This article first appeared in the Harker Magazine Commemorative Anniversary Issue, celebrating 125 years, published July 2018.
Throughout its history, Harker has offered programs both inside and outside the classroom that have the power to transform the student experience.
Performing Arts
Harker has long valued the performing arts as integral to education, with the school producing more than 70 annual theater, dance, instrumental and vocal performances. Opportunities are available at every age. For example, Harker began hosting a junior high school drama festival in 1981, which has now developed into annual plays produced by both grade 6 and grades 7-8. And since 1996 students in grade 2 have reenacted fairytales at the Ogre Awards ceremony. Dance has been part of the curriculum since the late 1980s, and has had a prominent place in summer programs, after-school activities and annual Maypole celebrations for decades; the annual middle school show, Dance Jamz, has been going strong since 2005. Instrumental and vocal music opportunities abound, from orchestra to jazz band to musical theater to show choir to a cappella groups. The Harker Conservatory, established in 1998, cultivates students’ artistic talents and its unique Student Directed Showcase began in 2001 to give selected seniors the chance to produce shows and direct their peers.
Athletics
Physical fitness has always been emphasized at Harker, with baseball, football and tennis offered year-round at Manzanita Hall. Miss Harker’s School built a gymnasium in 1921 to accompany its outdoor fields for tennis, basketball and baseball. PAMA cadets enjoyed year-round outdoor sports such as swimming, boating, bicycling and horseback riding. Today, Harker provides developmental, intramural and competitive athletic opportunities for every skill level: nine sports at the lower school, 13 at the middle school and 15 at the upper school. Nearly 70 percent of students in grades 4-12 participate in Harker’s sports program.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Harker’s comprehensive business & entrepreneurship program, formed in 2013, supports student innovators by leveraging the school’s Silicon Valley location. In 2010, students founded TEDxHarkerSchool, an annual conference that features professional and student speakers, mentors and corporate booths, allowing students to learn from and be inspired by Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation. Harker DECA, founded in the 2007-08 school year, prepares students in the business areas of marketing, finance, hospitality and management and has won many state, national and international honors. Harker founded one of the nation’s first high school incubator programs in 2017.
Research and Innovation Harker developed a student scientific research program in 2001, celebrating students’ achievements at an annual research symposium beginning in 2006. Students have embraced hands-on research opportunities, finding success at the national level in programs such as the Siemens Competition and the Intel Science Talent Search. The John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund, established in 2009, and the Mitra Family Endowment for the Humanities, established in 2011, support student research in the humanities. Harker’s robotics team was started by students in 2001 and enjoyed its most successful season in 2016-17, advancing to the semifinals in two regional competitions. Howard and Diana Nichols were visionaries in a real sense, with Diana Nichols owning and driving an electric car back in the ‘80s. The car was used as a teaching tool for both ecological responsibility and the science of a functioning electric vehicle.
Global Education
Harker’s partnership with Japan’s Tamagawa Academy started in 1992, allowing for academic collaboration and exchange visits between the schools’ middle school students. Other partnerships followed with schools around the world, including one with Shanghai’s World Foreign Language Middle School in 2003. Today, students starting in grade 4 participate in more than a dozen school-sponsored trips, first within California, then throughout the United States and internationally as students age.
Journalism
First established as a student club, Harker’s journalism program became part of the upper school curriculum in 2004. The program, responsible for the school newspaper, yearbook and student news website, is nationally recognized, garnering top awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In 2008, the program expanded to include summer work retreats, taking students to pursue journalism in other locales.
Speech and Debate
The middle and upper school speech and debate teams, whose members have won national awards, teach high-level research skills, critical thinking and leadership. In 2008, a middle school speech and debate duo won the Novice High School Division at the Santa Clara University Invitational. It was the only middle school team at the event. Harker’s middle school debate team has continued to compete against high schoolers and in 2010 claimed the 2010 National Junior Forensic League championship in public forum debate. The team has been going strong ever since. The upper school speech and debate team has won numerous accolades over the years, including national championships in three out of the four events at the National Debate Coaches Association Championship in 2014. In 2016, Harker won the top Overall School of Excellence Award for the fifth consecutive year at the National Speech & Debate Association championship in Salt Lake City. In 2018, Harker qualified 18 students to the national championships.
Summer Programs
Palo Alto Military Academy offered summer enrichment programs of academics, military drills and exercise at the recreational Camp Eldorado in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from 1920 to 1952. Summer programs have continued to emphasize both academic and physical enrichment – from swimming and archery to dance and drama. In the 1990s, Harker began offering extended summer trips to sites throughout California. Today, Harker’s summer programs include the academically focused Summer Institute, and programs in sports and music.
A solid contingent of foil fencers from Harker competed in the Summer National Championships in St. Louis, Mo., in late June and early July, and Ethan Choi, rising sophomore, took the gold medal in Division III Men’s Foil, an adult competition open to fencers rated D and lower, with 279 fencers, a wonderful victory! Ratings, awarded based on tournament results, run A-E, A being the best, and U for unclassified. Choi started out the event rated D-2018, but the win upped his rating to C-2018. Here is the official video of the bout.Check out the U.S Fencing Facebook post of his victory being celebrated by team members. He also finished 115th in Cadet Men’s Foil out of 258 competitors. Choi fences for the M-Team in San Francisco. Harker’s student news posted a very nice story on Choi’s win.
Kishan Sood, a rising sophomore, rated D-2018, also fenced in Division III Men’s Foil and had a great finish at 17th out of the 279 fencers. He also fenced in Cadet Men’s Foil, Junior Men’s Foil and Division II Men’s Foil (open to fencers of all ages rated C and lower), finishing 108th in Division II out of 222 entrants, a very nice finish in a tough adult event. Just prior to nationals, Sood fenced in a senior foil event at CalTech in Pasadena, earning seventh out of 29 fencers and upping his rating to the D-2018 level. He also has been named to the USA Fencing All-American Team – Honorable Mention, which requires renewing or improving one’s rating as well as good academic standing and exceptional character. Sood was also named to the USA Fencing All-Academic First Team, which requires a GPA of 3.85 or higher. Sood fences for California Fencing Academy of Campbell.
Alumna Jerrica Liao ’18, A-2015, who heads off to fence at Northwestern in the fall, and Nerine Uyanik, rising junior, B-2017, both fenced in Junior Women’s Foil finishing 92nd and 128th, respectively, out of 226 fencers. In Division 1-A Women’s Foil, Uyanik finished a remarkable 18th while Liao had a tougher time, finishing 49th out of 86 entrants, all rated A or B. In Cadet Women’s Foil (age 17 and under), Uyanik finished 73rd out of 205 entrants. Liao fences for Silicon Valley Fencing Center of Los Altos and Uyanik fences for San Francisco Fencing Club in San Francisco.
Ishani Sood, rising seventh grader, D-2018, finished a notable 19th in Y-12 Women’s Foil out of 161 entrants, took a very respectable 61st in Cadet Women’s Foil out of 205 entrants, and was 41st in Y-14 Womens Foil out of 229 entrants, marking her as an ascending star in women’s foil. Sood, like her brother, fences at California Fencing Academy.
Upper school Fencing Club advisor and Harker Summer middle school fencing coach William Cracraft, B-2018, of Harker’s Office of Communication, finished third in the Charles Selberg Veteran Foil Invitational for men and women ages 50-plus, held in Berkeley on Father’s Day, for the third year in a row, out of 17 deeply seasoned entrants including a number of national point holders. Cracraft fences for Halberstadt Fencing Club of San Francisco.
Middle school students seized upon a great opportunity to learn about historical analysis through the lens of current events at the Middle School Summer Institute’s class about Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. The course was taught by Harker history teacher Sara Pawloski, who first heard Yousafzai’s story when she took a class on migrant stories two years ago. “The one that really made an impact on me was Malala’s,” she said. Pawloski believed Yousafzai’s story of fighting for girls’ education in Pakistan was particularly important “because a lot of people, especially … in the Bay Area, don’t think it’s hard for people to get an education anywhere in the world, and it actually really is.”
That lesson was particularly important to student Ellie Schmidt, who will start grade 7 in the fall. “I learned that though we, in the U.S.A., take education for granted, in and around Pakistan many girls get very little education if any,” she said. “I didn’t realize that this happened.”
Students began the class by learning about concepts such as identifying primary and secondary sources. “That’s a skill that’s really important, especially with students this age,” Pawloski noted. The students also learned about bias, which Pawloski said has a negative connotation it does not always deserve, as it can often be important in understanding someone’s perspective.
The class, which is largely activity-based to maintain student engagement, gave students insight about the beginnings of history with regard to the dawn of civilization. “I do a hands-on activity outside where I put water somewhere and they have to hunt for food, and they have to try to build a shelter, so they can kind of get an idea of how history actually began,” said Pawloski.
Yousafzai’s book, “I Am Malala,” is another important piece of the class, as students first discussed what they believe the book will be about, followed by readings and class discussions.
Pawloski also had students investigate the work other activists around the world and make short comic strips about them. “My favorite part about taking the class was learning about all the women activists and what they did and still do to help obtain more women’s rights,” said Schmidt.
Seeing the students learn about the experiences of others around the world was especially gratifying for Pawloski. “I think what I’ve really seen them pick up on is that what they experience is not what everyone else experiences, and I think that’s a great lesson, especially for middle schoolers,” she said. “But I definitely have noticed that they’re starting to realize, we’re here, were lucky, and the outside world doesn’t have everything that we have.”
Harker students turned in one of their best performances to date at this year’s TEAMS (Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science) national competition, held June 22-26 in Atlanta. Team A – consisting of rising juniors Jessica Jiang, Matthew Jin, Sachin Shah, Jasmine Wiese and team captain Jackie Yang, and rising sophomores Russell Yang and Luisa Pan – ranked first among the teams recognized as Best in Nation in the grades 9/10 division. They also were the top team in the Problem Solving category and among the top 10 in Prepared Presentation and Digital Media.
Team B – made up of rising juniors Prerana Acharyya, Ellen Guo, Rashmi Iyer, Annabelle Ju, Jason Pan, team captain Jin Tuan and Bryan Yang, as well as Stanford Online High School freshman David Smith – had a strong performance of their own, placing first in Prepared Presentation and third for Best in Nation.
“I believe this is the best that Harker has ever done at the national TEAMS competition,” said upper school math teacher Anthony Silk, who oversees Harker’s TEAMS participation. “What a great way to finish a year!”
This article notes that Katherine Zhu, rising senior, has qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Golf Championships in mid-July. http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/20180619/us-girls-junior-golf-championship-opens-lid-on-packed-year-for-golf-in-monterey
This interesting branded article by Toyota Prius lists top STEM schools, and Harker made the list.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/top-stem-institutions-near-you-to-get-your-kids-enrolled/articleshow/64678505.cms
Patch has noted Harker student Sriram Bhimaraju, rising seventh grader, of Cupertino, was a finalist in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. https://patch.com/california/santamonica/middle-school-student-named-finalist-young-scientist-challenge
Here are two articles on the sound system installed in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center and Patil Theater:
http://www.etnow.com/news/2018/6/ashly-nx-series-amp-takes-on-the-70-volt-system-at-the-harker-schools-new-auditorium
Alumni from all classes through 1997 are listed under the years they would have completed grade 8 at The Harker School, Harker Academy, Harker Day School or Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA).
For all classes after the Class of 1997, alumni are listed under the class years they would have graduated from high school, regardless of whether they completed high school studies at Harker. For unlisted classes, we invite you to email alumni@harker.org if you are interested in becoming a class agent or would like to nominate a classmate. All photos submitted by the subject unless noted.
1965 Carol Beattie, along with Community Foundation Sonoma County leadership, accepted Harker’s donation of $10,000 at a visit at the CFSC’s headquarters in Santa Rosa. Carol posted on the foundation’s Facebook page, “I’m proud to be associated with such a forward-thinking private school and a community of parents, staff and administrators that repurposed an alumni event – helping other communities in need. Thank you.” Harker donated the money after canceling this year’s Family & Alumni Picnic because of the poor air quality resulting from the North Bay fires.
1972
Mike Breslin donated all of his Palo Alto Military Academy uniforms back to their Harker home and even sat for an on-camera interview to discuss the history of his uniforms and memories from his days spent at PAMA. The video will be showcased during Harker’s next Family & Alumni Picnic, celebrating the school’s 125-year legacy.
1990 Mark Gelineau is a current Harker English teacher, a published author, a second- generation Harker alumnus, and his son, who starts kindergarten in the fall, will be a third-generation Harker student. Mark met his wife while they were both working at Harker Summer Camp. While here Mark has been an English teacher, camp counselor, BMX course and archery instructor, dorm houseparent, recreation supervisor, maintenance crew worker, and head of the middle school’s Spirit Club. What’s next for Mark? He’s doing an author appearance at BayCon and will be teaching a writing class at Harker Summer Institute. See Mark’s Face Time profile on page 63.
2003 Julia Gitis and her husband, Max Lipschultz, welcomed a baby boy in April.
2004 Vivek Saraswat, who sang with Guys’ Gig at Harker, has kept up his singing and has formed an a cappella group called Halfway to Midnight. The seven-person group sang in the 2018 San Francisco Harmony Sweepstakes this past March.
Emma (Hawley) Ivaturi has been enjoying her role in editorial and design for the international monthly Heartfulness Magazine. Feel free to reach out to her if you think a project or article you’re working on would be relevant to the publication at emma.ivaturi@heartfulness.org. When she’s not volunteering as a Heartfulness meditation trainer at schools and corporations, she’s enjoying time with her son, Rohan, who came into the world last May.
Maya Hey has successfully defended her proposal and is now a doctoral candidate in the department of communication studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her dissertation project will be about food and fermentation, using feminist theories to better understand discriminating tastes and practices. She recently received the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, one of the most prestigious academic awards conferred by the Canadian government.
2006-2007 This year’s selection of Forbes 30 Under 30 list included three Harker alumni: Meghana Dhar ’06, Siddharth Sattish ’06 and Chadwick Manning ’07. Catch the full story at news.harker.org.
2008 Rangita Raghavan says, “After completing three years of medical school, I took a year off to work as a medical producer for season 9 of “The Dr. Oz Show.” I was able to bring my knowledge of medicine to the world of writing and producing. It was a rewarding job because I learned firsthand how to produce a daily talk show, made tougher when you embed medical content in it. My job entailed working with the segment producers to write show scripts that convey complex medical concepts to the audience in an accurate and compelling way. This included the development of demonstrations and animations, along with their talking points, that helped visualize these concepts. We also orchestrated lab testing and experiments and would brief Dr. Oz and medical experts on all show days about show content.” Rangita is heading back to USC to finish her medical degree but was lucky enough to cap off her TV experience by witnessing the show’s Emmy win for Best Informative Talk Show.
March was an exciting month for Tiffany Liou. She finished her contract at the CBS station in Oklahoma City, got married and moved to Dallas to be a news reporter at the ABC affiliate, WFAA. “I’m loving every minute of my journalism career and am so grateful to be working in a top five television market!”
Jami (Woolsey) Johnson and her husband, Neil, welcomed their first child on April 27. His name is Ryland Ellis Johnson and he was 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long.
Sabena Suri co-founded BOXFOX, an LA-based e-commerce gifting company, in November 2014 (shopBOXFOX.com). While working in brand strategy, she identified the need for a comprehensive gifting service that lets both consumers and corporations send elevated, personalized gift boxes for any occasion. She currently serves as BOXFOX’s COO and holds a B.A. in public relations from the University of Southern California.
2010 Mahum Jamal completed her first feature film, “A Good Dream,” which was released on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay and most other non-subscription video-on-demand platforms in May. The film had a successful festival run, winning 17 international film festival awards. “A Good Dream” is a psychological thriller art film about a girl in her 20s who is trying to find herself in New York. She is haunted by a presence and has trouble distinguishing fiction from reality, falling deeper into a world of her perceptions. For mature audiences.
Kelsey Chung graduated from Pratt Institute with a master’s with distinction in the history of art and design with a museum studies certificate. She is interning at the South Street Seaport Museum in the collections department. “If anyone is still in New York or is planning on visiting, let me know! I’m happy to hang out and visit museums with people.” Also, Kelsey and Isaac Ball ’08 were married on Dec. 29!
2011
Ashtyn Ka and Jerry Sun became engaged in May after dating since their junior year of high school. Ashtyn, a recent NYU law graduate, and Jerry, a trader at Susquehanna International Group, live in New York and plan to have their wedding in September 2019.
2012
Zach Ellenberg proposed to his girlfriend of three-and-a-half years, Ruth Ferguson, and she said, “Yes!” Zach and Ruth met while attending the University of Washington.
2013-2014-2015
Suchita Netty ’13 and Angela Ma ’14 were awarded 2018 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. Read more about this wonderful story at news.harker.org.
Urvi Gupta ’14 writes, “I had the wonderful opportunity to co-direct Disrupt Diabetes (disruptdiabetes2018.com), a multi-stakeholder design challenge created to put patients in the driver’s seat of innovation. For nine weeks, 12 patients partnered with students and designers to uncover unmet needs and conduct user research; on May 20, teams met in person at the Stanford School of Medicine and were joined by medical experts and thought leaders to generate impactful and viable solutions for their need areas. The day was filled with genuine conversation, respect for each other’s perspectives and creative solutions, and a strong community of Disruptors was built through shared vulnerability and passion.”
David Lindars ’13, Shikhar Dixit ’15, Neel Bhoopalam ’13 and Simar Mangat ’13 came back home to help celebrate the grand opening of our new athletic facility.
Teacher Gabrielle Stahl joined Leeza Kuo ’15 and her mother, Jade, for dinner. Leeza is in an eight-year veterinary program at Purdue and is currently studying abroad in Australia. “Leeza has learned to have a balanced life and I rarely see such a happy child. We had a wonderful evening,” Stahl reported.
2017
Alexis Gauba, now attending the University of California, Berkeley, is part of a team that will explore in-depth research on blockchain protocols specifically focusing on alternative consensus. She also held a women’s conference on the subject back in April of this year. Read more about Alexis and her team at news.harker.org.
Reunions: 5, 10 and 15 Year The classes of 2002, 2007 and 2012 held their fifth, 10th and 15th class reunionswith plenty of festivities and catching up. The Class of 2002’s 15-year celebration marked a special milestone as they hold the distinct honor of being the upper school’s first graduating class.
Keller Alumni Tour
The 2018 Keller Tour hit two states this spring.First were visits with students from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and then a trip to Southern California that covered
Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Scripps College and the University of Redlands. The tour wrapped up at a school a bit closer to home, visiting with alumni currently attending Santa Clara University.
Steven Liu MS ’85, one of the leading American corporate lawyers in Beijing, recently passed away at the age of 46. He lived in Beijing with his wife and two sons, both of whom attended Harker’s Summer English Language Institute. A memorial service was held on May 25.
Mr. Liu’s ties to Harker remained strong throughout his life: he started at Harker in elementary school, graduated from the middle school, and remained in close touch with his classmates, teachers and coaches. His cousin Vincent Chang also attended Harker at the same time.
After Harker, Mr. Liu attended Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose for high school, University of California, Berkeley, for college, and the University of Pennsylvania for law school. With a powerful intellect, great writing and leadership skills, and the ability to speak fluent Mandarin, it was little surprise that Mr. Liu’s career led to Beijing, where he enjoyed tremendous success.
He opened the Beijing office of the prestigious law firm Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, and was named co-head of their China practice. The firm posted a note immediately after Mr. Liu’s passing in his company biography: “It is with great sadness that we share the passing in May 2018 of our friend and colleague Steve Liu. We and all who knew him will miss his warmth, generosity, humility and thoughtful insight.”
One of Mr. Liu’s closest friends at Harker was school trustee and federal judge John Owens. “Steve was the first kid to befriend me on the playground at Harker, for which I will be eternally grateful,” said Owens. “I was the new guy at school and didn’t know anyone, but Steve made me feel at home. Over the years, he was a great, great friend. He was always supportive, but also would challenge and push you when you needed to be challenged and pushed. In so many ways, he helped me succeed at Harker and beyond.”
Joe Rosenthal, Harker’s executive director of strategic initiatives, who has been working at Harker for the past 37 years, remembers Mr. Liu with great admiration. “[Retired teachers] Pat Walsh and Howard Saltzman and I were invited by Steve to have a few beers with him at Harry’s Hoffbrau, just a few months ago,” said Rosenthal. “That is the kind of guy he was, inviting his former teachers to get together with him decades after he graduated. We all had such a good time remembering Steve’s elementary school days. Steve was not only a very good student but a really fun person to be around; he was very involved in activities and with friends. He had a way of helping bring those around him up while still having a good time in the process.”
Mr. Liu’s other love was the Golden State Warriors, and Mr. Liu and his father, Allen, cheered them on in Oakland and over the internet once Mr. Liu moved to Beijing. He often complained that being a Warriors fan was a curse, but the team’s recent success changed his outlook.
To honor Mr. Liu’s memory, The Steven Liu Memorial Endowment Fund has been established at Harker. Classmates, teachers and friends have contributed to this fund, which will provide support to Harker students every year in perpetuity. Those who wish to contribute and be recognized as donors to The Steven Liu Memorial Fund may do so via check or online. Checks can be sent to the advancement office, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129. Please include “Steven Liu Memorial Fund” on the memo line. If you would prefer to donate online, please visit Harker’s online giving page: www.harker.org/onlinegiving, select “Make an Annual Giving Gift,” enter the amount of your gift and on the “this gift is in memory of” line, type “Steven Liu.” If you have any questions, please contact Tiki Tse, director of donor relations, at tiki.tse@harker.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
Noël Duan ’09 is a fashionista entrepreneur who has succeeded because she isn’t afraid to fail. When she was a student at Harker, she tried to start a fashion club for two years, but no one came to her meetings. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t care if no one is interested in fashion – I am!’” said Duan, who pursues her passions with vigor.
“I decided to start a teen fashion blog to meet other people who were as passionately nerdy about fashion as me!” Her blog, Miss Couturable, gained traction. Teen Vogue wrote about it and raved, “From filling us in on the trials and tribulations of college applications to dishing on the latest runway trends, Miss Couturable is truly a daily delight!”
While the blog gave her a forum to discuss ideas, it was an internship at Seventeen magazine before her senior year at Harker that opened her eyes to the publishing world and East Coast culture.
“Noël was always driven by an organic and true love for ideas, the human story and the arts,” said Donna Gilbert, chair of the upper school’s history and social sciences department. “She applied herself with creativity and intellectual passion to every project and was always a deep and courageous thinker fully invested in her studies.”
It was this courage and her experience in New York that led her to Columbia University, where she studied sociocultural anthropology and art history. “I went to Columbia thinking I wanted something more,” remembered Duan. “I was in the middle of the publishing world and that’s when I decided I was going to become a writer.”
Within her first week, she met fellow student Jina Lim and they realized that Columbia didn’t have a fashion magazine – so they launched one. Hoot magazine, which covers fashion, art and culture in New York City, was founded in 2009 by “a group of fashion-obsessed students.”
The magazine is still going strong with a print publication, an active blog and an Instagram account that shows off student style at Columbia. Duan thrived at Columbia, but upon graduating, realized she wasn’t done with her academic pursuits. She was passionate about women’s rights and ecofeminism, so she decided to pursue a master’s degree in women’s studies at the University of Oxford, where she interned at British Vogue while writing her dissertation.
After she graduated from Oxford, Duan moved back to New York City, where she met makeup legend Bobbi Brown. “She hired me on the spot to be her assistant editor as Yahoo! was launching their beauty section,” Duan remembers. “I got to work with Bobbi and her amazing team and learned not just about physical beauty but understanding and unpacking that beauty is about identity and so much more.”
Today she describes herself as “writer, reader, editor, researcher, rider.” She lives in New York and San Francisco and was a culture/lifestyle writer at Quartz, a digital business publication owned by Atlantic Media. When she’s not behind a computer, she’s raising a puppy, fostering more puppies (20 at last count!) and enjoys getting out of the city to ride horses – a hobby she picked up at Oxford. Her love of animals led her to launch Argos & Artemis, a literary magazine about dogs. She chose to do it in 2018, the year of the dog, and plans to publish hard copies and launch an online edition before the year ends.
The literary contributors to the magazine include New Yorker staff writers, Guggenheim fellows and New York Times bestselling authors – all united by their love for dogs. And if that’s not enough, she’s also working on a novel about adolescence in pre-2008 recession Silicon Valley.
“I’m drafting a novel to stay humble,” Duan said with a confident smile and the spirit of an entrepreneur who has big plans.
Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
When Kevin Saxon ’10 walked onto Harker’s upper school campus as a freshman, he didn’t know what his passion was – but by his junior year, he had found his happy place in the art department.
“His passion for art was completely evident when he was in the upper school art program,” said Pilar Agüero-Esparza, visual arts teacher. “He was a soft-spoken and thoughtful student who had tremendous patience and perseverance to see his projects to fruition.”
Saxon’s path to the art department was gradual, unfolding over the course of a few years. “I did fine on my academic subjects, but I didn’t push myself there,” reflected Saxon in his forthright manner. “But I would totally wake up when it was time for art class and definitely found my groove there.”
But “art” is a broad term and Saxon felt he found his creative side a little late, so he wasn’t entirely sure what direction his newfound passion would take him. When he was applying to college, he hedged his bets and applied mostly to traditional universities and a few art schools, including the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design.
“I was totally blown away when I got into RISD – it was my stretch school!” said Saxon. “I never would have even thought about art school if it wasn’t for Ms. Agüero-Esparza and Mr. [Jaap] Bongers,” chair of the visual arts department at Harker.
He decided to study architecture, because he thought it was more practical and could provide a better career path. But after his freshman year and an internship in architecture, he realized it wasn’t for him.
“I could tell that it was a painful realization for him as he had invested a lot of thought and hopes on becoming an architect but it wasn’t working out as he had imagined,” said Agüero- Esparza, who was so proud of Saxon for not giving up despite the disappointment he was facing.
Saxon stepped back from architecture, cleared his head and found himself drawn to furniture design. “I like working with my hands and think of myself as more of a designer than an artist,” said Saxon, who appreciated the small, tight-knit feel of the furniture design industry.
“I enjoy taking an idea, going through the process of figuring it out and executing to the end.” This ability to take a project from concept to completion is how Saxon became an exhibit fabricator at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose.
“Kevin brings a wealth of talent and knowledge and has been an amazing asset ever since he joined CDM last summer,” said Rich Turner, the museum’s director of exhibits and facilities. “Kevin, a talented artist and engineer, brings a fantastic background stemming from Harker and the Rhode Island School of Design, where he excelled at furniture design.”
Saxon hit the ground running when he started his new job, because CDM was nearly doubling the museum’s exhibit space with an outdoor expansion that included Bill’s Backyard: Bridge to Nature. Bill’s Backyard inspires children to spend time outside climbing, building, digging and getting dirty while exploring the natural elements. This was a perfect project for Saxon, since he loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking, camping and traveling.
“I really like my work at CDM because there is something new every day,” Saxon said. “I’m not sure what the future holds, but I do know I’ll make the best of every situation and that I like to do things my own way.”
Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
Note from the Head of School:
Harker thanks all those who contributed to the amazing effort it took to bring both the Rothschild Performing Arts Center, with its Patil Theater, and the athletic center, with its Zhang Gymnasium, to fruition. Community members chipped in with donations large and small, attended events to celebrate milestones in the construction and joined us for our opening ceremonies in August and February. These facilities will serve many future generations of Harker students and we honor you, our community members, for making it all possible.
The Rothschild Performing Arts Center has been in constant use since opening on Feb. 2, and students are reveling in the change to their experiences as performers. Classrooms and rehearsal spaces were in immediate use and a number of academic performances, as well as five big public performances, have been held.
The first big show at the Rothschild Performing Arts Center (RPAC) was United Voices, a night of vocal performances from all of Harker’s lower, middle and upper school choirs. Students were impressed with the advantages of the new space.
“Most obvious to me were the superior acoustics in each classroom,” said Millie Lin, grade 12, who sang with Cantilena, the upper school women’s chorus. “We could now practice in a space that fits the size of our sound, and shape the quality of it. I could enjoy our music making so much more! The acoustic quality is so incredible that our performances feel more intimate, making the connection between choir and song more comfortable and beautiful.”
Akhil Arun, grade 12, sang with Downbeat, one of the upper school choirs. “The most exciting part of performing in the new center is just the feeling of having a performing space that we can call our own. It always felt like intruding when we would perform in other spaces, but now it really does feel like we belong here.
“Having this building on campus will massively help performers as it now expands what we can do. In many of my performing classes I am taking at school, we are now able to just walk over and try a monologue or a scene on stage, something that none of us could even dream about a couple years ago. I think the RPAC is just the perfect space to house the performing arts at Harker as it offers state-of-the-art technology in all aspects of the performing arts,” he finished.
Fellow Downbeat singer Rahul Bhethanabotla, grade 12, noted, “Having the building to practice and perform in is a massive game-changer. There are multiple practice rooms so vocal groups, instrumentalists or anyone really can practice in an ideal environment for music.”
In March, the first official instrumental performance took place at “An Evening of Jazz.” The Middle School Jazz Band, The Harker School Jazz Band and The Harker School Lab Band all played. “I found it nice to finally play at home because it automatically feels more welcoming,” said Elizabeth Shchegrov, grade 8, who plays the trumpet in the Middle School Jazz Band.
“The theater looked very professional [and] it boosted my confidence.” Shchegrov noted that technical advantages were immediately apparent. “In comparison to other theaters, I could hear the rhythm section and saxophones much better. Usually, it’s hard for the trumpets to hear [the rhythm and saxophones], because we are behind them. It helped my section; I knew exactly what the tempo was and which part of the chart we were on.”
Satchi Thockchom, grade 12, who plays drums for The Harker School Jazz Band, noted the sweet advantages of being on campus for the rehearsals and show. “The [acoustic] shell brought out a lot more of the subtle sounds, so I think the audience could hear the intricacies of the pieces. I could actually hear the whole band and that helped me approach the songs more musically.”
Nothing pushes the boundaries of live performances like a musical, and this year’s musical within a musical, “42nd Street,” gave the stage crew a chance to stretch its wings (pun intended!).
“42nd Street” technician Logan Frank, grade 11, has been crewing for Harker shows for two years. “For me,” Frank said, “the most significant difference has to be the multiple possibilities of the new theater. At the old Blackford Theater, we were limited by the changes we could make onstage, and the number of props, sets and backdrops we could use. Now, with all the new equipment in the Patil Theater, my job gets much more complicated, but also more exciting. I get to use items like the pin rail, catwalks, scene shop and more, which allows me to train and learn how to use all of these tools in the future.”
The more complex technical options allow for greater flexibility. “Thanks to the catwalks, we can change light equipment easier and faster than before, which gives us more time for rehearsals,” Frank noted. “Finally, the amount of space backstage allows us to be able to set up significant structures on stage, which gives our performances a whole new aspect.”
One of the finest experiences has been that of the musical performers as they finally have the full access and range of equipment that they need to do the best possible job. Sameep Mangat, grade 12, has been in musicals throughout high school and directed her own Student Directed Showcase this year. For her, the best thing about the new facility is, “The aura and the feeling,” she said.
“The facilities, of course, are amazing. Having actual quick change stations on both sides of the stage, having a prop table not on [just] one side of the stage, and being able to actually stand backstage and not share the space with a couch – that of course has all been incredible from an actress’s point of view. “From an audience’s point of view, it’s the fly space and the beautiful backdrops and the set pieces that can all be stored backstage that create the beauty of an actual, professional show. However, for me … in the RPAC, it’s a whole new aura of sophistication and artistry that made me feel truly like an actor, not just a high school drama kid.”
Members of one of the biggest groups to use the theater, The Harker School Orchestra, slid right into their chairs for their first performance in the RPAC. “It’s amazing to have such a nice and accessible venue on campus,” said concertmaster Constance Horng, grade 11, noting rehearsals in the Patil Theater help the group get a feel for the acoustics and space they will be using in the actual performance.
“Before the RPAC opened, we would only get one rehearsal at our off-campus venue on the day of the concert,” Horng said, “so it’s definitely been more convenient to have the Patil Theater so close. I love how everyone, no matter what aspect of the program they’re involved in, is able to come together and collaboratively enjoy the innovative technology and beautiful aesthetics of the theater while pursuing something that they are passionate about.”
“Just Dance” was the final public show in the RPAC this school year, and dancers loved being “home,” too. Charlotte (Charley) Huang, grade 12, is captain of Varsity Dance Troupe and has been dancing at Harker since grade 7. “The RPAC feels more like home while the other venues, like Foothill College’s theater, although beautiful, feel like just a place to perform,” she said.
“My favorite thing about performing in the Patil Theater is that whenever I come out after a performance, I know my friends are waiting for me. Now that the shows are at school, the performances are easy to access and attend and it makes it easier for all my friends to come watch. The RPAC is honestly such a special building for a high school to have and it makes me feel lucky to go to a school with such amazing opportunities for the performing arts that you don’t see at other schools,” she added.
Eloquence aside, students feel the advantages of the RPAC in their creative hearts. Eighth grader Shchegrov summed up the whole reasoning behind the RPAC: “It made me want to play better because a great hall should be filled with great music.”