Girls tennis started off the week with a close 4-3 win over the highly ranked Monta Vista on Monday followed by Tuesday’s 7-0 win against Sacred Heart Prep. The Eagles came together on Friday to put on a dominant showing, ending Menlo’s 24-year, 266 straight league match winning streak by the score of 4-3. The team will be at home against Crystal Springs on Tuesday.
Last week, the Eagles ran a 2.34 mile coed race, clinching the top five, with Anna Weirich leading the way at 13:15!
Golf
The girls golf team defeated Mercy Burlingame 214-276 last week with Natalie Vo, grade 12, scoring a 36. The Eagles face off with Notre Dame on Tuesday.
CareerConnect recently hosted a speaker panel to help students better understand how small businesses have transitioned from the pandemic. On March 5, Susan Dworak and Andre van der Bergh shared their insights on business management and how their companies have pivoted due to COVID-19.
Dworak is the CEO of ID Training, a startup that helps companies and government agencies verify identity. She discussed how her company adjusted the target market and business model to tailor more to individuals and also the future of identification. Meanwhile, van der Bergh, who is the founder of Team ID, introduced his company that offers business education through simulations. He shared the importance of listening to customers and transitioning the curriculum to online modules. In addition, both speakers answered many questions from students, giving insights into managing a startup and the importance of continual innovation.
The event gave students a deeper understanding of the many facets businesses have to consider in light of the pandemic. One student recalled an anecdote that Dworak introduced, “I found it interesting that an incident as small as an underage person ordering an alcoholic drink with a fake ID could lead to significant consequences like the employee being held accountable, which accentuates the importance of distinguishing between a real and fake ID,” said Kevin Zhang, grade 9. Junior Ysabel Chen commented that, “The event was enlightening because it shows just how far the impact of the pandemic reached and how we can’t always control everything, but we should do our best for what we can control.”
In all, the speaker panel was a rewarding experience for students, with everyone gaining a more comprehensive understanding of business operations and decision-making in these challenging times.
University of Southern California music professor Ron McCurdy made the second appearance of his virtual residency at Harker on Feb. 26, discussing the leadership principles illustrated by a number of famous jazz bandleaders.
He began with Duke Ellington, one of the most enduring composers and bandleaders of the 20th century, who managed to stay relevant for half a century and through many drastic shifts in musical tastes. Ellington was known for composing pieces that emphasized the strengths of individual players in his band, even writing down their names on the sheet music. “That’s how intimately he understood what his musicians were capable of doing,” McCurdy said. He also reinvented himself on several occasions. “He realized that what he had done in the 1920s and 30s would not necessarily work in the 1940s,” said McCurdy, citing Ellington’s work for TV and movies, as well as what McCurdy called “art music.”
Ellington also inspired loyalty in his band members, many of whom stayed with his band for decades. “He treated them all with dignity,” McCurdy noted. “He didn’t believe in letting people go. Because of that loyalty, he was able to keep many of his key sidemen in his band.”
Moving on to Miles Davis, McCurdy noted the legendary trumpeter’s belief in the importance of finding one’s own voice, something he encouraged in the musicians who played with him. “[Davis] did not believe in … keeping the same style, playing the same music,” McCurdy said, pointing out Davis’ powerful use of notes that would be considered wrong by other players. “When you learn the theory behind it, hopefully you break the rules,” McCurdy said. “Who’s to say that playing a D natural over a minor chord is a wrong note? The ear can reconcile that sound, but theoretically it’s wrong. If you can play it with conviction, it won’t sound wrong.”
The conviction Davis displayed inspired a generation of now-legendary jazz musicians, including Chick Corea, Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Hancock. “He also trained the next generation of bandleaders,” said McCurdy. “This is the mark of a great leader; you make everyone around you better.”
Another of the leaders McCurdy discussed was drummer Art Blakey, who McCurdy called the “consummate pedagogue.” Blakey was known for keeping members for a maximum of a few years before letting them go to start their own bands and define their own careers. Everyone in Blakey’s band was expected to compose as well as perform. This was also done to keep his own work from stagnating. Blakey and his band, the Jazz Messengers, became known for the talented young performers it featured and helped codify the style that would become known as “hard bop,” which contained elements of gospel and rhythm and blues. Notable Jazz Messengers alumni include Terrence Blanchard, Freddie Hubbard and Wynton and Branford Marsalis.
On Feb. 18, a special panel on fashion was held with Arjun Kilaru ‘19, Jill Milan founder Jill Fraser, and upper school English teachers Nicholas Manjoine and Pauline Paskali. Each shared what initially intrigued them about fashion and, in the cases of Kilaru and Fraser, how they got involved in the industry.
Kilaru, who currently studies at the University of Chicago, where he curated a collection of his own designs, called his foray into fashion a “really big leap. It was challenging but I always felt like I had enough resources,” he said, recognizing the support and feedback he received from people back home. “I made a lot of mistakes and I will never stop advocating for trial and error.”
He said fashion offered him an avenue for self-expression. “I make new statements with how I look and what I hear,” he said, adding that in college, “you’re always in an environment where you can share ideas with your peers.”
Kilaru also started a podcast, affiliated with the university’s fashion magazine, which explores various fashion topics. “This quarter we’ve been really active with posting an episode every Friday,” he said.
Fraser, who is vegan, was working at a startup in 2009 when she decided that the fashion industry needed more ethical brands. Jill Milan was founded in 2011 with the mission of creating an animal-friendly fashion brand. “I hired a very good young designer and we began working in Italy. Mostly it was sort of making a lot of friends.” The designs were well-liked and have been worn at red carpet events by high-profile celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria.
Her advice to people hoping to break into the industry was to treat people respectfully. “Be very nice,” she said. “There’s always someone around you who could hurt you or help you a lot.” She also recommended seeking opportunities with Fashion Incubator San Francisco, a firm that offers mentorship to designers new to the industry.
Manjoine said he was initially hesitant to make clothes for himself, even though “for most of human history, people have made their own clothes. This is sort of a special moment in history where we rely on other people,” he said, recalling the time he spent in 4H learning how to knit and sew. He also showed off one of the sweaters he made for himself.
For people who find enjoying fashion difficult, Paskali said, “I think it’s really important to wear both what you think is really fun and what feels good on you, what makes you feel strong, cheerful, playful. Clothes should make you happy too.”
“The social convention is that we all wear clothes, so you might as well have fun with it,” Manjoine said. “We might as well make [fashion choices] that present our best selves. Don’t be afraid to mix colors or put on shapes that make you feel like you.”
Last week, Simar Bajaj ‘20 gave a presentation to Harker students to expand on the points made in an essay he co-wrote that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January. In the piece, he and Dr. Fatima Stanford argue that distrust of COVID-19 vaccinations among Black Americans is the result of decades of systemic racism built into the medical profession, and that too much attention is focused on well-known incidents such as the Tuskegee syphilis study to explain hesitancy among Black Americans to accept the vaccines.
While the horrors of these incidents should not be forgotten, Bajaj said, “you know what challenges you’re facing through the health care institution if you’re a Black individual, especially during this pandemic, which has highlighted a lot of inequities.” Many studies have shown that Black patients are misdiagnosed and are refused treatment and painkillers at much higher rates.
“If you are a Black man in the emergency department and the doctor … is not giving you your painkillers, even though you’re visibly in pain,” Bajaj said. “In those moments … perhaps you are thinking about Tuskegee and historicizing your frustrations there, but perhaps more likely you are thinking about the racist doctor that’s not giving you your painkillers.”
Bajaj said an approach known as “barbershop-based intervention” could help build trust among Black Americans. These interactions, in which Black patients are cared for by Black health care professionals, provide racial concordance that has had very positive outcomes. In one study, barbershop-based intervention brought the blood pressure of 64 percent of Black men to normal levels, compared to just 12 percent of the control group who continued to visit their primary physician. “Barbershops are often forums of camaraderie for Black individuals,” Bajaj said. “There’s this relationship between the barber and those getting their hair cut that is very close.”
He also cited research performed by Dr. Stanford that demonstrated an increased interest in seeking information when COVID prevention messages were delivered by Black physicians. “There’s a lot of information being thrown at us during the pandemic, a lot of which is incredibly important to understand and lot of which can impact health literacy,” Bajaj said. “So you can see the implications here.”
Lay press coverage that zeroes in on Tuskegee and other historical atrocities, Bajaj said, can also further the damaging idea that racism in medicine is mostly in the past. “I found it incredibly frustrating when I would read these lay press articles where they’d try to [explain that] Black individuals don’t trust the vaccine because of Tuskegee or because of J. Marion Sims or because of this or that,” he said. “And I thought such a framing is incorrect and harmful.”
We are saddened to report the passing of Justin Shamlou ‘11, who died unexpectedly on Feb. 15 at the age of 27. Born April 21, 1993 in Plantation, Fla., Shamlou moved with his family to Japan and Singapore before they settled in California. At Harker, Shamlou was a varsity football player with a love for music and poetry. After graduation, he attended the University of South Carolina. Most recently, he was a senior writer at the consumer advocacy website Grit Daily. Shamlou is remembered by his classmates for his uplifting character and ability to inspire others. A tribute wall has been set up for those who wish to share memories, condolences and kind words. His family has requested that donations be made to the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Shamlou’s honor.
Cellist Lucas Chen, grade 11, recently won second prize in the strings category of the ENKOR International Music Competition. Chen, who won in Category C (ages 16-21), is also the co-principal cellist of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, making his solo debut in 2018 after winning PACO’s Concerto Competition. He has also won first prize in both the United States Open Music Competition and the American Protege International Concerto Competition. Last year, he was one of 16 Harker students to participate in Kronos Quartet’s 50 for the Future Program. Contestants in the ENKOR competition are evaluated by a jury board of more than 500 members from more than 70 countries.
This story was submitted by Radha Mehta, grade 10.
From Jan. 11-14, 135 students from the Harker DECA chapter attended the 2021 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). Due to the pandemic, this conference was held virtually, and students competed by submitting recordings of their events. SVCDC also featured Multiply Your Leadership Workshops and a Harker DECA chapter social to maintain the in-person conference feel. Overall, Harker performed admirably, with 100 finalists and 35 top three winners.
“I’ve seen our chapter members spend hours on Zoom tinkering with their presentations in the online environment, so I was so excited to see their hard work pay off at SVCDC!” said senior Lisa Barooah, Harker DECA co-CEO. “Our competitive analysis showed record competitive success, which hopefully motivates a new wave of dedicated DECA members. From chapter yoga sessions to celebratory DoorDashes, it was great to have a sense of normalcy and enjoy some DECA bonding.”
On Monday, students began their virtual SVCDC experience with the Conference Kickoff, where attendees from around the Bay Area gathered in a livestream of the opening ceremony. Keynote speaker Scott Williams gave motivational advice to the young entrepreneurs in attendance with his wise words of experience. Williams said, “managers tell it but leaders sell it” and “great leadership is less about the leader and more about the ship.”
“I really enjoyed the speech that Scott Williams gave at SVCDC. Even though it was virtual, it was still both a wonderful and engaging experience, especially for the first time attendees,” said Anika Muddu, grade 10, Harker DECA director of roleplays. Despite this conference being held online, the competition aspect went exceptionally smoothly. Students were given two days to record their written and roleplay events, put the files in a Google Drive folder, then turn in the link to the Google Drive folder to the DECA portal.
“I really liked how easy the submission process was; it made the entire conference a lot less stressful,” said Annmaria Antony, grade 10.
After submitting their competitions, the Harker DECA Chapter attended a mandatory meeting where the officer team announced the Chapter Social. This meeting along with the chapter meeting at the beginning of the conference where Muddu went over roleplay skills, mimicked the in-person conference experience.
“Competing in DECA online was a really interesting experience. I learned how to adapt to unexpected challenges and make the most of limited resources, a skill that I will carry with me through high school and beyond,” said sophomore Ada Praun-Petrovic. A week later, from Jan. 25-27, members were required to attend a Multiply Your Leadership event and a judge feedback session. At the Multiply Your Leadership sessions, students participated in a fun trivia game and received tips about becoming a leader. At the judge feedback sessions, SVCDC judges explained to the attendees what they enjoyed seeing in competitions and what members should avoid during conferences.
The Harker DECA Chapter Social took place Jan. 27 and was designed for students to participate in a fun team-bonding activity. Members were allowed to choose between a guided meditation session with certified yoga and meditation instructor Ben Wexler and a poster making activity with Muddu.
“Harker DECA not only participated in an unprecedented event being virtual, but we also had unprecedented results having the most wins overall for the first time in our Silicon Valley District, despite being a small school. I couldn’t be more proud of the officers who helped make the conference the success that it was and for our competitors who demonstrated sound resiliency throughout the process and delivered excellent results. Now we look forward to the state conference. Go Eagles!” said Juston Glass, business and entrepreneurship teacher and chapter advisor.
This story was submitted by Jenny Achten, Harker speech and debate chair.
Harker was the first place overall school at last weekend’s Cal Invitational UC Berkeley speech and debate tournament. The sweepstakes award was calculated by adding up the overall strength of the team across all events. The tournament is massive, with over 2,000 competitors from more than 200 schools representing 28 states.
Outstanding individual performances by many middle and upper school students contributed to this special award. In congressional debate, seniors Jason Lin and Nathan Ohana, junior Aaditya Gulati, and sophomore Arissa Huda won awards. In varsity Lincoln-Douglas, seniors Akshay Manglik and Andy Lee, juniors Anshul Reddy and Deven Shah, sophomores Deeya Viradia and Rahul Mulpuri, as well as freshman Ansh Sheth placed. Junior William Chien and sophomore Michelle Jin placed in extemporaneous speaking. Chien also won an award in impromptu speaking, along with junior Andrea Thia, sophomore Sara Wan and seventh grader Pavitra Kasthuri. Kasthuri also won an award in dramatic interpretation.
In informative speaking, sophomore Zubin Khera and freshman Iris Fu placed. In junior varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, eighth graders Navya Samuel and Stefan Maxim, and seventh graders Ananya Pradhan, Danielle Steinbach, Tanvi Sivakumar, Disha Gupta and Sofia Shah won awards. Eighth graders Veer and Ruhan Sahasi were in elimination rounds of junior varsity public forum debate. In original oratory, senior Julia Biswas, and sophomores Dyllan Han, Austina Xu and Eileen Ma placed. Finally, in varsity public forum debate, award winners included seniors Emma Dionne and Fonda Hu, and juniors Caden Lin, Vedant Kenkare, Rohan Rashingkar, Arnav Jain, Vinay Sudarsanam and Andrew Vodinh-Ho.
Two Harker teams claimed top spots in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional High School Science Bowl, held Feb. 6. Team One – made up of juniors David Dai, Harsh Deep, Rishab Parthasarathy and William Zhao, and sophomore Jeremy Ko – placed second overall, and Team Two – seniors Michael Eng and Russell Yang, sophomore Rohan Bhowmik, and freshmen Gautam Bhooma and Nicholas Wei – placed in the top eight, the only second team to get that far in the tournament.
This competition, usually held at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, took place virtually this year. Each team was placed in a Zoom room and tasked with answering 18 questions, with each team playing three rounds at the start and the top 24 teams advancing to the elimination rounds.