This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted and translated by Spanish NHS member Sahana Narayanan, grade 11, with assistance from Abel Olivas, upper school Spanish teacher.
Daniel Kim ’09 recently gave an interview to the Spanish National Honor Society (SNHS) for the fall edition of its Spanish-language magazine, “Pórtico al mundo hispano (Gateway to the Hispanic World).” A former member of the SNHS, he spoke of his six visits to Latin America as part of a Christian medical team. Kim recently graduated from Harvard University and began his first year in a hybrid M.D./Ph.D. program at Yale University.
Sahana Narayanan: Tell us about the medical team with which you traveled to Latin America. How did you find this opportunity? Daniel Kim: On each of my trips, I went with a group called Medical Ministry International (MMI). It’s a Christian organization that provides free medical services to underprivileged communities while sharing with them MMI’s religious faith. Doctors spend their vacations volunteering at clinics. I found this program through a simple Google search. After finishing my second year at Harker, I was looking for an opportunity to improve my Spanish, explore the medical profession and cultivate my Christian faith.
SN: How did you help the medical team? DK: On my trips to Honduras and Peru, I served as an interpreter. I sat between doctor and patient, translating the patient’s symptoms and medical history from Spanish to English and the doctor’s suggestions and prescriptions from English to Spanish. On my most recent trip to Mexico, I had a slightly different job since, instead of providing medications, this team of doctors performed cataract removal surgery. I worked as a nurse. Using the formal commands I had learned in my Spanish classes, I prepared every patient for surgery. I learned how to sterilize the area around the eyes and to take out patients’ intravenous needles. I also learned how to pass the correct tools to the doctor during surgery, which was a great experience!
SN: Describe the economic situation of the patients. DK: In many cases, the patients and I were the same age, but our situations were very different. Instead of going to school, these patients often had to work in jobs such as driving taxis (or small cars used as taxis) and running stores. Many of the girls (especially in Honduras) had two or three kids. The most obvious and unfortunate problem I witnessed was the poor health in these communities. Either there was a dearth of adequate services or the services were too expensive.
SN: Why have you returned to Latin America so many times? DK: These experiences taught me that the society in which I live does not represent the daily lives of the majority of the world. (Well, I already knew that, but I had never faced it in such a concrete way.) Not only did I grasp the extent of the suffering in these countries, I also discovered that I could help alleviate some of it with my talents and medical knowledge. I came to decide two important things.
First of all, to return to these countries in the future as a doctor who can both treat patients and communicate with them in Spanish. Secondly, rather than just practice medicine – that is, instead of just treating individual patients – I resolved to do scientific research to treat entire populations on a world scale.
Using my interdisciplinary specialization, I hope to find efficient and economical methods to combat the most serious diseases in the world. That’s why I ultimately chose to follow a hybrid M.D./ Ph.D. program at Yale.
SN: Of all your travels, which one has been the most memorable? Why? DK: The Latin American culture I experienced struck me as very communal, unlike the culture of independence of the United States. Every night, the folks living in these cities would come to plazas to enjoy each other’s company. Some cities had two plazas, one for youth and the other for adults. After completing our work, we’d go out to eat authentic cuisine and then head to the plaza to delve more deeply into the culture (and to eat ice cream!).
My favorite memory takes place in one of these plazas. In Honduras, the secondary school in the city organized a dance performance at a plaza to thank our medical team, which was a very kind gesture. Suddenly the students stopped dancing and started pulling me onto the stage. They wanted me to dance! I was terrified of the attention and the impending embarrassment, but I didn’t want to disrespect the community. Since I felt I had no other choice, I finally started dancing, imitating what I had seen online. I did the gestures for “YMCA,” “the shopping cart,” the “sprinkler,” and I also sang “Domo arigato Mr. Roboto.” The time flew by!
SN: I understand that by the end of your AP Spanish Language course, you spoke the language very well. Did your travels to Latin America improve your Spanish even further? DK: My Spanish improved in a very specific way. I broadened certain vocabulary, such as words and expressions necessary for speaking about the human body, diseases and medicine. Moreover, I got to practice my formal commands and the present subjunctive (constructions such as “We recommend that you …”) as well as other simple tenses. Ironically, though, I think that my conversational Spanish actually got worse, because I didn’t have to generate the content of my conversations. I just translated the words spoken by the doctor and the patient. I’d also say that I didn’t practice many constructions commonly used in writing, which is why I don’t think I improved in the more complex aspects of the language. However, during my last trip, I engaged in more conversations and generally had more flexibility in terms of how I spent my time at the clinic.
SN: On your last trip to Mexico, your sister, Angela, a sophomore at Harker, joined you. Why, and how was the shared experience of living in Mexico? DK: Angela joined me because she wanted to practice her Spanish, and she wanted to get a sense of whether she had an interest in medicine. In the Mexican clinic, she did a job similar to mine. She helped the nurses and patients prepare before each surgery, and she spoke with the patients during their free time and asked them questions about their lives. I loved working with my sister at the clinic, because in my previous trips, I felt a bit lonely, a feeling heightened perhaps by the fact that other members of the medical team often brought friends and family along while I mostly traveled alone. The presence of my sister in Mexico was a source of comfort for me.
SN: Did your perspectives on Latin America change? DK: For the first time in my life, I was a member of the minority. There were no other Asian people either in the local population or on the actual medical team. From this strange vantage point, I was able study the issue of diversity in depth, and I was able to observe how certain Latin American countries treat foreigners.
I noticed that every Latin American I met was fascinated by the fact that I was Asian, but that fascination was expressed differently depending on the region. The Peruvians and Mexicans asked me about my culture, often wanting to be friends on Facebook. One time, a Peruvian girl even asked me out (although I very kindly declined). Many of these folks were often familiar with [Korean pop] groups, and they wanted me to speak Korean to them. In Honduras, on the other hand, I was frequently shunned. I heard more racial insults there than in the other Latin American countries. To the native Hondurans, I was the strange “Chinese guy” who could speak Spanish. However, for the Peruvians and Mexicans, I was their new Korean friend who could speak Spanish and Korean, which fascinated them. I found these differences intriguing.
SN: Do you have any advice for Harker students wanting to go on this type of Latin American trip? DK: Finding these types of opportunities is easy, so the most important thing is to examine your motivation for traveling. Why do you want to travel? If you want to help the world, practice your Spanish and explore medicine as a career, of course you should do it! But if your primary motivation is to build your resume to get into college, I’d suggest you reconsider. I believe there should be a more genuine reason for traveling so that the experience has a lasting impact on your life and you don’t feel that you’re merely tolerating the time you’re spending in the country. Instead, may your stay be like a Latin American plaza, an opportunity to meet the people of Latin America and to develop a genuine relationship with them.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When Karri Sakai Baker ’84 – an alumna, Harker parent and interim director of alumni relations – queried fellow alumni on why they decided to send their own children to Harker, she didn’t expect to receive such an outpouring of replies. Alumni with children who are students at all four campuses – from preschool to upper school – eagerly responded, with nostalgic photos and reflections.
Baker said many of her fondest childhood memories, along with several lifelong friendships, came from Harker. She even met her husband, Matt Baker ’83, at the celebration of Harker’s 100th year anniversary.
“The best part about looking for schools with a spouse who is also a Harker alum is that your experiences and expectations are aligned. For us, Harker was the only clear choice,” she said, adding that her daughters, Brooke, grade 4, and Maya, grade 2, have been at Harker since kindergarten. “For Matt and me, returning to Harker with our children has really completed the circle,” she added.
Read on as many alumni relive their best memories of Harker and then flash forward to today to discuss what makes the school so special for their children. And, enjoy the fun photos taken during their time at Harker, juxtaposed with those of their children, currently attending.
Rajiv Das ’79, a graduate of Harker’s middle school, provided us with his school picture as well as that of his daughter, Reiya, who is currently in grade 7.
Kristin Scarpace Giammona ’81 is Harker’s elementary division head. She is also a former Harker teacher. But long before that, she was a Harker student and is thrilled that her daughter, Mia, grade 10, is also able to “receive a strong foundation in academics, participate in a wide variety of activities and make lifelong friends” at Harker.
Giammona said that although Harker has many more students now than it did when she attended – and also has added an upper school and a preschool – at its roots, “Harker is the same school I attended in the 1970s and 1980s.”
Jeff Rogers ’84 reported that, prior to making the decision to send his daughter, Vivian, K, to Harker, he went through a somewhat formal process, evaluating approximately a dozen schools on a range of criteria.
After touring a number of schools and spending time in the classrooms, observing and talking to teachers and staff, “The Harker School was the standout,” he said.
For him, the deciding factors included the combination of the school’s faculty, the attention to proper class placement and the wide range of extracurricular activities available on campus. “Clearly the school has grown in size, the facilities have improved and the school has further distinguished itself academically, but what speaks to me are the things that haven’t changed. It’s great to know that many faculty members have made their careers at the school, that the summer reading program remains and to see staff I know on campus. These are the people and programs that made a difference in my life and it’s great to know my daughter will have a similar experience,” he said.
Elise Tremba Schwartz Robichaud ’84 (Jonathan, grade 10; Kurt, grade 11) is a longtime member of the Harker community, both as an alumna and as a grade 3 teacher at the lower school, where she has worked for many years. Currently, she is enjoying hosting a foreign exchange student, Ray Song, who is from Shanghai, China, and attends Harker’s upper school as a sophomore.
“Ray joined our family in August and we have offered to keep him for the rest of high school. Last year was his first year at Harker and in America. Ray is currently the sophomore class treasurer, and he plays club volleyball with my boys,” said Robichaud.
“I could go on and on about my love for the school. It was always my dream to teach here, and it just feels like home for me,” she added.
Lisa Sharon Morel ’80 submitted an old school photo, as well as current shots of her children, Joel, grade 7, and Jessica, grade 3.
Kristin Marlow Quintin ’84 (Emma, grade 3; Cooper, K) shared a photo of herself that was taken in grade 3, the same grade her daughter, Emma, is currently in. Quintin said that she loves the “family feel” of Harker.
“My children love the after-school program the best, the classes they go to and the staff. They love the teachers, and say they are kind and respectful. Emma says that dance and art are ‘so awesome.’ She has really enjoyed the Eagle Buddies program this year. Cooper is enjoying making friends, the playground and the lunches. As most children, they don’t want to come home and I cannot pick them up late enough!” she said.
Alexander Stojanovic ’82, and his daughter Mina, grade 7, submitted both classroom and team photos taken from their time at Harker. Alexander’s brother, Nikola Stojanovic ’85 (Sofia Sahar, grade 2), also attended Harker, and their daughters are delighted to attend Harker together.
Loren Due ’85 stressed that he wanted his son, Kai, grade 5, to have the same education and school experience he received growing up. “I have always felt Harker was a second home for me and wanted my son to feel the same,” he said.
“I am very excited [for Kai to be at Harker] and feel a sense of déjà vu. Some of my teachers are still present. It feels like I never left. Some of my classmates have children at Harker and now we get to experience together what our parents felt. I feel like we are completing the circle and it feels good,” he said.
Tiffany Kitamura ’86 submitted a photo that was taken of her in grade 1. She said she and her husband selected Harker as their first choice for their children (Alexis Nishimura, grade 4; Kai Nishimura, K) due to the great experiences she had at the school.
“It provided me with a sound academic background, many choices of fine arts and sports, and lifelong friendships. I remembered fondly that the teachers really cared for the students. Harker provided a nurturing and supportive learning environment, and that’s what I wanted for my [children]. It’s amazing to see many familiar faces still at Harker and know that they love their jobs,” she said.
“Alexis loves her teachers and all the staff members. Her favorite part of Harker is language arts, library, field trips and after-school playtime. Kai loves his kindergarten year so far. He enjoys the after-school ‘no place like space,’ mastering the monkey bars, and playing outside. He’s thrilled to be at the same school as his big sister,” she enthused, adding, “I’m very proud to have my children attend my alma mater!”
Kevin Sakai ’86 said he selected Harker for his son (Ryan, K) because he wanted to give him the opportunity to grow and be challenged in safe and comfortable environment. “When I walked on the Harker campus and talked to the staff, it just felt right,” he recalled.
As for Ryan, he said the best thing about kindergarten is “my friends and the teachers.” Plus, he added, “I like getting to check a book out of the library.”
Michelle Nguyen ’87 (Julia Ernsting, grade 2) sent in a photo that was taken of her when she was in grade 4 at Harker. “When I look back at my time at Harker, I remember a time filled with wonderful teachers who would push me to try harder [and] think critically, and who taught me the discipline to carry things through. I remember leaving Harker confidence in myself. That is what I wanted for my daughter – not only an excellent education and ability to think critically, but also the development of confidence in herself to think creatively,” she said.
“I remember going to Mr. Nichols’ office to get chocolate chip cookies, which he would leave out for hungry students. Now, when Harker celebrates Mr. Nichols’ birthday with chocolate chip cookies, it makes me smile. When Julia puts on her uniform with the navy skirt and socks, I remember doing the same,” added Nguyen.
Julia said, “I love everything about Harker. My favorite things are science – because we get to do fun experiments like learning about water condensation, vapor and water wheels – and math is fun because our teacher makes us think. I love swimming in P.E. The best thing about Harker are my friends.”
Matt Ortiz ’88 submitted photos of himself when he was in grade 3 and his son, Dominic, currently in grade 3.
Marissa Lucketti ’90, Harker’s human resources manager, enjoys working at Harker and sending her son, Enzo, grade 3, to Harker as well. She sent in photos of herself and her son, both taken in grade 3.
“I love that Harker has grown in size. I can’t believe there are four campuses! I also love knowing that there are faculty and staff who were working here when I was a student. Enzo has had my second grade teacher (Mrs. Hickey) as a substitute from time to time, and he loves knowing that she taught me!” she said.
Jennifer Cady Logan ’90 (Jackson, grade 1) was having a fun time rummaging through her old Harker photos when she came upon a class picture of herself in current lower school head Sarah Leonard’s kindergarten classroom.
“It feels very special to have Jackson at the same school that I attended! Not only did I attend but Jackson’s uncle and two aunts also attended, so it is now a family affair. We can’t wait for Jackson’s little brother, Declan, to be old enough to come. Jackson feels special, too, because some of the same teachers and staff are still there from when I attended; he feels protected and looked after,” said Logan.
“We are so happy we took the time to look at Harker as a possibility for Jackson and Declan. Every child has different needs, and the resources and dedication to the child’s growth in terms of academics, social experiences, breadth of exposure to new things and caring staff has made Jackson say on the first day of both kindergarten and first grade that he had ‘the best day ever, Mom!’”
Ti Pence ’91 sent in photos of himself, his brother, Tim Pence ’93, and his son, Kuga, grade 3.
Shannon Self ’91 sent in photographs of herself and her daughter, Sabrina, grade 2.“I was in the second grade from 1984-85 and Sabrina is in grade 2 now … exactly 30 years later!” she exclaimed.
Class agent Amanda Mathias Bonomi ’92 (Eliana, K; Daniela, preschool) loves hearing about her young daughters’ happenings at Harker. Eliana’s favorite thing about kindergarten Daniela Bonomi is “the playground and monkey bars,” while her sister, 3-year-old Daniela, is into “the playground and Miss Mara’s music and movement class.”
Bonomi said she was really excited to find a photo that was taken of herself back in grade 1.
“I chose Harker for my daughters because it’s the right fit for my girls and our family. Harker clearly excels in academics, but is also able to give the girls so many opportunities they would not be able to get elsewhere. The STEM lab and farm at the preschool are incredible. The staff is exceptional. The kindergartners are able to experience everything from learning Hindi and yoga to cheerleading and soccer to cooking and storytelling. Nowhere else offers these opportunities all in one place,” said Bonomi, noting that she also loves that so many people from her Harker days are still at the school. “Going back to Harker truly feels like being a part of a family to me.”
Bonomi said her girls are thrilled with school. “Not only do they love what they do, but the things they are learning are amazing. They soak it all in. They both ask me to pick them up later so they can spend more time playing at Harker with their friends and doing activities. This makes me know my husband and I made the right choice in choosing Harker for the girls.”
The Crook family has the distinction of having a presence on all four of Harker’s campuses. Josh Crook ’93 explained that his wife, Amanda, works at the preschool, their eldest son (Anthony DeVincenzi, grade 10) is at the upper school, and their other two children (Griffin, grade 7; Emma, grade 5) attend the middle and lower schools (making for a busy morning drop off schedule!). Previously, Amanda worked at Harker’s lower school as a BEST staffer.
Crook shared photos of himself when he was in the fifth and seventh grades – the very same years Emma and Griffin currently attend. Both he and his wife said they loved being a part of the Harker community and the nurturing education they received at the school.
“I really get a kick out of seeing my children having the privilege of learning from some of the great teachers I had, and even some of my former classmates,” said Crook.
Stephanie Hayhurst Mehra ’94 will never forget what her 3-year-old daughter, Aria, told her on her first day at Harker Preschool.
“Aria asked me if we are going to the pretty school today. … I told her it’s called preschool. And she said, ‘Well, OK, we can call it preschool, but it is also very pretty.’”
And since day one Aria’s enthusiasm for preschool has not waned.
“It’s a surreal experience to watch Aria thrive in a place that once taught me so much. It’s also a bit frightening to watch your precious child navigate the world without you. She is becoming an independent being. Ultimately, I want her first steps outside of the safety of our family cocoon to be a nurturing, positive experience,” said Mehra.
Peter Noonan ’03 managed to dig up an old photograph of himself taken in kindergarten – the same grade as his son, Kaiden. “I loved attending Harker. The education is unbeatable, the friendships I made last forever, and the teachers truly embrace their time here. That’s a hard combination to beat these days and why we chose Harker for Kaiden. When, decades later, you can walk on campus and see teachers you had, coaches you worked with, and administrators still at Harker, you know it’s more than a great school, it’s a community of friends and family,” he said.
This story is a continuation of “Harker Research: Profiles in Perseverance,” a story that appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly highlighting scientific research being performed by Harker students. Read on to find out more about these students’ fascinating projects and exciting discoveries!
Shikhar Dixit, Grade 12
Shikhar Dixit’s interest in STEM research led him to perform pharmaceutical research at biotech company Cellworks last year. He later discovered that he enjoyed immunology. “I find immunology intriguing because of the interesting intricacies involved,” he said. “When reading research about how the immune system relates to the eye, I became even more interested in pursuing this project.”
For his project, “Immunomodulation by Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Line ARPE-19,” Dixit was mentored by Dr. Andrew W. Taylor at Boston University Medical Center. “My experience … in the lab environment dealing with fascinating lab equipment and cell cultures while interacting with many Ph.D. and medical students has been the most exciting part of the research,” he said.
Over the course of his research, Dixit found that “there are specific tissues in the body such as the eyes, brain, central nervous system and testes that suppress inflammation in a phenomenon known as immune privilege.”
Matthew Huang, Grade 12
Matthew Huang’s “interest and passion in physics” led him to his research project of quarks and gluons. “I’ve always had a curiosity for how the universe worked at a fundamental level, and researching about quarks and gluons is the perfect subject,” he said.
His project, “Quarks and Gluons in Spacetime: BiCGSTAB Implementation of Lattice QCD on Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessor,” sought to find “a more efficient way to carry out lattice QCD processes, which determine the interactions between quarks and gluons.” One of the most fascinating things he learned was that “you can never separate a pair of quarks, no matter how much energy you put in. Empty space is not actually empty, but filled with oscillating energy fields comprised of gluons.”
Huang’s mentor, William Detmold of MIT, “guided me throughout the entire project and remained supportive through difficulties.”
Leeza Kuo, Grade 12
Leeza Kuo, grade 12, chose stem cells as the subject of her research project, “Embryonic stem cell markers KLf4 and SSEA1 expressed as a result of acute-liver damage,” because of the possible health benefits they offer. “I love to help others and researching stem cells could lead to new regenerative health procedures that could help many people,” she said. “Stem cells are very popular field of research today partially because of the potential it could have on regenerative medicine.”
Being in the research program at Harker afforded Kuo opportunities she may not have had otherwise. “Thanks to [Harker’s] strong science program, I was able to complete my research project using methods including electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction that are not readily available at most other schools,” she noted.
The extra help sessions she attended at school also helped her understand material more clearly, as it allowed her to review topics with her teachers and ask more pointed questions. “Harker teachers are always extremely supportive and encouraging in their student’s work because of the small faculty to student ratio,” Kuo said. “All my teachers know me by name along with my personality and character.”
What excited Kuo most about her research was the implications it may have for changing how – and how long – people live: “Induced pluripotent stem cells could be the key to reversing aging and repairing genetic mutations by implanting new tissues, becoming the non-fictional fountain of youth.”
Ankita Pannu, Grade 12
Ankita Pannu’s project, “Mining online cancer support groups: improving healthcare through social data,” was special to her for a variety of reasons, but one stands out. “I wanted to do this project after a member in my family was diagnosed with thyroid cancer,” she recalled. “I spent a lot of time in thyroid cancer support groups and I realized that they are really hard to navigate, so I decided to use my knowledge of computer science to solve this problem.”
Pannu’s hope was to make this particular online support group easier to navigate so that thyroid cancer patients will have an easier time finding helpful materials. “I hoped to be able to summarize and categorize threads so that users would be able to easily determine whether it would be valuable for them to read,” she said. “I also tried to find correlations between symptoms and treatments based on what people were discussing.”
In addition to having success in these areas, she said it gave her some ideas for future research she hopes to pursue. The project also gave her a chance to combine her love of computer science and linguistics into a single project.
“I have always been interested in computer science and especially the intersection of linguistics and CS to find meaning in human language,” she said. “It is so fascinating to me that computers are becoming more intelligent systems and we can use different algorithms to make sense out of natural language.”
Archana Podury, Grade 12
Hematology was new for Archana Podury, grade 12, who is working with Stanford University’s Dr. Anu Parla while researching uses for the novel drug CX-5641 for her project, “Targeting Myelodisplasia in 5q- Syndrome Using Novel Drug CX-5641.” Podury has found Dr. Narla to “incredibly helpful.
“When I was becoming familiar with the pathways and the properties of blood cells that were involved with the drug, she decided to hold weekly lectures in her office to teach me segments of confusing material and answer any questions I had.”
Shadowing Narla at a hematology clinic at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Podury had the opportunity to “meet actual patients, study patient samples and learn about blood smears. She always works to contextualize her research and works very closely with her patients, which reinforced to me that research isn’t just a distanced study that happens in a lab, it has actual application for real people.”
Under Narla’s mentorship, Podury, has been considered a real member of the team at the lab. “Since I’m still working in the lab during the school year, she organizes monthly lab meetings discussing everyone’s projects and makes sure I can make it to the meetings,” Podury said. “I’m very thankful to have had her as a mentor; she has helped me so much throughout the process.”
Podury hopes that her work at the lab will reveal that “[CX-5641] can selectively target defective 5q- cells in not just an A549 model, but also in CD34 blood cells and in patient samples. It’s a long way to go, but I’m excited to keep working.”
Because she is not yet 18, Podury is not able to work with core blood, but watching her colleagues process core blood has been one of the most exciting parts of her research. She has also been introduced to techniques that she had not been familiar with previously. “I learned about viral transfections and knocking down segments of DNA using lentivirus, which was especially interesting because we learned about lentivirus in AP Bio, but I never knew something so dangerous could be used so effectively in research,” she said.
Podury’s experience with research began in middle school through the Harker Research Club. Prior to her work at Stanford, she worked at Harker’s Open Lab. “I was able to see many sides of research that I didn’t know about before, like how important the stage of ordering materials is, how unpredictable results can be even when they’re planned very precisely, and how to analyze and respond to errors in data,” she said. “Harker lets us access so many resources, and before working in open lab, I honestly had no idea that the lab had so much high quality equipment that was available to students. It’s really a privilege.”
Sahana Rangarajan, Grade 12
“I wanted to spend my summer at a research internship to gain the experience necessary to conduct research in college,” said senior Sahana Rangarajan.
Her project, “Tracking parallel mutation trajectories conferring increased resistance to HIV-RT inhibitors,” was the result of a newfound interest in biology and programming. “Thus, bioinformatics seemed a perfect field to try research in,” she said.
The goal of the research was to improve ways of predicting how HIV develops mutations that resist drug treatment. In the process, the research team “used a new method that yielded promising results,” Rangarajan said. Interestingly, she added, “there was no lab based component, but learning about the biology behind HIV was necessary for me to understand what I was doing.”
Nikash Sankar, Grade 12
During his work as a volunteer at a dementia care facility, senior Nikash Shankar witnessed the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease firsthand, and wanted to help. “As I was investigating various herbal remedies for Alzheimer’s, I came across curcumin, a spice that is commonly used in Asian cooking,” he said. “Being familiar with the spice, I became interested in its effects on Alzheimer’s disease and possible methods of improving its efficacy.”
Researching further, Shankar discovered he could increase curcumin’s ability to reduce toxicity caused by Alzheimer’s through “encapsulation of curcumin into polymeric nanoparticles.”
Adding to the field of Alzheimer’s research was the most exciting part of his project, titled “A Potential Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: Encapsulation of Curcumin within Polymeric PLGA-PEG Nanoparticles Protects Neuro2A cells from Beta-Amyloid Induced Cytotoxicity and Improves Bioavailability.” “Everything we find through our research (that is novel) is something that no one has ever found before and discovering or even validating a scientific finding as a high school student is a rare opportunity,” he said.
Science teachers Chris Spenner, Anita Chetty and other Harker faculty members provided helpful feedback to Sankar as he was creating his paper.
Aside from having a unique research opportunity, Shankar also had the rare chance to use a scanning electron microscope. “SEM’s are incredibly expensive and only very few exist in California,” he said.
Venkat Sankar, Grade 10
Sophomore Venkat Sankar’s interest in environmental science led him to research the environmental impact of the proposed billion-dollar Panoche Valley Solar Farm, which would be constructed in central California’s Panoche Valley if approved.
Sankar said he was “[concerned] about the potential impact of the Panoche [Valley] Solar Farm project on the rare and endangered wildlife in the area.” The main goal of his project, ‘Managing the Impact of Infrastructure Projects on Endangered Species: A Stochastic Simulation Approach Based on Population Viability Analysis,’ was to use computer simulations that would analyze available information and use it to simulate a system, in hopes of coming up with “a detailed assessments of the impact of infrastructure projects on endangered wildlife.”
He received help from middle school science teacher Daniel Sommer, who offered advice and introduced Sankar to an expert in environmental sciences. Upper school science teacher Jeff Sutton also provided input on the final paper.
“It has been validated using a real-life case study in California,” Sankar said of his project. “It is broadly applicable to a range of environmental impact studies around the world.”
Madelyn Wang, Grade 12
After taking Harker’s research methods class in grade 10, Madelyn Wang, now grade 12, became interesting in pursuing scientific research. This past summer, she enrolled at UC Davis’ Young Scholars Program , where she worked on developing a blot procedure for detecting trace amounts of protein in tissue samples with her mentor, Dr. Aldrin Gomes. “I also studied the protein expression levels of GSTM1, an antioxidant enzyme, and looked at if those levels were altered in diabetic and non-diabetic mice,” she said. He project is titled “Optimized Western blotting allows for detection of Glutathione S-Transferase Mu 1 levels in hearts from type I diabetic Akita mice and wild-type mice.”
Overall, Wang said her time spent in the Young Scholars Program “was a great way to get hands-on experience in the lab while living in the dorms and getting a college experience.”
Serena Wang, Grade 12
“I have always been curious and eager to try new things,” said senior Serena Wang of her project, “Coronary Artery Calcification and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in South Asians.” “This project mainly required me to develop my abilities to do statistical analysis, which I had never focused on before.”
Wang drew on her background in computer science to analyze data she had gathered about cardiovascular disease. “Heart disease is a common illness, and I wanted to improve current methods of predicting cardiovascular disease risk,” she said.
Mentored by Ashish Mathur of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital, Wang utilized the resources made available to her to identify a specific area of study. “I wish to find a better way to determine cardiovascular disease risk for the South Asian population, which suffers from a significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease than other ethnicities,” she said.
The skills Wang learned at Harker were key to helping her gain a greater understanding of the topic. “After learning so much at school, I am finally able to use the theoretical concepts I learned in school to do novel research,” she said. “The potential effects of my results could help the South Asian Heart Center better predict cardiovascular disease risk and thus more effectively prevent development of the disease.”
Wang’s research gave her the opportunity to pick up new skills, including the use of statistical analysis software. “With such specific syntax and so many different commands, the software was challenging to learn to use efficiently, but now I am experienced enough to even teach a new student researcher how to use the application.”
Samyukta Yagati, Grade 12
During her freshman year, Samyukta Yagati, who has been doing research projects since grade 7, became interested in computer science, a subject she has pursued actively ever since. “Research is a lot of fun for me,” she said. “I enjoy the process, the discovery, the challenge, applying things I’ve learned in class to real-life problems.”
Her project, “Optimizing Segmentation Performance to Improve Diagnosis of Breast Lesions,” gave her the opportunity to explore both computer science and biology, a topic she had recently become enamored with. “I have loved computer science since freshman year, and I’ve been interested in bio. That interest intensified after bio in junior year,” she recalled.
In her research, Yagati hoped to improve an algorithm that is used to diagnose patients with breast lesions. “Improving the results/increasing automation of the process can really help effectiveness and usability of the program in clinics, hopefully improving patient experience and treatment,” she said.
While researching for the project, Yagati learned some interesting things about medical research: “Knowing information as simple as whether the edge of a lesion … is spiky or not can give doctors a lot of information about malignancy!”
Michael Zhao, Grade 11
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, perhaps better known by the acronym ALS and the nickname Lou Gehrig’s disease, received a lot of attention this past summer due to the craze created by the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Junior Michael Zhao’s own research began after he read numerous articles on the topic. “Especially over the summer, with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, I felt like my research had a tangible impact and made the experience more interesting,” he said.
Zhao’s project, “A Yeast Functional Screen Elucidates Potential Mechanisms of C9ORF72 RAN Protein Toxicity in ALS Pathogenesis,” involved searching for genetic modifiers for RAN proteins. “RAN proteins, the focus of my research, were first identified in 2011,” he said. “Yet, three years later, we still know very little about the underlying mechanisms of RAN protein toxicity.”
Zhao worked with a mentor that he said was extremely helpful. “My mentor has taught me many techniques to perform experiments, he said. “Furthermore, he offered me an experience I could never have hoped to obtain elsewhere.” Working in a university lab was also a new and exciting experience, which offered many learning opportunities.
In addition, he received a lot of help from Harker science teachers in refining his project. “In particular, they were very helpful in reading over my paper and giving me feedback,” he said.
In mid-December, lower school students completed a service project culminating in presents under the trees of many families who were otherwise unable to afford them. While the massive toy drive was a grade 4 service project, many other lower school families joined them in donating toys, explained Ken Allen, lower school dean of students.
Grade 4 students went the extra mile by not only collecting toys, but also counting and loading them for delivery. At the end of the project, more than 275 toys were delivered to Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose.
“We wanted to take a minute to thank those of you that have already participated in the fourth-grade toy drive. The items are continuing to come in daily and we are extremely grateful,” Allen said during the drive.
San Jose Mercury News – Dec. 17, 2014: In the paper’s Around the Valley section, Harker is highlighted in the School Scene for its recent commendation from the city of San Jose for its successful “Wet/Dry” waste program.
Springboard Exchange – Dec. 16, 2014: Upper school art teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparza is the subject of an in-depth profile that covers her work as an artist, her career in education and her recent activities.
San Jose Mercury News – Dec. 11, 2014: Sophomore basketball player Jordan Thompson, who scored 16 points in Harker’s win over Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pescadero Hoop Dreams tournament, appears in the Varsity Extra Highlight Reel.
San Jose Mercury News – Nov. 27, 2014: Volleyball player Shreya Dixit, grade 12, is recognized in the Varsity Extra Highlight Reel for her 10 kills and 13 digs in the CCS Division IV Final against Notre Dame-Belmont.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Milwaukee Symphony concertmaster Frank Almond gave audiences a rare chance to see and hear one of the world’s most famous musical instruments at the first concert of the 2014-15 Harker Concert Series season. The centuries-old Lipinski Stradivarius, which briefly went missing earlier this year after Almond was attacked following a performance, has a long and storied history, one that figured into the evening’s repertoire.
Rather than start with the music, Almond opted first to address the crowd on the history of the Lipinski and its connection to two of the pieces he would be playing. Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Sonata in G minor, commonly known as “The Devil’s Trill,” was a fitting choice as the first piece of the evening, he explained, as Tartini was the Lipinski’s first known owner.
When it came time for the sonata’s third movement, Almond proved more than up to the task of traversing it. Among the more impressive and moving displays of the evening was an unaccompanied section consisting almost entirely of treacherously difficult double stop trills, handled so well that any thoughts of the virtuosity involved all but vanished.
Impressive though it was, it seemed almost like a warmup for Almond’s rendition of J.S. Bach’s legendary Chaconne from Partita in D minor. A marvel of sheer creativity, the chaconne begins with a simple four-measure theme that is taken through dozens of variations, resulting in a piece that for centuries has been hailed for its emotional and structural depth. Bach’s vision was served well by Almond’s masterful hands, which beautifully manipulated the Lipinski to illustrate the uniqueness of each variation and how they combine into a brilliant whole.
Harker parent Prashant Fuloria (Anika, grade 6; Varun, grade 3) enjoyed the performance of the Bach piece in particular and said that the concert’s atmosphere was a good environment for many age groups. “It’s not too formal. Kids can go around and be kids and listen to some great music,” he said.
“It is breathtaking,” attendee Lynn Mitchell said of Almond’s performance. “I particularly enjoy the Röntgen piece.” She also enjoyed the “inviting” atmosphere of the venue, and said the food was “delicious.”
The final piece for the evening was Cesar Franck’s Sonata in A Major, which was chosen, Almond said, because “it’s fun to play.” Pianist Jeffrey Sykes set the tone with a soft bedding of chords before being joined by the violin, whose vulnerable melodies were gorgeously rendered as they swayed rhythmically with the piano, the two trading melancholic lines. An urgent, almost sinister assemblage of piano notes opened the next movement before bursting into a dazzling run. Almond expertly utilized the Lipinski’s warm lower registers to introduce the frantic, flowing melody, which both contrasted and played off of the panicked piano underneath. The slow and repentant third movement was beautifully anchored by Sykes’ emotive subtleties, punctuated by anguished outbursts. As if to make up for the anxiety and despair of the previous two movements, the sonata shifted into an uplifting and determined mood, bringing back the theme from the first movement for a rollicking finish.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In spring 2012, Harker began offering online classes to students through the Global Online Academy, a consortium of schools that delivers online courses to students in 53 GOA member schools around the world. More than 20 Harker students are now enrolled in GOA courses covering a wide variety of topics, ranging from human rights to game theory to global health issues.
“It filled a little bit of a niche of trying something new and giving kids an opportunity to take some classes that we don’t offer,” said Evan Barth, academic dean at the upper school. “It’s offering a different medium for students who want to try [online learning] out.”
“I took a class through GOA because I wanted to take another math class, but there were no others in the main Harker catalog,” said Suzy Lou, grade 12. “So I looked on GOA and saw that there was an advanced statistics class and signed up for it.”
The global component of the classes also gives students a chance to interact with and learn the perspectives of students from cultures around the globe.
“When you have students from so many different places reflecting on where they’re from, you create a global community,” said Michael Nachbar, CEO of Global Online Academy, who shared his insights on a recent visit to Harker. “And that happens not just with kids from Jakarta and Jordan and the U.S. It also happens with kids from Atlanta and LA and Boston, that you start to see these varied perspectives being brought into the different topics that they’re learning about.”
GOA teachers are trained to keep global perspectives in mind when conducting their courses. “So when they’re framing discussion prompts or projects, they’re thinking about, where in this topic can students insert that local perspective?” said Nachbar.
Maya Valluru, grade 10, found this perspective to be one of the most interesting aspects of the journalism class she is taking through GOA. “I enjoy this class because I can communicate with other students from around the world, sharing ideas that stem from our different cultural notions or habits,” she said.
Working with students and teachers in different time zones, she said, has helped her and other students work more independently. “Instead of going straight to the teacher for help, I first try to solve the problem on my own,” she explained. If and when she needs help, she coordinates with other students taking the course, learning to work within their schedules and time differences.
A typical GOA course consists of reading material and other resources posted for students, required participation in discussion threads and both group and individual projects. Course materials may include teacher-created content, online videos and other resources culled from the Web. Students frequently find themselves communicating via FaceTime or Skype and working together on Google Docs.
“The way that kids engage in that work is all active,” said Nachbar. “The teachers have laid out the course work for a week or two or whatever that unit is. Students are engaging actively at every single point of that unity, whether it’s reading or there’s a discussion. … It’s all active engagement with the material at every single point.”
Because students must be self-motivated, Barth takes careful steps to ensure that students who sign up for GOA courses are up to the task. He said students can sometimes be caught off guard by the amount of time required for GOA classes, but reminds them that because there are very few, if any, class sessions, the time spent weekly on a GOA class is about the same as an average on-campus course.
“The only thing that I tell the students is that they have to treat it like a real class,” he said. “They have to pretty much do a little bit each day. If they try to make up six, seven hours on a Sunday, forget it, it’s not going to work.”
In this way, taking a GOA class can have the side effect of teaching students how to more effectively manage their time and communicate with other students. “Since we don’t see each other face-to-face, the online communication we have has to be really good. Otherwise, we’d have no communication at all,” said Lou. “As a result, I think that whenever we communicate, it’s of pretty high quality.”
In addition to better time management, Nachbar said, students are “learning how to be better self-advocates, they’re learning how to engage with content differently, they’re doing a lot more writing in an online course. But then they’re also learning how to use these new skills to support their learning in other areas. So, how do you curate content on a topic, how do you research, how do you summarize, how do you connect ideas between different topics?”
Because of their interaction with students from different parts of the world, students are also thinking on a more global level. “You’ve got kids really thinking about what their personal perspective is on local and global issues,” Nachbar said. “The collaboration piece, the communication piece.” The heavy emphasis on discussion, he said, also helps to maintain a healthy variety of perspectives: “Every student is getting heard.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
On Oct. 12, the Harker community united at the middle school campus for the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic Harvest Festival, held each year to draw together families, faculty, staff and alumni in a fun – and fundraising – setting. As in past years, attendees played carnival games, enjoyed a variety of foods, watched performances by Harker students, renewed past friendships and made new friends. This year’s festival was capped by great news about the events center fundraising effort, which exceeded the $20 million goal and raised $25.4 million.
Festivalgoers had no shortage of activities to choose from. Some headed to the field for classic pastoral games such as the sack race, while others enjoyed a round of laser tag, new last year, which featured an improved arena with more obstacles.
The silent auction was also as popular as ever, with a wide array of prizes from wine tasting trips to boogie boarding lessons to premium seating at a 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium. This year’s raffle was improved to offer entrants more opportunities to win prizes by having students sell tickets at every school event leading up to the festival, including Homecoming. Prizes included gift cards to local businesses and eateries, fashion accessories and free dress days.
“It exceeds our expectations,” said Harker parent Lloyd Bakan (Cooper, preschool), who was attending his first Harvest Festival. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly is a great atmosphere and fun for all the kids and parents.”
Harker students, meanwhile, were excited to see their friends and enjoy the atmosphere. “You get to have a lot of fun and you get to see all your friends and play a lot of games,” said Alaina Valdez, grade 6.
“I’ve been coming here for 10-plus years and each year I have more and more fun,” said senior Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari. “I love the different booths and seeing all my friends. I think having your friends here is definitely a plus.”
Many alumni gathered at the alumni barbecue luncheon, where graduates reunited to catch up and share memories of their years at Harker.
The middle school campus’ outdoor amphitheater was the center of attention for much of the day as performing arts groups from the lower, middle and upper schools – including the upper school show choir Downbeat, middle school dance groups Showstoppers and High Voltage, and the lower and middle school jazz bands – kept audiences entertained.
One of the biggest attractions this year was Witch’s Flight, a 300-foot long zip line ride that enticed thrill-seekers throughout the day. Riders hollered with delight as they flew across the air 30 feet above the festivities.
Elsewhere, attendees enjoyed the many food choices available. Food trucks served diverse items such as tacos, Korean barbecue and grilled cheese sandwiches, in addition to the selection of grilled foods, pizza and Indian cuisine.
Capping off the fun and excitement was the announcement about the $25.4 million raised for the events center with the generous help of the Rothschild matching gift challenge. The announcement was made with the assistance of Harker’s MathCounts team, who guided the audience through the somewhat complex nature of the fundraising process. Naturally, the announcement was met with much applause, gratitude and excitement from those in attendance!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Numerous fall events sponsored by Harker’s DECA chapter and business and entrepreneurship department set the tone for an exciting year. Activities included the kickoff of the annual Stock Market Game (in which Harker is the reigning champion), DECA Month and the ambitious BEcon2014.
DECA started the year with a flurry of events designed to introduce the student body to its mission and goals, while also preparing for competition season. In November, the chapter coordinated numerous on-campus events in conjunction with DECA Month, an international DECA celebration.
An ice cream social, hosted by the DECA chapter in early November, gave students the chance to ask officers about the upcoming DECA year while enjoying a mouth-watering treat.
In mid-November, more than 60 Harker students attended Silicon Valley DECA’s Leadership and Competitive Excellence (LACE) Conference. This three-day event was targeted at underclassmen with limited experience in competitive DECA events. The keynotes were delivered by motivational speaker Scott Greenberg and Jennifer Aaker, a social psychologist and marketing professor at Stanford University’s School of Business. Events were created to be informative and welcoming, with hands-on workshops in the fields of hospitality, investment banking, fashion and venture capitalism. Sophia Luo, grade 11, said, “In my opinion, the best part of attending LACE is the networking opportunities that it provides. Students from all over the Silicon Valley who have the same interests in business congregate and exchange stories, memories and knowledge.”
DECA gives back
A large part of DECA’s charter focuses on giving back to community. During DECA Month, the chapter hosted events to raise money for and aware- ness of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Red Cross and organizations dedicated to ending world hunger.
The first of these events was the Nov. 12 Hoops and Scoops basketball game, which raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The game pitted faculty against students on the court, while DECA members sold ice cream on the sidelines. The raucous crowd watched as the faculty battled the freshmen in the first quarter, followed by the sophomores and the juniors. The faculty finally fell to the seniors in the final quarter, with a score of 72-59.
Then on Nov. 15, DECA members gathered to assemble more than 100 Red Cross disaster kits for families who homes were damaged by natural disasters.
The DECA chapter then paired with Students for Charitable Causes to organize a movie night to raise awareness of world hunger. The groups sold more than 60 tickets to the Nov. 21 premier of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1,” with proceeds from the event going to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Playing the market, staying connected
The 2014 season of The Stock Market Game is also in full swing, with Harker students and faculty working to create portfolios to outperform the S&P index. The national competition pits teams and individuals against each other, both at Harker and across the country. For the first 10 weeks of the competition, Harker had two to four teams in the top 25 in the Western region. Last year, three Harker teams finished in the top 25 in the Western region, a high standard that current competitors hope to match.
This year, the B.E. podcast series picks up where it left off last year by “gather[ing] influential people from the Harker community and beyond to share their experiences with students, parents and even the public,” explained Glenn Reddy, grade 12, founder of the series.
“The podcast team has been working to expand outside of the B.E. department” and recently put out a series of weekly podcasts leading up to the midterm elections, Reddy explained. The series included a number of thoughtful interviews with high-ranking officials, including U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (California’s 19th district) and U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (California’s 17th district). The final interview, released Nov. 17, featured Mike Wasserman, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Stay tuned, as the team plans to expand into more areas this year.
One of B.E.’s biggest returning programs is Career Connect, which includes a mentorship program, career panels and a professionalism program. Career Connect aims to prepare students not only land the careers they want once they graduate, but also to excel in them. To this end, the B.E. department organized a resume workshop led by Michelle Vitus, founder of Slate Advisers, a company dedicated to helping professionals manage career transitions. Laya Indukuri, grade 12, who helped organize the event, said she thought “hearing a professional talk about major do’s and don’ts really helped to give [the students] a big picture of what a resume should look like.”
Students, Speakers Shine at Inaugural BEcon2014
BEcon2014, the B.E. department’s largest event to date, was a daylong conference comprising multiple keynotes, student presentations and guided activities that explained the principles of business and economics. It was “essentially a research symposium [that] explored the marriage of economics and business,” summarized Juston Glass, head of the B.E. department.
The event gave B.E. students the ability to showcase their classroom efforts. The students worked early in the year to create advertising campaigns for products and companies of their choice, which were showcased during the first BEcon session.
Ran Abramitzky, associate professor of economics at Stanford, opened the day’s events in earnest. His keynote address focused on the economics of education. Abramitzky’s talk was based on his research, which emphasized the importance of education on economic situations for immigrants. Samuel Lepler, Harker economics teacher, praised Abramitzky’s discussion for being “both a great introduction to the economic way of thinking as well as an interesting investigation into a topic that most people take for granted. Namely, whether college is actually a good investment. It was both informative and inspirational!”
The mentor luncheon provided an informal atmosphere in which students could meet with their mentors to discuss their future careers as well as their mentors’ career accomplishments.
Perhaps the best-received session of the day was the sHarker Tank event, which paired the ingenuity of Harker’s students with the format of the popular TV show Shark Tank. Teams presented business proposals to a panel of judges. The winning product, a laser-guided device to provide superior feedback to blind users (a virtual “red cane”) was both philanthropic and entrepreneurial in nature.
Jeremy King, CTO of global e-commerce for Walmart Labs, closed out the day with his keynote, focused on his success in increasing Walmart’s global footprint. He used the success of Walmart Labs to highlight the overall industry themes involving the movement away from traditional brick and mortar stores to e-commerce.
In the first few months of the school year, the DECA chapter continued its work at Harker, while maintaining its national reputation as a top performer at competitions and conventions. Meanwhile the B.E. department put its best foot forward with the ambitious BEcon2014 event. In the coming months, Harker’s entrepreneurs surely will have more in store to keep students, teachers and parents engaged and active in the community.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Pam Gelineau Dec. 20, 1948-Nov. 11, 2014
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing Nov. 11 of Pam Gelineau, longtime employee of The Harker School, after a brave battle with cancer. She passed peacefully with her family at her side.
Mrs. Gelineau served the Harker community for 24 years, first as a beloved kindergarten and grade 2 teacher and, since 1998, as lower school admissions director. She understood the younger students and their families. She had an intuitive grasp of their viewpoint, giving her a strong and wonderful way of interacting with them. Her leader-ship was also critical to the lower school’s transition to the Bucknall campus.
Her many colleagues who cherished her say that she was a great listener and touched us all with her humor, graciousness and wise and caring nature. She will be greatly missed.
Mrs. Gelineau leaves two sons, both Harker alumni: Mark ’90, an English teacher at Harker’s middle school, and David ’97. Mrs. Gelineau’s husband, Dan, is also a Harker alumnus (Palo Alto Military Academy ’65) and former longtime employee of the school. We extend our sincerest condolences to the entire family.
The memorial services, held at Chapel of the Flowers in San Jose on Nov. 20-21, were attended by many Harker employees, past and present, and alumni. Harker will be hosting a memorial in January. If you’d like notification when details are finalized, please email Nicole Hall at nicole.hall@harker.org.
James Near May 25, 1927-Oct. 12, 2014
James “Jim” Near, father of longtime history teacher John Near, passed away Oct. 12 in Maui, Hawaii. He was 87 years old. Jim and his wife, Patricia, established The Harker School’s first endowment, the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund, in 2009, to honor their son’s teaching career after he passed away in September of that year. Many students and families have since made memorial contributions to this endowment, increasing the scope of the research that students honored as Near Scholars have been able to explore each year with grants from the endowment. Recent research topics have included the impact of the feminist and civil rights movements on the disability rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s, and an in-depth review of news coverage on the Vietnam War and the resulting tension between news media and the federal government.
“Jim Near’s generosity and vision will support our students and their teacher mentors in perpetuity, as they explore their interest in history research at The Harker School,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.
The endowment also funds the continued development of the John Near Resource Center in Shah Hall on the Saratoga campus.
Jim is survived by his granddaughter, Casey Near ’06, and daughter-in-law, Pam Dickinson, Harker’s Office of Communication director, as well as his wife, three sons and daughter. Contributions can be made in Jim’s honor to the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund by emailing Allison Vaughan at allison.vaughan@harker.org.