the stage at the Bucknall Theater for the annual grade 1 holiday show, directed by Carena Montany. The students sang seasonal favorites, including “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as well as newer songs, including “Spin a Little Dreidl” and “A Million Little Snow akes,” the song for which the show was named.
Grades 2 and 3 Spread Seasonal Cheer at Annual Holiday Show
Students in grades 2 and 3 celebrated the giving spirit of the holidays at the annual grades 2-3 holiday show, this year titled “The Spirit of the Season,” held Dec. 17 at the Bucknall Theater. Directed by lower school music teacher Carena Montany, the show featured students singing a variety of holiday-themed songs, including “Frosty the Snowman,” “Feliz Navidad” and “o Chanukah, o Chanukah.” Several numbers included special solo performances or instrumentation, such as the maraca and claves played respectively by second graders Sophia Schafer-Wharton and Jackson Powell on “Feliz Navidad.” The upbeat “Gettin’ in the Mood (For Christmas)” featured exciting choreography by Kimberly Teodoro.
Winter Concert Brings Together Lower School Musicians
Several lower school performing arts groups united in early December for the 2015 lower school Winter Concert, directed by Louis Hoffman, who also conducted the Lower School Jazz Ensemble and Lower School orchestra. other featured groups included the Bucknall Choir, conducted by Kellie Binney-Smart and Carena Montany, the Lower School String Ensemble, conducted by Toni Woodruff, and the Preparatory String Ensemble, also directed by Woodruff.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Upper School
The speech and debate team had a great showing at the state qualifying tournament in late February. Harker students participated in public forum and speech with students qualifying in both events. Eesha Chona and Sorjo Banerjee, both grade 12, will represent Harker in public forum debate, while Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, qualified in oratorical interpretation. Sana Aladin and Divya Rajasekharan, both grade 11, qualified as a team in duo interpretation of literature.
The California High School Speech Association will host the state tournament at Mission College in Santa Clara April 15-17.
Middle School
Also in February, more than 60 Harker middle schoolers competed at the Cesar Chavez Memorial Tournament at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Union City. About 400 middle school students from 19 schools, including 62 from Harker, attended and the results were great! In Lincoln-Douglas debate, rishi Jain, grade 6, Montek Kalsi, grade 8, Annie Ma, grade 8, and Aditi Vinod, grade 7, were undefeated.
Avi Gulati, grade 8, took first place in congressional debate. Nikki Solanki, grade 8, took first in declamation and third in dramatic interpretation. Gulati and Bryan Wang, grade 8, tied for third in impromptu debate. Arusha Patil, grade 7, took first in original oratory, while Gulati took second.
In early March, Judge John Owens ’85 came to campus to speak to upper school students at a morning assembly on “Honors and Ethics,” sponsored by the Honor Council.
Owens said that his time at Harker remains “the most significant professional and personal influence on me.” He went on to say that Harker provided him with the study skills necessary to succeed in school, and more important, the ethics and values to succeed in life.
Owens started out as a Harker student in 1979, graduated from grade 8 in 1985, and worked as a summer camp counselor/coach at the school from 1985 until 1991. Today, he remains active with the school in his capacity as a member of Harker’s distinguished board of fellows.
He was previously featured in Harker News when he was appointed to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the nation’s largest appeals court.
Prior to his talk at the upper school, Owens had returned to Harker’s lower school to talk with third graders about his life as a judge.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Harker DECA Excels at State Conference
Almost 90 students traveled to San Diego in early March to compete with more than 2,000 other California DECA members at the State Career Development Conference. Harker garnered six first place wins, a pair of second place wins, a quartet of third place wins and more than a dozen additional top 10 awards.
During the four days there, students competed, attended workshops, took protégé exams and went to Belmont Park for a little fun and relaxation.
A highlight of the trip was Harker’s chapter advisor, Juston Glass, passing on his 2015 Advisor of the Year award to the 2016 recipient.
Two days were dedicated to written events and role-play competitions. At the mini awards, 36 Harker students were recognized for achievements in their respective competitions.
At the grand awards ceremony on the final day of the conference, Harker DECA earned an astounding 26 top 10 wins. Additionally, 15 teams qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which will be held in Nashville, Tenn., in April.
Overall, this conference was a huge success for Harker DECA, not only in terms of competitions, but also in terms of experience. Students had a lot of fun in the SoCal sun and achieved competitive excellence. Harker DECA proved once again to be a top competitor in the most competitive state in the nation. DECA members are looking forward to ICDC!
DECA Astounds with Record-Breaking Wins at Annual Conference
Harker DECA chapter members garnered 19 top three wins at the 2016 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference in early January and 42 teams received mini awards. In addition to the excellent competitive results, three members were elected to the Silicon Valley District Action Team for the 2016-17 year: Alisa Su, grade 10, as vice president of public relations; Erin Liu, grade 9, as vice president of fashion; and Haley Tran, grade 11, as executive vice president.
Students were jazzed by the results and support they received from fellow students.
“The energy when a Harker DECA member won was unprecedented, and all the other students in the room were shocked by the amount of energy our chapter brought,” noted Vanessa Tyagi, grade 10, director of communications for Harker DECA.
“The support for each competitor was unbelievable,” added Alexander Mo, grade 11, director of written events. “I really think that Harker DECA impressed schools not only with our competitive results, but also our bond as a chapter.”
Changes within the chapter have improved results. “We’ve had the best competitive results this year since the inception of the business and entrepreneurship department,” said Sophia Luo, grade 12, Harker DECA CEO. “Thanks to our newly formed officer mentorship program, many of our members worked one-on-one with experienced officers and achieved competitive excellence. I’m so proud of everyone, mentors and mentees alike.”
Winning gave participants a huge charge. “The feeling when I heard my name being called up on to the stage was amazing,” noted Ashna Chandra, grade 10, Harker DECA director of membership. “All the late nights and hard work were definitely worth it. Just thinking about being on stage and receiving the trophy gives me chills, it was such a surreal experience.”
Not all the successes were from beating competitors; some came from just participating. “I had a really good time at SVCDC this year,” said Shaan Gagneja, grade 10. “I was a finalist in both events that I competed in, and an overall finalist in my written event. I got to meet new people and expand my social network. This conference was an overall success for Harker DECA, and I can’t wait for the rest of the competitive season.”
DECA Out and About on Campuses
DECA is keeping busy back on campus, too. Starting early in the school year, the chapter sponsored an Idea Challenge on the middle school campus to bring DECA to middle schoolers. Middle school teams were assigned an item – in this case, a cardboard box – from which to create a product. Each team then had to promote the product via a video.
In late February, Glass and Logan Drazovich, grade 12, DECA vice president of public relations, went to the middle school campus to announce the winners of the Idea Challenge. Each team was judged on innovation, the value of their new idea, sustainability of the product and the effectiveness of their teamwork and communication.
Later in February, the DECA public relations team went to the middle school to meet with the members of the Stock Market Club. Drazovich led a discussion on the basics of the stock market, and gave the members valuable advice on how to play The Stock Market Game, an online simulation of the global capital markets. The middle school Stock Market Club members were enthusiastic and eager to learn new tips and tricks on how to further their “investments.”
DECA also connected with the upper school student body at an informal “lunch and learn” gathering hosted by Sanil Rajput, grade 12, DECA director of finance. Rajput talked about the basics of insurance: how it works, the different types of insurance, and why it’s essential. “I believe the lunch and learn went flawlessly,” said Rajput. “Students came in ready to learn and excited and asked many questions throughout. Overall, it was a great experience for everyone.”
The chapter also hosted a showing and discussion of Shark Tank, the popular reality show that encourages entrepreneurship. Alisa Su noted, “It was not only fun to watch the show in a classroom setting, but the discussion was insightful and invigorating. Who knew you could learn so much about business from a TV show!?”
Finally, DECA pitched top government officials in our area to promote programs like DECA. As part of its public policy- makers outreach, the group contacted Gov. Jerry Brown, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. In emails to each, DECA addressed the importance of career technical education programs in high school, hoping to engage the leaders in a dialogue.
For the full list of winners and additional details for each conference, go to news. harker.org and search “DECA.”
Over spring break, a group of 16 Harker history students in grades 9 and 10 took an amazing trip through Italy and Greece, absorbing the rich history and culture of both countries. The journey gave the students the rare opportunity to see many historical sites in person and hear the fascinating stories behind them.
The students, accompanied by upper school world history teacher Andrea Milius and upper school dance teacher Karl Kuehn, arrived in Rome after a 12-hour flight. They checked into their hotel, then headed off to dinner, which included authentic Italian pizza and fried mozzarella. The next day they ventured to the famous Trevi Fountain and Piazza Venezia before heading to Piazza Navona for gelato. After trekking through the city and sampling more local food, they headed to the Spanish Steps for a bit of shopping, then to the Piazza Del Popolo to take in some local scenery.
A highlight of the day was a trip to Vatican City, where the group toured the lovely gardens and a museum filled with papal carriages that had been used in the last several centuries to protect the pope on international visits.
While visiting the Vatican’s renowned art galleries, the students viewed works such as the sculpture of “Laocoon and His Sons.” They also got an up-close look at the many paintings adorning the walls and ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, including the famous works of Michelangelo and Botticelli, and took a stroll through St. Peter’s Basilica, which houses Michelangelo’s sculpture of “Pieta.”
Following lunch at St. Peter’s Square, they explored the Domitilla Catacombs, which Milius observed “were comprised solely of volcanic ash, which we could scrape off with our fingernails.”
Day three started with an extensive guided tour of the Colosseum, followed by a walk past the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Senate House and more.
Their hike through Rome continued with stops at the Castel Sant’Angelo (the burial site of Hadrian, one of the “Five Good Emperors”), the Palazzo delle Esposizioni museum and Via del Corso. The day was capped off by another delicious meal.
On the fourth day of the trip, the students traveled by bus to Naples, where a spectacular view of the Mediterranean Sea awaited them. The group took a boat to the nearby island of Capri, where they admired its amazing rock formations and learned about its history as a popular vacation spot for Roman emperors and home to authors such as Norman Douglas, Friedrich Alfred Krupp and Axel Munthe.
At Capri Village, the group explored the various shops and purchased products made from lemons, a fruit for which Capri is particularly famous. They then boarded a boat bound for Sorrento, where they stayed the night. After unloading their luggage, they enjoyed dinner and a sampling of Sorrento’s nightlife.
“It was awesome,” reported Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, “We bought many different things, like ties, tea cups, leather gloves, sunglasses and clothes for great prices. We even saw a mini puppet show!”
The next day, everyone traveled by bus to Pompeii, the city famous for being buried under ash and rock during the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The students viewed casts of some of the bodies discovered by archaeologists. Their tour guide gave them a look into Pompeiian daily life and commerce. Later, in Bari, the group boarded a ferry to Greece to begin the second stage of their trip.
On their first day in Greece, the group took a lengthy trip to Delphi, where they explored the narrow streets and local shops, and purchased food to feed the stray dogs they encountered. After dinner, they retired to bed to prepare for the full day ahead.
The next day they saw more of Delphi’s historical sites, including the Temple of Apollo, and learned that Delphi was originally more of a religious center than a city. It was unique in that it was administered primarily by priestesses, who received divinations by inhaling gases and then shared their insights with visiting diplomats and rulers. The group also explored the ruins of the stadium, which was the site for many Olympic games.
En route to Athens, the group admired the Greek countryside and stopped a local restaurant for lunch. Upon arriving, they enjoyed a short walk through the town square and briefly explored the city. Following dinner, they took a guided tour of the legendary Greek Orthodox church, the Metropolis.
While in Athens, the group toured numerous landmarks, including the statues of important Greek Civil War-era politicians and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the Acropolis, known first as a citadel for Athens and later as a place of religious significance, the students saw many statues and other sculptures that once sat in the structure.
“While many of the statues were damaged in some shape or form, we were able to see how careful the sculptors were in constructing them,” observed Brian Park, grade 9.
It was a busy week for the Harker track team as it competed in two meets. Early in the week, the Eagles faced off with their WBAL rivals and had one of their best-ever meets, achieving 38 personal bests. Kevin Wang, grade 12, won both the shot put and discus; Demonte Aleem, grade 9, set two freshman school records on his way to two second place finishes in the 100m and shot put; Anthony Contreras, grade 10, took first in the 400m, and is now the sophomore school record holder in the 100m, 200m and 400m; Davis Dunaway, grade 11, won the 300m hurdles and was second in the high jump; and Niki Iyer, grade 11, won the 1600m with her season-best time of 5:04.
Later in the week, the Eagles traveled to San Mateo for the Bearcat Invitational. Highlights included Aleem placing fourth in the varsity 100m, which was also the top frosh-soph time of the day. Contreras ran personal bests in the 200m and 400m, placing third in the 400m; Dunaway medaled in the pole vault with a jump of 11’0”; and Rohan Daran, grade 12, Grace Koonmen, grade 10, Ananya Krishnan, grade 10, Lev Sepetov, grade 12, and Norman Garcia, grade 11, each set personal bests at the meet. The Eagles will compete at the St. Francis Invitational on Saturday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team dominated last week, defeating Pinewood, Priory and Evergreen Valley all 7-0. They have another busy week as they face Crystal Springs Uplands on Wednesday, Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday and Evergreen Valley on Friday.
Swimming
Harker hosted its largest WBAL meet of the season last week, welcoming Notre Dame San Jose, Priory, Sacred Heart Prep and Mercy Burlingame. Highlights included wins in the girls 200 medley relay with Taylor Kohlmann, grade 10, Grace Guan, grade 12, Vivian Wang, grade 10, and Angela Li, grade 9; first place for Wang in the girls 200 IM and 100 free; first place for Ihita Mandal, grade 9, in the girls 500 free; a win for Alex Yu, grade 9, in the boys 200 IM; Michael Auld, grade 11, winning the boys 500 free; Jack Farnham, grade 11, taking the boys 100 back; and a win for the boys 400 free relay team of Farnham, Auld, Yu and Justin Culpepper, grade 11. Up next for the Eagles is an April 27 meet with King’s Academy at Singh Aquatic Center.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team dropped two games last week, 8-6 to Carlmont and 9-4 to Aragon, despite playing very well. Next up the Eagles host Woodside on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Boys Golf
Last week the boys golf team suffered only their second head-to-head loss of the season as they fell to Palo Alto by just one stroke, 179-178. Leading the way for the Eagles was Avi Khemani, grade 11, who shot an even 33. It’s another busy week for the Eagles as they compete in the Aptos Tournament on Monday, take on Valley Christian on Tuesday and face off with Crystal Springs Uplands on Friday.
Softball
The softball team went 0-2 last week, falling to Mercy Burlingame and Pinewood. In the 9-4 loss to Mercy, Anika Rajamani, grade 9, drove in two runs. In the 14-5 loss to Pinewood, Grace Park, grade 11, had two hits and two RBIs. The girls host Castilleja on Tuesday and Yerba Buena on Friday, both at 4 p.m.
Boys Volleyball
Last week, the boys varsity volleyball team lost its matchup with Pacific Collegiate in four games, but rebounded with a three-game win against King’s Academy. The boys volleyball team is 6-9 on the year, but it sits in first place in the SCVAL El Camino League with a 4-0 league record. The Eagles travel to Wilcox on Wednesday and host Fremont on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Baseball
The varsity baseball team lost two games to a tough San Mateo team last week, 10-2 and 9-1. This week the Eagles face Jefferson on Tuesday at Blackford at 4 p.m., then travel to Jefferson on Thursday, and host Lincoln San Francisco on Saturday at 11 a.m..
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
As the Harker Research Symposium enters its second decade, a day of exciting talks, speakers and activities awaits the Harker community!
Throughout the day, Harker students will be giving talks about their own research via breakout sessions held in various rooms at Nichols Hall. Middle school students will be giving poster presentations in the upper school gym, encouraging attendees to inquire about their research.
Exhibitors such as Google, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Nvidia, and the ever-popular chemistry magic show, will dazzle the lunchtime audience.
In addition to the great exhibits and breakout sessions by Harker students, this year’s Harker Research Symposium promises another fascinating array of keynote speakers.
Omer Artun, the first morning keynote speaker, is the CEO and founder of AgilOne, a predictive marketing cloud designed to help retailers use analytical data and marketing campaigns to increase profitability. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co. as a consultant, was VP of strategic marketing at CDW/Micro Warehouse and served as senior director of B2B marketing for Best Buy’s For Business division.
Brienne Ghafourifar, another morning keynote speaker, is the co-founder of Entefy, a Palo Alto-based startup that Ghafourifar hopes will one day fundamentally change the way people use technology to interact. Its pre-market release valuation has reached $50 million. At 17, she became the youngest college graduate to raise $1 million in venture funding.
This year’s afternoon keynote will be given by Jeffrey Rothschild (Jackiel, grade 12; Isaac ’14), who spent a decade at Facebook as its VIP of infrastructure engineering.
He is now an investor and entrepreneurial mentor, and sits on the board of directors of Primary Data, Interana and Lytmus. Additionally,he is a part of Accel Partners’ venture development team and is on Vanderbilt University’s Board of Trust. As a philanthropist, he has worked with the Kisii Eye Care Institute, which provides restorative eye surgery to western Kenyans, and the Dairy Farmers of Cherangany, another Kenya-based organization.
Alen Malek ’05, currently a Ph.D. candidate at University of California, Berkeley, will be this year’s alumni keynote speaker.
A founding member of Harker’s robotics team, he later attended Stanford University, earning a B.S. in mathematics and an M.S. in electrical engineering. At Berkeley, he is working on his Ph.D. in computer science, performing research on sequential decision-making.
This event is open to all members of the Harker community and promises to be filled with fun and discovery. For more information, please visit www.harker.org/symposium.