The competition, held by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, tasks teams with planning a client’s investment goals. Each team has an approved list of stocks they can use over a period of 10 weeks to build their portfolios.
Next, the team will create a video presentation and complete the written portion of the competition for the regional finals in March.
On Friday, a virtual middle school assembly celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At the assembly, a series of grade 7 speakers delivered calls to action on issues important to them in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day’s designation as a day of service.
The activity was directed by English teacher Rebecca Williams, who asked her students to be “voices of change” by bringing awareness to issues they felt were important.
Linda Zeng spoke on the pressure felt by students preparing for standardized tests and offered some ways students could alleviate stress. Ritik Raman and Rahul Sundaresan spoke on the danger posed to aquatic life by pollution and how people can contribute to a more sustainable world. Disha Gupta offered a passionate plea for the community to find ways to end bullying, which she said creates “a never-ending cycle of abuse.” Savitha Satish talked about the discrimination faced by sufferers of mental illness and encouraged people to educate themselves and others on mental health. Elie Ahluwalia and Myra Thakker talked about how stereotypes can lead to discrimination and explained the difference between being a passive “non-racist” and an active “anti-racist” who analyzes their own stereotyping thoughts and works for a more equal society. Finally, Sofia Shah talked about gender inequality in the workplace and how norms that keep women at home and in a narrow set of jobs must be rejected.
Following the student talks, seventh grader Tanvi Sivakumar announced the Blessing Bags service project, which will provide basic necessities such as water, food and toiletries to the homeless.
The assembly ended with Williams challenging the attendees to find issues they care about and learn how to become an agent of change, followed by attendees announcing the issues they chose in the Zoom room’s text chat.
This week, the lower school recognized the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a wide variety of activities and class sessions focused on his life and the lessons to be learned in his battle for civil rights. On Thursday, third graders attended a special assembly with musical artist Diane Ferlatte, who told stories and sang songs to celebrate King’s dream and accomplishments. She shared the story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery, recapped the events of King’s early life that led to his activism and shared stories from her own life.
On Friday, history teacher Tobias Wade led a discussion with his grade 4 students that covered how racist and discriminatory behaviors are learned and King’s use of civil disobedience, which included viewing portions of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Grade 5 history teacher Jared Ramsey recapped King’s life and accomplishments and discussed the roots of systemic racism in America, dating back to the English colonies. Grade 5 students also did activities such as solving math problems based on key events in King’s life. Vocal music teacher Kellie Binney led a discussion about the gospel song “We Shall Overcome,” an important anthem of the civil rights movement, and how different singers interpret the music differently based on the lyrics.
As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day this Monday, may we all find ways to honor his legacy and this national day of service. Further information on how to serve can be found at The King Center and AmeriCorps.
Earlier this week, sophomore Sarah Mohammed was named a poetry finalist in the 2021 National YoungArts competition. It is the highest award offered by the National YoungArts Foundation. Her work was selected after a thorough adjudication process carried out by a panel of artists in the appropriate discipline. Mohammed is now eligible to join 20 other writing finalists to take part in National Young ArtsWeek+, which will include virtual classes and workshops with leading artists in a variety of fields. There also will be performances and a virtual exhibition of the finalists’ works.
This honor also means that Mohammed may be nominated to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. The National YoungArts Foundation, the agency responsible for selecting the scholars, nominates 60 artists every year to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.
On Wednesday, Joelle Anderson ’17 was selected in the third round (26th overall) by the Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) draft.
Anderson was a stellar player during her time at Harker. She was a two-time Forward of the Year in the WBAL and led the CCS in goals and points her senior year.
Continuing her amazing play in college, Anderson was a three-time All-West Conference selection and a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selection. The college soccer season was postponed until February because of COVID, so Anderson will still be able to finish her senior season.
Anderson comes from a family of athletes. Older brother Jeremiah ’15 played soccer at Westmont College and younger brother Jarrett ’19 is a standout volleyball player at Springfield College. Her parents also teach at Harker. Her mom Michelle teaches kindergarten and dad Pete is a middle school PE teacher.
Senior Suman Mohanty was recently published in Cardiorenal Medicine, a medical journal that examines the link between obesity and diseases of the heart and kidneys. Mohanty co-authored the paper during her internship at the Stanford School of Medicine. It examines how coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) can be used in patients with advanced kidney disease.
Today, the Society for Science & the Public announced that seniors Shray Alag, Saloni Shah, Aditya Tadimeti and Sidra Xu were named four of the top 300 scholars in the 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search. Nearly 1,800 applications from 611 high schools were submitted for this year’s competition. Each of the 300 scholars will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize, and their schools will receive a $2,000 prize for each scholar to fund STEM-related education. This year’s top 40 finalists will be announced Jan. 21.
Over the winter break, chess enthusiast Omya Vidyarthi, grade 5, took first place in the U10 girls division of the FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championships. The event invited the top players from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe to compete. Vidyarthi was the top American player in her age group and competed with players from countries including Brazil, China, Guatemala and India. Congratulations!
Following a rigorous audition process, six Harker students were recently named members of California All-State Ensembles.
Bassoonist Chelsea Park, grade 8, was selected to play for the junior high school symphonic band and violist Keira Chang, grade 7, was chosen to perform with the junior high school symphony orchestra. From the upper school, vocalist Malar Bala, grade 11, was named to the high school vocal jazz band, junior Rylan Yang was selected to play French horn in the high school symphonic band, and juniors Austin Wang and Tina Zhong, both violinists, were selected for the high school symphony orchestra and high school string orchestra, respectively.
Last week, Harker’s Youth Activism Club hosted a talk with Felix Wu’ 15, who discussed his career in politics and how young people can start their own careers in politics. As a student at Emory University, Wu worked as a field organizer on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign in Iowa and as regional organizing director on Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign in Iowa. He currently works for the Progressive Turnout Project, whose goal is to increase Democratic voter turnout in tight races throughout the country.
Wu, whose own political career started in high school, talked about some of the ways students can get involved. “High school’s one of those times when you have a lot of freedom to get involved in your community,” he said. These can range from hosting podcasts to working for local politicians, as Wu did for Mike Honda in 2014. He also organized forums on political issues including Obamacare and held screenings for documentaries about immigration reform.
More opportunities become available in college, including working for political campaigns in various capacities, such as fundraising, polling, organizing and graphic design. “Campaigns are a great way to get started. They’re a great way to build a network,” Wu said. “You’re meeting other young people who are jumping into that process for the first time, and perhaps more important than that, you’re learning to talk to voters from all backgrounds.”
Internships in Washington, D.C., are also available to college students, which Wu said provide a great opportunity to learn about the culture of Capitol Hill. “Congress is a really special place with a really unique work culture,” he said. “You’ll see a Democratic congressman and maybe a Republican congressman going at it on the House floor arguing, and then a couple hours later, you might see them laughing it up at the lunchroom. It’s a unique place and you kind of learn about the dynamics of party politics, how people work together and come to consensus.”
Wu also took some time to answer questions on a number of topics, including what he has learned about the legislative process. “I think it’s tough. It’s kind of slow going. People get frustrated at Congress, but I think when you’re actually there, you realize that a lot of stuff does get done that flies under the radar,” he said. “People in Congress work long hours. They work really hard to get stuff done and come to consensus and frankly it doesn’t get recognized that much.”
He also shared advice for people who felt burnt out on the political process and relentless campaign cycles. “First off, if you’re having political burnout, I’d say it’s completely OK. A lot of us were burned out after November, and it’s totally OK to shut off the news for a while and just not think about it,” he advised. Referring to people who feel that not much has been accomplished, Wu noted that “We’ve seen a lot of progress. Earlier this year, I think the whole country was rethinking race as it relates to our politics, and we’ve seen great strides when it comes to LGBTQ issues in the past decade or so. It wasn’t so long ago that a Democratic president wasn’t in support … of marriage equality.”
Wu also stressed the importance of the role young people played in the progress made so far. “Young people have really been leading the charge on these conversations about race,” he said. “When you’re having those conversations around the dinner table or you’re encouraging your friends to vote, talking to your neighbors and such, I think that’s when we really see glimmers of hope even when we see gridlock going on in Congress.”