On Oct. 21, the 2022 installment of TEDx Harker School took place at Nichols Hall, attended by hundreds of students. In addition to listening to the lineup of speakers, students enjoyed refreshments, vendor and activity booths, and socializing both before and after the speaker appearances.
The evening’s first speaker was veteran tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki, formerly of Apple and now of Canva. Kawasaki shared several important lessons he learned over his long career, such as not to worry too early on about discovering a passion. “I’m 68 years old. Three years ago, I discovered podcasts,” he said. “Now podcasts are my passion.” Other important lessons he imparted to the students were to build things they would want to use and break into a chosen field any way they can, using the example of Jane Goodall, who began working at the Leakey Foundation due to her secretarial skills.
Up next was Harker speech and debate teacher Scott Odekirk, who talked about society’s relationship to death and how it should be improved to become a “full, empathetic and community-based relationship,” he said after the event. Odekirk shared his own experience being in close proximity to this unique trauma with the death of his first wife. While in support groups, he met others who had similar experiences, including armed services veterans and health care workers. He then asked the audience to reflect on the ways mourning, as well as mourners, are treated. “My ultimate ask is for everyone to think about the way that we can make mourning more central to our community relationships,” he said.
Senior Arissa Huda, the final speaker for the evening, spoke on what she believed to be ineffective uses of empathy and how it could also be used to improve quality and length of life. Huda explained that “empathy in the mainstream is ineffective and our progress is stagnated as a result through performative activism, for example,” she said after the event. She also used health care as an example of how empathy can be effective, noting that doctors’ enactment of empathy results in better patient care plans, which in turn leads to improved quality and length of life for their patients. In closing, Huda shared how the community “could implement genuine and authentic empathy into our lives,” she said.
The San Jose Mayor Youth Forum, organized by students from Harker and Yerba Buena High School, was held Oct. 25 at the Cambrian Branch Library in San Jose, during which San Jose mayoral candidate Matt Mahan and a representative for Cindy Chavez, mayoral candidate and Santa Clara County supervisor for district 2, discussed each candidate’s platforms and positions on various issues. Topics included support for the unhoused, public transportation and education. Students had the opportunity to meet and chat with the speakers after they presented their platforms.
Harker seniors Sara Bhowmick, Kris Estrada and K.J. Williams and sophomores Valerie Li and Sahngwie Yim organized the event with a group of students from Yerba Buena High School, meeting via Zoom to plan its content and discuss promotion.
Earlier this month, junior Nathan Liu was honored in a special celebration recognizing the winners of the 2021 Teens Dream Video Changemaker Challenge, a video contest in which young people submit videos related to one of the United Nations’ sustainability goals. Liu was named the California winner in March for his video on wildfire prevention. Previously, Liu’s work was celebrated by Turkish America TV as one of its TATV Staff Picks.
This story was contributed by Lisa Masoni, middle school Latin teacher, and Scott Paterson, upper school Latin teacher.
The California Junior Classical League celebrated its return to in-person events with an epic Ludi Octobres (October Games) hosted by Saint Ignatius High School in San Francisco on Oct. 22. Twenty-three Latin students from the middle and upper schools participated in assemblies and workshops, academic testing, face-painting, Kahoots, naumachia (staged ship battles), a service project and Certamen (a Latin-themed quiz bowl). The best parts of the day included a return to in-person traditions, such as spirit cheers and the chance to interact with more than 600 students from 21 northern California schools.
Harker students brought home the following individual awards:
Middle School 1 (Grade 6)
Ryo Sugaya: Third in Roman Daily Life
Ethan Weyn: First in Derivatives, first in Mythology
Middle School 2 (Grade 7)
Jacob Chung: First in Latin Grammar 1, second in Derivatives
Shreyas Karnam: First in Reading Comprehension Novice, third in Latin Grammar 1, member of the first-place Open Certamen Novice team
Zahra Syed: First in Derivatives
Middle School 3 (Grade 8)
Shamik Khowala: First in Derivatives, first in Reading Comprehension Intermediate
Ameera Ramzan: Second in Latin Vocabulary, second in Reading Comprehension Intermediate
Demi Zheng: First in Latin Vocabulary, second in Derivatives
Upper School, Level 3
Rahul Sundaresan: Second in Derivatives, second in Mythology
Upper School, Advanced Level
Ainslie Chen: First in Vocabulary, second in Reading Comprehension Advanced, member of third-place team in Open Certamen
Felix Chen: Third in Daily Life
Trisha Iyer: First in Daily Life, first in Reading Comprehension Advanced, member of first-place team in Open Certamen
Hannah Levanon: Member of first-place team in Open Certamen, second in Daily Life
Kabir Ramzan: First in Derivatives, second in Vocabulary
13 Harker singers were recently named members of the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA) Coastal Region Honor Choir. Seniors Ava Arasan, Aria Jain, Sukrit Kalsi and Anika Pandey; juniors Arjun Gurjar, Shayla He, Katelyn Hsu, Miki Mitarai and Arushi Sharma; sophomore Hasini Namala; and freshmen Helen Gu, Charlotte Ludlow and Aditya Ramanathan will spend the next several weeks readying their repertoire for a special performance at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in November.
Harker’s Board of Fellows kicked off its year Saturday night by hosting a special Head of School Gathering with Brian Yager, head of school, and invited members of Harker’s community of entrepreneurs and venture investment professionals, including numerous Harker alumni who have founded their own companies, to attend. Yager explained to the nearly 200 guests in attendance that the purpose of the gathering was “to recognize the outstanding achievements our business and entrepreneurship (B.E.) and economics students and teachers,” and to make a special announcement about the establishment of The Harker Venture Investment Initiative and associated Mehta Scholar Program.
Kelly Horan, assistant upper school division head, gave an overview of the outstanding achievements of Harker’s B.E. and economics programs, and then students and teachers were presented certificates of commendation by members of the Harker Board of Fellows for their hard work, preparation and achievement winning all three of the national competitions they participated in over the past few months.
Following the students’ recognition, Joe Rosenthal, executive director of strategic initiatives, announced the establishment of The Harker Venture Investment Initiative and the associated Mehta Scholar Program. Rosenthal explained that the initial funding has been specifically provided to create The Harker Venture Investment Pool. Harker’s advanced B.E. and economics students will have the opportunity to work with experienced venture investment professionals and entrepreneurs to make early-stage investments, primarily in alumni-founded companies.
The Venture Investment Initiative will leverage and engage Harker parents, alumni, alumni parents and students who are passionate about entrepreneurship and venture investment and will provide a strategic ecosystem to support alumni-founded companies and possibly other startups within the Harker network.
The funding for the Venture Investment Pool will come from the Mehta Endowment in Support of Scholarships and Entrepreneurship and by a few other donors making gifts specifically for this purpose. Rosenthal said, “Neil and Jasheen Mehta have given $5 million to establish their endowment, and in addition have generously offered to match every dollar that the community contributes.”
The Capital Fund by matching those contributions to increase their endowment up to an additional $5 million. If $5 million is raised for the Capital Fund, the Mehtas’ original endowment would become $10 million.” See the full story on the Mehta Endowment.
For more information, contact Harker’s Advancement department at advancement@harker.org.
Last weekend, at the 14th annual Math Prize for Girls competition, held at MIT, junior Olivia Xu (pictured, center) placed 11th out of 240 competitors, earning a $300 prize, and junior Catherine Li received an honorable mention. As top 36 placers, Xu and Li are eligible to compete in the Math Prize Olympiad.
Invitations to the competition were extended to the top 300 girls who participated in last year’s American Math Competition (AMC). Competitors were tasked with answer 20 short-answer questions in two-and-a-half hours.
The event, which was emceed by Nitya Mani ’15, who is now a Ph.D. student at MIT, also included a game night and a campus tour and admissions talk for prospective students.
More than 3,500 Harker community members headed to the upper school campus this past Saturday for the second annual Harker Day. Families spent the day enjoying food, games, sports and live entertainment by Harker students.
The many games on offer included Skee-Ball, air hockey, foosball and electronic basketball. Elsewhere, younger students enjoyed pumpkin painting and an inflatable slide. Food trucks and Ms. Carly’s Café served patrons a wide variety of foods throughout the day, and animal rescue organizations brought in puppies, kittens and guinea pigs that were very popular with visitors of all ages. Meanwhile, Harker performing arts groups from the lower, middle and upper schools entertained large crowds at the Patil Theater.
Students also sold food and drinks at concession areas throughout the day to raise money for their classes. Senior Arissa Huda was one such student. “I love selling stuff,” she said. “I’ve actually made quite a bit of money for the senior class and for WiSTEM.”
Ally Lee, grade 12, a representative of Harker’s Art Club, helped organize and run the pumpkin decorating table and said she enjoyed “seeing a bunch of the alumni and teachers I’ve had.”
Loren Due ’85, one of many Harker graduates lounging at the special alumni area, said he enjoyed Harker Day because of how it “brings all the campuses together, especially with the sports and having the opportunity for the middle and upper school to participate on the same campus on the same day.”
Laena St. Jules ’04 remarked at how much the campus had changed since she graduated. “I really just am enjoying seeing how much everything has transformed, everything is building and growing in a very positive direction and offering students new things,” she said.
Several Harker sports teams were in competition during the day, and Eagle fans showed up to cheer on the boys and girls volleyball and water polo teams, as well as the grade 8 flag football team. Other sports activities included a morning tennis clinic and a water polo clinic in the afternoon.
Just before the start of Homecoming festivities, the 2022 Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony welcomed three alumni – Alex Abarca ’09, Daniza Rodriguez ’13 and Amanda (Polzin) Sullivan ’06 – and the entire 2007-08 girls varsity volleyball team into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame.
As the varsity football Homecoming game against the Delta Charter Dragons approached, attendees moved to the bleachers at Davis Field to view the third-place tug-of-war contest between the juniors and seniors, which ended in a victory for the Class of 2024. The crowd also enjoyed pre-game appearances by Junior Cheerleaders and the Eaglets, as well as the Harker Choir’s rendition of The Harker School Song and the National Anthem.
The Eagles took control of the game early, surging to a 35-12 lead by halftime. This year’s halftime entertainment was provided by the Harker Cheer Quad and the Harker Dance Company, and the crowd was also treated to the finals of the tug-of-war contest, which saw the sophomores declared champions. Halftime festivities concluded with the crowning of seniors Atri Banerjee and Sawyer Lai as the 2022 Homecoming Royals. In the second half, the Eagles cruised to a 48-20 victory to improve their record to 5-1.
On Saturday, three outstanding alumni – Alex Abarca ’09, Daniza Rodriguez ’13 and Amanda (Polzin) Sullivan ’06 – were inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame, along with the entire roster of the 2007-08 girls varsity volleyball team, one of Harker athletics’ greatest success stories. Sullivan and former volleyball team member Candace Silva-Martin ’09 were unable to attend in-person and Zoomed into the ceremony from home.
A highly prolific scorer, Abarca was a four-time boys varsity basketball MVP for the Eagles and posted more than 1,700 points. In his junior year, he was named the Private School Athletic League MVP. As a senior he was named to the WBAL First Team, a San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Week, declared Harker Athlete of the Year and received the Eagle Award, which is given to athletes who demonstrate extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm, expressed in their willingness to help their teammates, act as role models and offer their maximum effort to every task. He graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business management economics from UC Santa Cruz, where he also played basketball. Abarca now lives in San Jose and works as an accounting manager at AEye Inc., and is married and a father to a 7-month-old son.
In addition to being named co-MVP of the girls varsity basketball team in her senior year, Amanda Sullivan (née Polzin) received an honorable mention for the All-West Bay Athletic League Team. While performing as a key member of the team, Sullivan — who was born with amniotic band syndrome — also dedicated her time to serving student athletes with disabilities. She began volunteering with the Special Olympics, which eventually led to her winning the top prize in the San Jose Sports Authority’s REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) Youth Scholarship Program, an annual award given to Bay Area high school student athletes who have met significant challenges in order to achieve in both athletics and academics. She went on to study human development in college and found a fulfilling career in social work. Sullivan currently resides in North Carolina and is married with two children.
Daniza Rodriguez set a number of records in her time as a member of the girls varsity basketball team. She at one point held the record for most career points (1,214), most points in a season (511) and the best start to a season for any Harker athletics team (11-1). She received many accolades over the course of her upper school career, receiving Harker’s Female Athlete of the Year award in her sophomore and junior years, winning the Eagle Award in her junior and senior years and being named the WBAL Skyline League MVP and to the Skyline League First Team All League. She went on to play women’s basketball at Whittier College and has since returned to San Jose, where she works as a space planner at Cushman & Wakefield. In 2018, she assumed the role of coach for the girls varsity basketball team, which had a historic season that included a first-ever league title win and an appearance in the CCS finals.
The 2007 girls volleyball team remains one of the most successful teams in Harker’s athletic history. The team’s historic 38-5 run included a 12-0 league record, a win at the Maui Classic tournament and the first appearance Central Coast Section ranking ever achieved by a Harker athletics team. The season culminated in an appearance at the state finals against Santa Fe Valley Christian, in which the Eagles fell short but nevertheless left a permanent impression with their phenomenal talent, work ethic and record-setting performances. Featuring no fewer than three Harker Athletics hall of famers — Tanya Schmidt ’08, Kristina Bither ’09 and Candace Silva-Martin ’09 — and coached by decorated Harker veteran Theresa “Smitty” Smith, this team stands as one of the deepest in Harker athletic history to ever take any field or court. Due to their contributions not only to the team’s success but to this landmark chapter in Harker’s athletic legacy, all members of the team were recognized with this special induction.
This past summer, Alec Zhang, grade 11, and Jingjing Liang, grade 9, held a special online learning event called FUTUREx IDEA, which was attended by more than 100 students from 78 high schools across the country. The two students are officers of the nonprofit Future Bridge, of which Liang is the founder.
The event featured four learning tracks for attendees to choose from. One track taught students about socially responsible investing, in which students utilized group discussions to learn more about investing and participating in the Wharton Investment Competition. Another offered students insights on drafting essays, which Zhang said would help students “gain self-awareness and social awareness.” The third track, called Enlightening and Service, gave students the opportunity to learn how to operate in a workplace setting with a variety of projects. Finally, the AI and Innovation workshop delved into current and future applications of artificial intelligence and had students creating their own AI-driven mobile apps.
Future Bridge included many volunteers from various high schools with a diverse range of interests, which informed the guiding principle of planning the event. “When we planned for summer activities, Jingjing proposed that we can combine these passions to run a multi-track student-driven summer program,” Zhang said. “We came up with these activities based on allowing students to learn more and utilize their knowledge.”
This fall, Future Bridge plans to launch in-person boot camps to offer their instruction on building AI-based apps to people with less access to learning resources. Their team in Chicago is also planning to run boot camps in that area. “We truly hope more people can join forces with us to impact more communities around the Bay Area,” Zhang said.