Spring was in the air at the lower school on April 18, as hat-happy kindergartners showed off unique and colorful headwear during the annual Spring Hat Parade and Egg Hunt. On that Friday afternoon, the children proudly wore festive hats they had decorated at home. Marching in a fun parade, the students wound their way through campus, stopping in various classrooms to model their fabulous attire.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Harker alumna and broadcast journalist Tiffany Liou ’08 doesn’t know the meaning of a “typical day at the office.” And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Life on the job as a news reporter/ producer is always an adventure for Liou, who just two years ago graduated from Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business and soon after landed a job as the overnight assignment editor at the Oakland-based KTVU (channel 2).
It was at the Fox affiliate (serving San Francisco and the greater Bay Area) that Liou honed her journalistic talents by finding story ideas, researching, interviewing and fact-checking. She quickly put those skills to use by going behind the scenes, providing back-up research, which aided in such breaking stories as the deadly San Mateo limousine fire and the controversial Zimmerman trial and protests.
“I used to listen to scanners overnight and make beat calls to every police station in the Bay Area. I would find breaking news that would air first thing on the morning show. I gathered all the facts of a story and gave information to our writers, producers and reporters. Being part of the assignment desk sharpened my news judgment. It taught me how to be a thorough investigator and reporter. And, working with the pros at KTVU taught me how to be a better writer and speaker,” recalled Liou.
After a year and a half at KTVU, Liou was recruited to work as a reporter/producer at KTVE/KARD, an NBC affiliate in Louisiana. She wrote and stacked stories (ordering them based on themes and segues) for the three-hour morning show, as well as covered stories in the field for the station, whose signal can be seen in 18 counties throughout Arkansas and Louisiana.
While a great career move, Liou concedes that relocating to Louisiana wasn’t easy. “I spent 23 years in the Bay Area. I’m born and bred Californian, and it’s true … you can’t take the California out of me. But I look at it as a temporary adventure. It’s a lot slower paced, the food is fried and delicious, and Southern hospitality is very comforting,” she said.
Still, her ultimate goal is to return to the Bay Area as a reporter. (Just at HQ press time, Liou started a new job in Iowa. See related story for details of her eventful first day!)
Liou first got bitten by the reporting bug after graduating from Harker, while simultaneously attending Santa Clara University (studying business and communication) and Ohlone College in Fremont, where she was part of the school’s television broadcasting program.
At Ohlone, Liou gained practical, hands-on experience working for The Ohlone Network News, which is broadcast live on a local Comcast channel and is run entirely by students.
While in college she also did a marketing internship at KGO-TV, an ABC-owned and operated television station in San Francisco. There, much of her time was spent doing Nielsen analysis about the news broadcasts. “That’s when I realized I wanted to be the one delivering the news and not analyzing it,” she said.
Reflecting back to her time at Harker, Liou said she wasn’t directly involved in journalism, but was part of other extracurricular activities like the Spirit Club, student council and Junior State of America (JSA), all of which likely paved the way for her future career in broadcast journalism.
“During the weekly school meetings, I was always that girl from Spirit Club standing at the front giving announcements. I would emcee events like homecoming,” she explained.
“Being part of so many different clubs and sports was amazing, and I honestly don’t think I could have had that experience at any other school. I was able to study, play basketball and golf, and be part of all these different clubs. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Harker,” she affirmed.
Liou fondly recalled how, before getting that first breakthrough TV reporting job, she would shadow reporters at KTVU and shoot stand-ups, essentially working as if her stories would really air.
“Sometimes I would just bring my DSLR [digital single-lens reflex camera] and go out to an event and cover it. All of these mock stories actually built up my news reel, which is what got me my first job!” said Liou, adding that reporting is her passion and she will “go anywhere at any time to cover a story.”
Liou Survives Emergency Plane Landing En Route to New Reporting Job
Just as this issue was going to press, we learned that Liou, on her way to a new job as a reporter at KWQC-TV in Davenport, Iowa, was on board American Eagle flight 3400, which was forced to make an emergency landing after pilots reported smoke in the cockpit.
The plane, with 45 passengers and a crew of three, landed safely in Greenville, Texas, just 15 minutes into the flight. A failed electrical component is suspected of causing the smoke.
“The bond I share with the other passengers and three American Airline crew members is different than I have ever felt before,” said Liou, recalling that “reporter mode” kicked in after she and her fellow passengers had landed safely.
At that time she sent a single tweet about the incident which went viral, prompting the Today show, CNN and NBC Dallas to contact her for an eyewitness account. “And that’s when I went from being a scared and helpless passenger to being a reporter,” she said.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Three Harker grads made Forbes magazine’s coveted “30 Under 30” lists, which showcase young movers and shakers working in various fields.
Sharing the spotlight with notable young celebrities such as snowboarder Shaun White, actress Olivia Wilde and activist Shiza Shahid are three talented Harker grads: Neil Mehta ’02, Surbhi Sarna ’03 and Ilya Sukhar ’03. The third-annual issue was released Jan. 6.
To compile the prestigious lists, Forbes consulted with experts in 15 industries to select the top 30 in each category, totaling some 450 individuals (all under 30 years of age) who are making things happen. The magazine started working on the project in the fall, by choosing the categories and assembling the panel of judges.
A leading source for reliable business news and financial information, Forbes is well known for its listings and rankings. On the cover of its “30 Under 30″ issue, it calls the individuals who made the lists “450 game-changers in 15 industries who are building tomorrow – today.”
Here is a look at the three Harker alumni who made the “it” lists:
Neil Mehta ‘02, Founder of Greenoaks Capital
Neil Mehta ’02 is the managing director of Greenoaks Capital Management LLC, a global principal investment firm dealing in private equity, venture capital, real estate and public market opportunities.
Prior to that, 29-year-old Mehta was a senior investment professional at Orient Property Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-based real estate investment and development firm financed by D.E. Shaw, a premier $20 billion global hedge fund and investment firm based in New York.
Forbes listed Mehta in its finance category, crediting him with managing some $600 million, investing in industries ranging from e-commerce to insurance. The magazine also noted that he “hit home runs” with early investments in a Palo Alto-based software company called Palantir and a South Korea-based e-commerce company named Coupang.
“I owe a lot to my colleagues, friends and family. We still have a long way to go at Greenoaks, though,” said Mehta, adding that he was proud and impressed to see so many Harker alumni on the list.
Surbhi Sarna ’03, Founder of nVision Medical
Surbhi Sarna ’03 was last year’s alumni speaker at Harker’s eighth annual Research Symposium, which drew more than 400 attendees. There, she shared the story of how she suffered from painful ovarian cysts in her early teens, which caused her to later become determined to create better conditions in the field of female health.
To this end, the 28-year-old founded the venture-backed nVision Medical in 2009 to develop technology to help gynecologists more quickly detect ovarian cancer. To date, her company has raised some $4.5 million from Catalyst Health Ventures, Draper Associates and Astia, a group that assists female entrepreneurs.
“It is a great honor to be chosen as one of Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30.’ I know Harker has a lot to do with my drive to be an entrepreneur, and I’m grateful for all of the teachers who inspired me while I was there,” she said of her placement in the medical category.
Ilya Sukhar ’03, Co-Founder and CEO of Parse
Ilya Sukhar ’03 made the news several months ago when Facebook acquired his company, Parse, of which he served as co-founder and CEO. Currently, Sukhar runs the Parse business at Facebook, where he also works on platform products.
“There’s a lot of people I really admire on that list, so it’s a nice honor for me to be included,” reported 28-year-old Sukhar, adding, “I got back to work pretty quickly, though.”
Sukhar, who is listed in the tech category, said he got the idea for Parse after he experienced the pains of building a mobile app. According to Forbes, he has since turned Parse into a critical service for mobile developers that now provides the back-end infrastructure for more than 180,000 apps, including those built by Ferrari, The Food Network and Sesame Street. Facebook bought Parse in April 2013 in a deal reportedly valued at $85 million.
Sukhar delivered this year’s alumni address at the Harker Research Symposium. To read more about Sukhar and his work, see http:// news.harker.org/entrepreneurial- alumni-forge-their-own-career-paths/ where he is featured in a previous HNO story.
To view the Forbes “30 Under 30” lists, see http://www.forbes.com/lists/.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Students from Harker’s Class of 2010 up through its most recent graduates returned to campus for Home for the Holidays. The informal, intimate gathering was held on the upper school campus on an afternoon in early January.
The annual event is timed to welcome college-age alumni, who are back in town for their winter breaks, back to campus for a reunion with each another, faculty and staff. Participants at this year’s gathering, held in the festively decorated Nichols Hall atrium, enjoyed refreshments and catching up with one another.
Sonia Sidhu ’13 said she enjoyed coming to the Home for the Holidays event and reuniting with her Harker community. “The people here are wonderful!” she said.
MaryEllis Deacon, director of alumni relations, said alumni are always welcome back on campus, any time of the year. “They will always be a part of the Harker community,” noted Deacon.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The beginning of March officially heralded Jump Rope for Heart season at the lower school. On March 7, K-5 students took to the blacktop in an annual effort to raise money for the American Heart Association.
Students had been collecting donation pledges for some time, and spent the day on a variety of stations set up to celebrate their efforts. They had a field day jumping rope, high jumping onto soft mats, doing the limbo, leaping over makeshift hurdles, crawling through obstacle courses, shooting baskets and participating in other fun activities. Some teachers got in on the action, too, by helping to turn a rope, supervise the jumpers for a class period and jumping alongside them.
Donations were still rolling in after the jumping activities ended. As of press time, $4,012 had been raised, with Rohan Gorti, grade 3, responsible for $1,610 raised in online donations.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The fifth-annual Kicks Against Cancer boys and girls varsity soccer games raised more than $5,000 for children who attend Camp Okizu, a camp for cancer patients and their families.
“Camp Okizu provides peer support, respite, mentoring and recreational programs to meet the needs of all members of families affected by childhood cancer. The amount raised this year will help send five children to camp this summer,” reported Dan Molin, upper school athletic director.
This year’s fundraising efforts included a bake sale and T-shirt sale (the $12 T-shirts served as tickets to the games). The soccer teams also used long lunch periods leading up to the games as an opportunity to sell beanies, full-sleeve purple shirts, visors, bracelets and pens. Donations also were accepted during lunch periods.
As in previous years, faculty and staff were invited to pledge money for the number of goals the teams scored. There was even a silly half-time “butts-up” game in which students paid money to try and kick a ball at their favorite teacher’s backside. Game officials also donated their fees to the cause by officiating the games pro-bono.
Boys varsity defeated Pinewood 6-0 and girls varsity won in another 6-0 shutout over Summit Prep.
To donate directly to Camp Okizu, visit www.okizu.org.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The annual Pajama Day assembly on Jan. 17 was special for the Eagle Buddies of grades 3 and 10, who met at the lower school gym and shared some of their favorite books with one another. It was also a special day for Rishi Narain, grade 10, who started Harker’s pajama program while he was a student at the lower school.
The program collects and distributes pajamas, books and other goods to underprivileged children all around the world.
The Eagle Buddies program was started during the 2010-11 school year as a means of establishing a bond between the students of the lower and upper schools. The program matches up grade 3 students with grade 10 students, who then meet periodically until the sophomores graduate and the third graders move on to the middle school.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In the fall, Sidhart Krishnamurthi, grade 11, launched a fundraiser for The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, which raised more than $2,000 to help build a refugee shelter for a family living in Afghanistan.
Krishnamurthi said that he got the idea to do the fundraiser in April 2012 after reading the novel “The Kite Runner” by author Khaled Hosseini (Haris, grade 7; Farah, grade 5).
“The plight of the people in Afghanistan as described in the novel really touched me, and I wanted to somehow support the cause of rebuilding futures for families torn by war, poverty and unimaginable living conditions,” wrote Krishnamurthi.
He then explained that he set a fundraising goal of $2,000 – enough to build a shelter for a refugee family of six. With assistance from the foundation, he was able to make a plan to accomplish the mission through fundraising efforts at Harker.
Krishnamurthi’s parents generously donated funds and he also raised money through a club called Interact, a youth rotary club. He assembled the goody bags with candy and bookmarks handmade by Afghan women in refugee camps in Pakistan (provided by the foundation). His book sales then attracted the attention of the administrators at Harker, facilitating a visit from Hosseini to speak about his books and the foundation.
“Through this experience, I have learned that my life is privileged compared to most people in the world. It really changed me by helping and supporting families facing dire living situations. It also made me realize that people are genuinely kind-natured and willing to help others in difficult situations,” Krishnamurthi.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Senior Alicia Clark was awarded Harker’s Community Service Spotlight Award at a recent Monday morning school meeting. At the gathering, she received a $200 check from the Harker Upper School Community Service Program, which she in turn donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto.
The Community Service Spotlight Awards are sponsored by Harker’s outreach department and take place several times during the school year. They were created to celebrate and honor the outstanding community service completed by upper school students.
In her acceptance speech at the meeting, Clark explained that she began doing community service in grade 7 when she joined the National Charity League, a mother/daughter organization that helps less fortunate community members. Since then she has completed more than 500 volunteer hours with more than 15 organizations.
Clark went onto say that community service can be a great opportunity to spend time with friends and family while also helping others in need. “I can’t imagine my life without all of the organizations I have volunteered with and I really encourage those of you who have not had the opportunity to get involved in the community to start now,” she concluded.
This story was submitted by Harker parent Heather Wardenburg (Frederick, grade 5; Amy ‘13) and originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Hundreds of families’ Thanksgiving feasts were made better by the generosity of the Harker community. The grade 5-sponsored food drive, under the leadership of longtime Harker math teacher Pat Walsh, collected 400 bags of food and $4,332.77 for the St. Justin’s Food Pantry. St. Justin’s Community Outreach Program serves about 2,900 people each month. Harker’s donations helped fill Thanksgiving baskets for 750 families. Walsh, who has been organizing the annual event for 30 years, was thrilled by the donations from the lower school community. “I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of the Harker Community,” he said.
Many thanks to the grade 5 student council for promoting the event, the grade 5 teachers and administration for their support, grade 4-5 division head Kristin Giammona for her help and support, lower school dean Ken Allen for his help in loading, unloading and driving the truck, and the wonderful parent and student volunteers.
Walsh’s enthusiasm and dedication to this program inspired all involved to make the Thanksgiving of these 750 families even better!