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.
From Aug. 15-16, 70 students attended Harker DECA’s seventh annual Launch event, which is designed to introduce prospective members to DECA and the Harker School’s business, economics and entrepreneurship department. Through detailed lectures, interactive activities, mock competitions, guest speakers and alumni panels, students were given an idea of what this year will look like. Due to the current circumstances, Launch was held over Zoom this year. Because this was the first virtual Launch, the officer team tried to simulate the in-person experience online.
“The Innovation Challenge allows our DECA Launch attendees to design a mini business plan for a product or service that they see a need for in the market. Along with creating an executive summary, groups present their ideas before a panel of alumni judges at the end of DECA Launch,” said Harker DECA co-chief executive officer Lisa Barooah, grade 12. “Since this year DECA Launch was held virtually, we redesigned the activities to be more engaging and more considerate of screen time. We added three icebreaker activities for group bonding and inserted 10-minute breaks into the schedule. Finally, after noticing room for improvement in the groups’ presentations at last year’s launch, our director of technology held a graphic design workshop on day two. Students presented impressive pitches in the Closing Ceremony due to these changes, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
Early Saturday morning, students joined the Zoom call and viewed a slideshow of images from past conferences while the operations team took attendance. Then, sophomore Rohan Gorti as well as CEO of the 2019-20 school year, Phil Han ‘20, spoke about their past experiences with Harker DECA.
The officers held an icebreaker game for the attendees to get to know their innovation challenge teammates and the officers. Junior Melody Luo, director of writtens, introduced the students to the weekend’s main activity, the Innovation Challenge, before students went into breakout rooms with their teams and assigned officers. With the guidance of an upperclassman mentor, attendees brainstormed product ideas on virtual whiteboards and started working on their executive summaries.
“Despite the unprecedented online format, this year’s Launch was just as memorable, if not more so, as past events, with students embracing each part of the experience with brimming enthusiasm,” Luo said. “As they learned the ins and outs of roleplays with their mentors and collaborated together on their very first executive summary, there was an emerging sense of community that DECA is so known for. Launch is always special to the DECA officer team because it’s our first opportunity to bond with the new members and share with them the thrilling aspects of the competitive season.”
Next, the attendees bonded with their Innovation Challenge teams through an at-home Scavenger Hunt, in which they were asked to complete a DECA Bingo and pitch a random item for 30 seconds, along with other various activities. Through this exercise, students formed a stronger bond with their mentors and teammates. Attendees were then introduced to the several sectors of DECA events through the Cluster Presentations.
The last day of Launch, Juston Glass, business and entrepreneurship teacher and DECA chapter advisor, presented on all of Harker’s business and entrepreneurship programs. Next, sophomore Anika Muddu, director of roleplays, hosted a presentation introducing the attendees to roleplays before senior Bryan Zhang, VP of competitions, hosted a Kahoot! game covering the Business Administration Core exam topics. Afterward, Catherine He, grade 11, director of technology, hosted a graphic design workshop, which further prepared attendees for their Innovation Challenge presentations. Attendees then went back to their breakout session to work on the Innovation Challenge.
The Roleplay Tournament was a key part of Launch and took place on Sunday afternoon. Mentors were assigned to small groups and explained the process and guidelines of a roleplay. Subsequently, students were paired up with judges to present their roleplays.
“Launch was a fun and exciting way to learn more about DECA. I enjoyed with my team on the innovation challenge and competing in the roleplay and I look forward to participating in these events during the school year,” said Olivia Xu, grade 9.
Attendees were given extra time after the Roleplay Tournament for practicing their Innovation Challenge presentations before the parents joined the session for the Alumni Panel and the Closing Ceremony. The students and parents were given the opportunity to ask five alumni – Vignesh Panchanatham ’18, Enya Lu ’19, Lucas Wang ’17, Shania Wang ’19 and Savi Joshi ’15 – questions about how DECA has impacted their high school and college paths, as well as career choices. Afterward, teams pitched their Innovation Challenge ideas to the judges, who graded them on, presentation, innovation and teamwork. Attendees and parents watched a Launch recap video while the judges worked on scoring the teams. Closing speeches from Glass and the CEOs and the award ceremony concluded the weekend.
“Despite it being online, I really enjoyed the DECA launch this year and I can’t wait to attend conferences!” said attendee Sonya Apsey, grade 9.
Harker DECA is excited to welcome all new and returning members and is looking forward to starting the next school year with an exceptional group of future leaders.
“While the event was unprecedented in its delivery format, both the participants and our DECA officer team were very open, receptive and excited to dive right into the program. Students were able to meet new friends, prepare for the upcoming DECA year and finished the weekend with amazing business ideas and pitches. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds for our Harker DECA chapter. Go Eagles!” said Glass.
Students that won awards are as follows (all winners are in grade 9):
Members of the classes of 2018 and 2019 have organized a fundraiser for Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project and Campaign Zero. Their statement, including details on how to donate and provide additional support, is as follows:
Hello Harker students, alumni, faculty and family,
In light of explicit police brutality and racial injustice, we are starting a fundraiser to support Black solidarity organizations. Donations will be split equally between Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project and Campaign Zero. Black Lives Matter drives the cultural movement for Black justice, The Bail Project combats mass incarceration and Campaign Zero researches policy solutions to end police brutality. To donate, Venmo @HarkerBLM or go directly through harkerblm.org.
Please give if you can and consider transforming your allyship into effective action. The goal is to help these organizations do important work long after the social media incentives fade.
Here are more educational resources to help you learn, protest and use your voice to help others do the same: https://bit.ly/harkerblm.
Class of 2018 alumnae Sohenee Banerjee and Meghana Karinthi have started a virtual tutoring service that donates tuition fees to organizations providing relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. The service, called TheTutorNextDoor, matches college students to elementary, middle and high school students seeking tutoring in a wide variety of subjects. It is also offering college counseling and SAT exam preparation. Tutoring is carried out via phone and video calls in both one-on-one and group sessions, held on a weekly or bi-weekly basis or as a one-time session. More information, including registration and pricing structure, visit TheTutorNextDoor’s website.
Last month, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sabrina Paseman ’09 founded the nonprofit Fix the Mask, which has developed a do-it-yourself method for constructing a surgical mask brace using rubber bands. The pandemic has caused a surge in demand for N95 surgical masks, leading to a shortage that has put medical workers at risk of infection, as the surgical masks currently in use do not attach to wearers’ faces tightly enough. The surgical mask brace developed by Fix the Mask significantly improves the efficacy of surgical masks and lowers the risk of infection. The company has posted a how-to video for creating the mask braces, and is working on “Surgical Mask Brace 2.0, a scalable, open source design,” according to its website.
Two Harker alumni were given Dean’s Awards for Academic Excellence by Wharton/University of Pennsylvania School of Undergraduates this spring. Savi Joshi and Vedant Thyagaraj, who both graduated from Harker in 2015, received the awards.
Joshi was awarded for service to the University of Pennsylvania and/or the greater Philadelphia community. “Savi was recognized with this award for her tremendous efforts in teaching over 150 people about healthy eating in the greater Philadelphia community,” said Lee Kramer, director of student life at Wharton.
“She worked with our Netter Center and the Vetri Community Partnership to create a program that allows undergraduates to learn healthy eating with accessible produce so that they in turn can then teach the local community and younger students about healthier eating,” he added. “During her time at Penn, Savi also served as the co-chair of the Wharton Alumni Relations Council and as a facilitator of the Wharton Roundtables, a peer-to-peer discussion group.
Thyagaraj, who graduated from Wharton’s life science management dual-degree program in May, was presented with the Dean’s Award for Innovation for his remarkable career at the school. His many achievements at Wharton included strong academic performance, serving as president of the Penn Undergraduate Biotechnology Society and acting as a research assistant for the Wharton Global Family Alliance. Along with fellow Penn/Wharton alumni, Thyagaraj also founded Ride-Health, a transportation technology company that provides low-income, elderly and disabled patients with transportation to medical care by integrating with ridesharing providers such as Uber and Lyft and other modes of transport. Ride-Health currently has 12 full-time employees and operates in 25 states.
“We are very proud of both Savi and Vedant!” said Kramer. “They have both accomplished so much here at Wharton and Penn and they leave a great legacy here. In addition to all of their accomplishments, they were amazing students and I really enjoyed working with both of them during their four years at Wharton.”
Tiffany Duong ’02 paid a visit to the upper school on March 8 to give a talk about her career path, current work and future goals. Knowing early in life that she wanted to do conservation work, Duong became a renewable energy lawyer after college, working on projects such as the Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm and Ivanpah Solar Power Tower. She then made a major career change that took her to the Amazon, Costa Rica and eventually the Florida Keys, where worked with the Coral Restoration Foundation to grow and replant corals along the Florida Reef Tract. With her CRF colleague Sara Nilsson, she co-founded the media production company Ocean Rebels, which seeks to inspire environmental action by creating “media that makes you think and act differently,” Duong said.
Nilsson also recounted her winding path from studying neuroscience (despite her childhood dream of being a National Geographic photographer) to learning documentary filmmaking at the University of the West of England. As a documentarian, she created a widely circulated film about how deaths of Scottish citizens abroad are rarely investigated and their families left without support.
Duong offered her own life as an example of the many divergences one’s career can take, and encouraged the students in attendance to “redefine success to be what makes you happy.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
Words by Marla Holt
From 1893 to 2002, Harker’s boarding program was integral to its commitment to academic excellence and personal character development. From eating family-style meals and watching TV in the rec room to Bear Valley skiing trips and getting ready for school dances, the shared experiences of Harker boarders had the power to transform young lives.
“We learned from each other – through mistakes, drama, triumphs, laughter and tears,” said Wendy Tsai ’04, one of Harker’s last boarders from 2000 to 2002. Ji-won (Choi) Song ’96, who boarded in 1994-95, agreed, noting that “we built strong friendships and learned to be independent at an early age.”
Harker welcomed boarders from its earliest days as Manzanita Hall and Miss Harker’s School for Girls, when college preparatory students lived under the same roof as teachers and administrators. Handbooks from both schools referred to the boarding program as home, with students expected to “observe the ordinary courtesies of a private home” and to have the “advantage of being members of a family.” Rooms were comfortably furnished and each school was governed by a “spirit which brings about obedience to authority and an honest effort to do what is right without compulsion.”
Like Harker itself, the boarding program underwent several changes during its 109-year history. Manzanita Hall became the Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA) in 1919 and boarded cadets in grades 1-9. Miss Harker’s dropped its boarding program in the mid-1950s when it became the Harker Day School. In 1972, PAMA and the Harker Day School merged and moved to San Jose to become the Harker Academy, which offered a boys only boarding program until 1974. At that time, the boarding program became coeducational and phased out kindergarten through grade 5 boarding while continuing to offer boarding for students in grades 6-8.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Harker housed roughly 100 to 120 boarders annually, many of whom were local students with parents who traveled frequently for business. The number of international student boarders gradually increased from about 20 percent to more than 80 percent, resulting in a greater emphasis on supporting ESL learners and a need for comprehensive weekend programming.
Harker’s last boarding students were admitted in 1998-99, the same academic year that the upper school was launched on the Saratoga campus. Only four boarders remained in the program when it closed on June 6, 2002, to accommodate Harker’s expanding upper school program.
All told, the boarding program served about 1,377 school-year boarders and 2,100 summer boarders. The students’ daily needs – from meals to academics to social and recreational activities to health care and haircuts – were met by caring, dedicated and capable staff members who acted in loco parentis. Many of the staff were coaches, teachers and bus drivers by day who lived in the dorms at night.
Joe Rosenthal, who was boarding director from 1991 to 2002 (later executive director of advancement and now executive director of strategic initiatives), noted that boarders learned the skills of independence and self-reliance, as well as appreciation of the importance of kindness in themselves and others.
“I have the greatest respect for the boarding students,” Rosenthal said in a 2002 survey of former house parents and dorm directors conducted at the closing of the boarding program. “I am a much better person because of what I have seen these children do – the expressions of friendship and kindnesses they’ve shown to each other.
Only if one lived it would one be able to know how meaningful and important the boarders have been to each other.” To celebrate the history of this beloved home for many students, we looked back at daily life for Harker boarders, particularly those who lived on the Saratoga campus.
WE ARE FAMILY A genuine sense of family developed among the students and staff members in Harker’s boarding program, said William Jarvis ’97, who boarded from 1995 to 1997. “Harker felt more like a family than a school,” he said. “There was a strong sense of inclusivity despite the wide range of ages, interests and diverse nationalities that were represented in students all living together in close quarters.”
As in most families, the boarding program had high expectations for its students – illustrated by a clear system of behavioral rules and regulations, which served to foster a kind, respectful and positive environment.
“I treasured the trust that parents placed in our program and staff,” said Pam Dickinson, Harker’s weekend program director from 1989 to 2001, when she became the director of the Office of Communication. “It was an honor, privilege and duty to take care of their children as if they were our own (and they felt like they were). We nurtured, cared for, loved and disciplined the children as needed to help them grow into responsible, kind and considerate adults.”
Both the boarding program’s structure – including supervised study time and organized recreational active ties – and the independence-building freedom of living apart from their nuclear families helped boarders develop resiliency and the ability to make good choices.
“The social skills and self-sufficiency that I developed in the Harker boarding program have continued to be invaluable in my adult life,” Jarvis said. “The interactions and conversations I had with my peers and program staff taught me a lot about life that I would not have learned in a purely academic environment.”
JUST LIKE HOME Day-to-day life in the boarding program reflected that of private family homes. Boarders were expected to contribute to the dorm’s upkeep by tidying their rooms and cleaning the common areas. White-glove inspections – especially when Howard Nichols, Harker’s president from 1973 to 2005, was expected to visit the dormitories – were conducted by house parents, with students competing for the Cleanest Room and Best Decorated Room awards given out at the annual Boarding Banquet.
Some boarders were better at cleaning than others, recalled Katherine Lo, weekday girls’ house parent. “My most lasting memory was the day that I was finally able to see the floor of Debora Yim’s [’04] room!”
But life as a Harker boarder wasn’t all work and no play. The rec room was a popular hangout spot for playing foosball, air hockey and Ping-Pong. Watching TV was allowed only after homework was done and not past 8 p.m. on school nights. Marta Marraccini ’84, the last boarder to live at Harker from kindergarten through eighth grade, recalled a memorable viewing of the last episode of M.A.S.H. “There wasn’t one dry eye,” she said.
Other popular activities included playing basketball and capture the flag, pool parties, movie marathons, Thursday night barbecues, nighttime sports in the gym, talent shows and special events like Monte Carlo night. Over the years, Maj. Donald Nichols’ dogs – Ajax, Babo, Klute and Dutch – were unofficial school mascots and provided love and attention to the boarders during the 23 years Nichols worked at Harker.
“Dutch, a 140-pound mastiff, had the run of the dorms and campus. At night, he slept in any room he wanted where the door was not firmly latched,” recalled Dan Gelineau in the 2002 survey of boarding staff. Gelineau went on to be assistant head of school for nonacademic affairs before he retired in 2002. He passed away in 2015.
While boarding students were expected to study and read on their own as part of their academic endeavors, staff members also regularly read stories aloud. Jeff Haugaard, boarding program director from 1976 to 1981, hosted Uncle Haugaard’s story hour in the rec room. While the older kids were in study hall, he’d read stories to the younger kids – in pajamas and robes – before bed. Later that night, he’d read the same stories over the intercom to the sixth through ninth graders as they prepared for bed. “I enjoyed hearing them say ‘Goodnight, Unc,’ as they closed their doors,” Haugaard said in the 2002 survey.
Cindy Ellis, house parent, later middle school division head, who retired in 2018, recalls that reading once helped calm students after an earthquake. “I had them buddy up in the bunk beds so that all 18 girls were in just four rooms,” she said. “I sat in the hallway and read to them until they were finally able to sleep.”
House parents nursed boarders and patched up cuts and bruises. Terry Walsh, house p rent, later assistant librarian and archivist, who retired in 2014, recalls keeping a small supply of chicken noodle soup and saltines on hand for emergencies. “I offered burnt toast and weak tea to anyone I thought was faking it,” she said.
“The staff cared passionately about our whole well-being, from getting a decent haircut to having enough time to play video games and experience nature,” said Toku Chen ’92, who boarded in 1991-92. Jarvis agreed, noting that the staff created a “comfortable social environment where you could simply be a goofy kid and feel free to express yourself.”
Students boarded at Harker for five or seven days a week. Weekends were more casual and often included excursions to Santa Cruz, Pier 39, Roaring Camp and Great America, and activities like hiking, camping, bowling, shopping and skating.
Harker’s weekend program made the school unique, Song said. “The staff did an amazing job creating a fun and nurturing program – the trips to San Francisco, malls, dinners, dance parties. I don t know how they did it, and always with so much energy!”
On Sunday mornings, many students worked at the Harker Café, an imitation Hard Rock Café at which students learned the life skills of cooking and serving food. Outfitted in T-shirts and aprons, they took orders and made eggs, bacon and fried rice for their friends (and occasionally teachers).
Many boarders have fond memories of holiday celebrations, including making Halloween costumes (that were later used in skits and plays), baking Christmas cookies and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” at Terry and Pat Walsh’s home. Cutting down and decorating a Christmas tree for the dining room was particularly fun.
“One year there was a huge beehive in the tree,” Marraccini recalled. “You never saw Jeff [Haugaard] move so fast. The kids were running and screaming. Later we found an even better tree, cut it down and went back to the dorm like warriors after the battle.”
The night before break, everyone gathered in the rec room to drink eggnog and listen to Howard Nichols read “The Night Before Christmas” while a video fir played on the TV and Gelineau played the accordion. The house parents made sure each child had a gift to open.
“In most families, there are a limited number of adults to whom a child can turn for advice and guidance,” Dickinson said. “Our boarding students had their pick of thoughtful, caring adults in their lives.”
A boarding program based only on principles, philosophy, values and budgets is not likely to be successful. Though Harker certainly had all of those things, it also understood that a boarding program had to be about family.
“Children watch, observe, learn, feel, emulate and absorb the character and values of the adults,” Chen said. “The boarding program represented a remarkable team that shared and exhibited the same values, passion and care for others. The program went far to take care of every kid – one by one. Whenever I think about the Harker boarding life and all the great people I was with, it leaves a lifelong smile in me.”
Contributing researcher: Cindy Ellis.
Marla Holt is a freelance writer based in Minnesota.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
Words by Jennifer Maragoni
Just 13 years ago, Kathy Peng ’05 was a student in Anita Chetty’s Human Anatomy and Physiology class. Now they are colleagues. Peng, middle school science department chair, is one of more than a dozen Harker graduates who work at the school. In the past there have been a handful of fulltime and many more part-time alumni who have returned to campus to teach, coach or freelance.
“I still remember her class vividly,” said Peng of Chetty, upper school science department chair. “I am honored to be able to continue learning from her and now be her colleague.”
Now in her fifth year of teaching at Harker, Peng initially pursued a career in neuroscience – contributing to research on epilepsy, sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression – before realizing her calling was in the classroom, not a research lab. She enrolled in the Stanford Teacher Education Program and said she is “grateful to have found such a rewarding profession.” Peng knew she wanted to work with middle schoolers, and her friends and family encouraged her to apply for an opening at Harker.
In addition to being the department chair, she currently teaches eighth grade biology and mentors students in the science research program. She says being a Harker graduate gives her a unique connection with students and families. “They know that I bring to my job an additional layer of understanding of what it means to be educated at Harker,” she explained.
Peng had a deep love of learning as a student and brings a refreshing approach to teaching, Chetty said. Working together is “a chance to come full circle,” she added. “What a compliment it is to our school that alumni would choose to build their careers in service to Harker,” Chetty continued. “Our faculty are known for caring deeply about their students and striving to give so much of themselves to our students. Our alumni well understand what good teaching and learning looks like because they saw it in their teachers. They already bring with them firsthand experience of being the recipient of dedication to one’s craft and a lifelong love of learning.”
Although Harker has grown since Peng was a student, she says the “culture of excellence” has remained consistent – and that is largely what drew her back. “Harker has such an amazing student body and faculty and staff,” Peng said. “I am surrounded by excellence, and that is inspiring.”
Other alumni-turned-employees echo that sentiment. “There are so many amazing things about working at Harker,” said upper school economics teacher Sam Lepler ’96, who joined the faculty in 2010. “The students are top of the list. They are funny, diligent, intelligent and just all-around fun people to be around. … My colleagues are brilliant, kind, professional and hard-working. I am honored to be part of a highly talented faculty team. “Of course, the lunches are amazing too,” Lepler added with a grin.
Lepler currently teaches AP Economics and Advanced Topics in Economics: Game Theory, and oversees Oeconomia, the extracurricular arm of Harker economics. In addition to being a Harker alumnus and teacher, he is also a Harker parent (Maya, kindergarten). “I am thrilled to complete the circuit and share my alum status with my own family,” he said.
The journey back
Different paths have led alumni back to Harker, but all agree there is something special about working at their alma mater. They fondly remember attending Harker as students and are grateful for the opportunity to return as employees.
“I love the sense of community that Harker embraces, and many of my favorite memories come from this wonderful place. … There is such a feeling of nostalgia,” beamed Grace Wallace ’95, who teaches first grade and is the department chair for grades 1 and 2.
She attended Harker from kindergarten through eighth grade. (Harker did not have an upper school at that time.) Wallace’s path back to Harker was fairly direct. While in high school, she was a summer camp counselor, and during college, she served as a summer aide and worked on the BEST staff. In August 2005, just a few months after graduating from college, she joined the Harker faculty, where she since has taught kindergarten through third grade. “I have not worked anywhere else,” she said. “I love this place!”
While it was the California sunshine that lured human resources manager Marissa Lucketti ’90 back to the area after college, it was her fond memories of Harker and the school’s stellar reputation that prompted her to apply for a job.
“If you were a San Jose native, you knew that Harker Academy (as I knew it) was synonymous with excellence,” said Lucketti, who joined the staff in 2000. “Who wouldn’t want to work somewhere that had (and still has) a reputation for excellence?”
Although Lucketti only attended Harker for first through third grade, she said she has always felt very connected to Harker and is grateful to work at the place that provided such wonderful childhood memories. Her brother, Matt Ortiz ’88, also works at Harker, as a shipping and receiving associate.
Keri Clifford ’13, who joined the faculty this year as a second grade teacher, can’t remember a time when Harker wasn’t a part of her life. Her parents met while working at Harker, and her grandmother (the sister of Diana Nichols) was head of the finance office and now serves on the board of trustees.
Since high school, Clifford has worked at Harker’s summer program, and during college she was the assistant coach for the girls water polo team. She is also the first official “lifer” on the faculty, having attended Harker from junior kindergarten through grade 12.
“Harker has always been a part of my family,” she said, adding that she is grateful to work alongside “amazing, passionate teachers who are always trying to innovate and improve their teaching. I am also constantly inspired by our Harker students, who arrive every day ready to learn.”
Lepler’s path back to Harker was more circuitous. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and minored in Japanese and Spanish. He taught in English in rural Japan for two years before returning to the Bay Area to earn his teaching credential.
A chance meeting with former Harker economics teacher Pete Itokazu at a professional development conference led him back to Harker, he explained. “I was teaching at Santa Clara High School and really establishing myself there,” he said. “[Pete and I] bonded for a week and he convinced me to just come for an interview at Harker.” The rest is history.
Lepler calls it an honor and a privilege to give back to the school that gave him so much, explaining that he enrolled at Harker in middle school, after experiencing significant bullying at his previous school. “Harker’s welcoming environment full of kind students and caring teachers literally turned my life around,” he said. “I will be grateful to Harker for the rest of my life.”
Middle school history teacher Karan Lodha ’04 says the supportive Harker community was a huge factor in his decision to pursue teaching and join the Harker faculty. He is excited to help his students learn and grow, much like his teachers did for him. After graduating from college in 2008, Lodha held a variety of jobs in the technology industry, but he was looking for a way to contribute more to society. He had often thought about teaching and, while exploring this possibility, he reached out to several of his former Harker teachers, who arranged for him to shadow several teachers on campus. One thing led to another and Lodha landed a long-term sub position at the middle school during the 2016-17 school year. Last year, he was hired as a full-time teacher at the middle school, where he has taught both math and history.
“I’ve been fortunate to teach multiple subjects at the middle school. However, what I’ve learned through that experience is that much of what we do as teachers of this age group is model how to be kind, thoughtful and productive human beings – that is, demonstrate how to develop the skills and personality traits that will help our students become forces for good no matter what they go on to do,” he said. “The curriculum and the content can be rich and rewarding, but the true joy of the teaching profession comes from watching these young adults mature and become unique individuals as the year goes on.”
Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, said it is that mindset that makes Harker alumni such effective teachers. “I have been a particular advocate of hiring alumni and working with the alumni office to better notify our alumni of teaching positions,” Gargano said, explaining that while all employees must have strong qualifications, alumni have “inherent benefits.”
“They come in with a strong work ethic, are well-rounded, and understand Harker’s high standards for teaching and engagement,” she said. “Moreover, they understand the school culture and the importance we place on teachers working closely with students to be their best selves, not only academically but also social-emotionally and with regards to character.”
Green lights ahead
A key part of Harker’s mission is to instill a love of learning in its students. So, it’s no wonder that alumni employees seize opportunities to continue to learn and grow – a mindset strongly supported by the administration. “If you can dream it, and the students want it, it can happen,” said Lepler, explaining that Harker readily gives its faculty the “green light” to explore their passions. “[This] makes pushing yourself professionally and intellectually incredibly rewarding.”
Wallace agrees, adding that as an alumna, “The best part is that I know the resources available to me and I want to provide the same quality of education to my students that I received when I attended.”
Since joining the faculty, Lodha said he has taken valuable professional development courses and workshops. However, he adds, “the greatest resource for me has been my colleagues at Harker. I couldn’t even begin to list the tens of individuals who have welcomed me into their classrooms, provided me with lesson plans, offered a suggestion on a particular technique, or just been kind and supportive when I needed it most,” he said. “For many, teaching can be a lonely profession, with hours and hours spent with your face buried in stacks of paper. However, at Harker, I truly feel like I’m part of a teaching community, which makes the experience incredibly fulfilling.”
Unique challenges
One of the unique challenges alumni face when returning to their alma mater is getting used to working alongside their former teachers and addressing them by their first names.
“Do I call them by their first name or do I address them in the manner in which the students do?” wondered Wallace when she first began teaching at Harker.
Recent graduate Molly Wancewicz ’17, a sophomore at Rice University in Houston and Harker’s youngest alumni employee, said adjusting to this new dynamic was a bit challenging.
“It was an awkward transition from a position of student to that of an employee,” said Wancewicz, who was hired on as an assistant coach for Harker’s speech and debate team just after graduation. “Even simple things, like calling former teachers by their first names, felt odd.”
But Wancewicz didn’t let a little awkwardness deter her from pursuing a job at Harker. When her schedule allows, she flies to tournaments where she meets up with the team and provides on-site coaching. She also does research remotely, and when she returns home to San Jose in the summer, she does administrative work on campus and helps coach the middle school debate team.
Wancewicz now coaches students who were once her classmates, an “interesting dynamic” that she said allows her to be more effective as a coach.
“Debate can be stressful and emotionally taxing, so debate coaching often involves encouragement and being understanding of the unique anxieties that emerge at debate tournaments,” she explained. “Being close in age to students and having experienced many of the same things allows me to do this more successfully.”
Lodha says that while it took some time to get used to thinking of his former teachers as colleagues, it is “incredibly fulfilling” to work alongside them. He currently works with his former advisor, middle school division head Evan Barth, and former basketball coach, Jeremiah Brewer, among others.
“Working with these dedicated individuals to help make our students’ lives better – I couldn’t ask for a better experience!” he said.
Clifford agrees. “They are so welcoming and they continue to mentor me and share their years of wisdom,” she said. “Plus, the kids love learning that we shared some of the same teachers – like Cindy Proctor, who was actually my first grade teacher!”
The more things change …
While many of Harker’s attributes and traditions have remained constant over the years, some things about the school have changed dramatically – most notably, its size.
“It’s much bigger now in terms of student body and also the number of campuses,” marveled Peng, who was a member of the fourth class to graduate from the upper school.
Both Wallace and Lucketti also noted that the uniforms have changed. “The girls uniform are a lot cuter now,” Lucketti quipped. When Lucketti, Lepler and Wallace attended Harker in the 1980s and 90s, it was a K-8 school with only one campus. Since then, the upper school was added, the boarding program was closed, three additional campuses were acquired and numerous buildings and amenities have sprung up – including Davis Field, the Singh Aquatic Center and, most recently, the Rothschild Performing Arts Center and the new athletic center.
“Nichols Hall sits on the field that I used to play Ultimate Frisbee on,” Lepler reminisced. “The school is a whole lot bigger and more comprehensive, so in many ways it’s completely different. … But the caring, kind and intellectually stimulating culture has not changed a bit.”
Jennifer Maragoni is a freelance writer and editor based in Folsom
There are currently nine teachers, four full-time staff and one division head who attended Harker. The teachers: Keri Clifford ‘13, Mark Gelineau ‘90, Sam Lepler ‘96, Eric Leonard ‘94, Karan Lodha ‘04, Kristin Morgensen ‘93, Kathy Peng ‘05, Elise Robichaud ‘84 and Grace Wallace ‘95. T e staff: Danielle Holquin ‘95, Marissa Lucketti ‘90, Matt Ortiz ‘88 and Troy Townzen ‘08. And the division head: Kristin Giammona ‘81.
In a Harker alumni chain reaction, following his employment at DoorDash, Barrett Glasauer ’09 has co-founded WanderJaunt, which partners with property owners to maximize value for short-term rentals.
Post-Harker, Glasauer went to the University of California, Berkeley, and picked up an electrical engineering/computer science degree. “While at college, I joined a fraternity, TKE [Tau Kappa Epsilon]” said Glasauer, “and made a bunch of friends who I’m close with to this day – and am lucky enough to have a number of them working with me at WanderJaunt.”
After graduation, Glasauer joined Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company, and led teams of engineers and data scientists helping protect clients from cybersecurity and fraud threats. “After 2.5 years at Palantir, I wanted to get closer to a true startup and reached out to Andy Fang (Harker Class of 2010) about openings at DoorDash,” said Glasauer. “He mentioned that they were starting up a business operations team, which sat at the intersection of data and strategy. It was a great fit for what I was looking for and I had a great time working with a bunch of other Harker alum, notably David Kastelman (Class of 2009), Rohan Chopra (Class of 2010) and Kevin Fu (Class of 2010).
“While at DoorDash, I met my two co-founders for WanderJaunt, Andres Green and Michael Chen. Andres was a general manager for the city of Boston and Michael was building out a bunch of our back-end merchant operations functions. They had a pretty terrible Airbnb experience during a DoorDash East Coast summit, and we got to chatting about how we’d do it better using what we’d learned building an operational tech company. That’s really the genesis of WanderJaunt – the belief that we could take our experience growing a three-sided marketplace at DoorDash with a ton of operational complexity and apply it to the short-term rental space.
“Airbnb, Homeaway, Expedia and all the rest of the online travel agencies (OTAs) had proven that people wanted to stay in homes over hotels when they traveled. The growth proved the fit was there, but the experience from both a host and a guest perspective was littered with inconsistency and operational complexity. It’s that inconsistency that prevented people like my parents from ever trying Airbnb. We believe that we can bring the best of both worlds together to create amazing guest experiences.”
The team finds properties to update and rent out by searching Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and Redfin for properties available for rent. They also go direct to apartment buildings and lease a number of units at once, using multiple listing services to find properties that are about to go back into the rental market. “We also have acquired a significant chunk of our portfolio through referrals from people we manage properties for. It’s a pretty easy sell for most homeowners – more money, less work,” Glasauer noted.
“To get the properties ready, we have an internal activation team that handles everything from design, painting, furniture install to cleaning and photography,” Glasauer said. “We’ve basically got the process down to a point where we can have a property go from unfurnished to ready for guests within 10 days of us signing the lease. In order to facilitate this speed, we maintain a warehouse in each of our operational markets that stores 15-plus homes worth of furniture at a time to help us combat any lag in furniture delivery. When we first started two years ago, it would take us a full month just to get a single property ready. This November, we’ve managed to activate 20 individual properties.”
The company started out partnering with owners to operate their properties, but is evolving to maximize the use of company resources. “We’ve learned that our business model allows us to create much higher yields on a piece of real estate than owners would get in the traditional long-term market,” said Glasauer. “Looking into the future, we want to capture both the yield upside as well as the appreciation of the real estate asset. To do that, we’ve started raising a private equity real estate fund with the explicit purpose of buying and selling real estate. We expect to buy our first homes by Q2 of 2019.”
Glasauer is clearly a seeker of adventure! When asked what the scariest part of starting a company was, he replied, “Truth be told, I was more scared at the beginning of not taking the chance and I was fearful that if I didn’t take the leap, I would forever kick myself or wonder what could have been. For me, viewing the whole journey as a crazy learning experience that I wouldn’t get in any other company mitigates most of that ‘fear.'”
After all the planning and groundwork, it was exciting to actually open the doors of the first property, he said. “I think getting our very first guest was a huge moment for us,” said Glasauer. “It was the first validation that we could actually put something out there that people were interested in experiencing. I also think it resonated deeply with us that we were building the right thing when we got our first reviews where people said we gave them the best short-term rental experience they ever had or talked about how we helped their family get through things like a funeral or provided a great place to celebrate a birth.”
The journey has been thrilling as Glasauer grows into his management role. “To use a sports analogy,” said Glasauer, “when we first started out, I could be a player 100 percent of the time and it was super clear how outcomes were affected by my inputs. As I’ve played more and more of a team captain or a coach role as the [organization] has grown, the distance between my immediate inputs and the eventual outcomes that we deliver have also grown. It’s been personally challenging to feel like I have less control over the actual output since it requires a larger number of involved players to get to (reach?), but also incredibly rewarding to see super talented people working together to solve problems I never could on my own.”
The company is growing rapidly and WanderJaunt, like so many companies, is seeking good workers. “We would love to talk to software engineers and data scientists located in SF,” said Glasauer, “or folks who’d love to own a P&L [profit and loss concern] and help build the business from the ground floor by running entire markets in Phoenix, Austin and soon Chicago! Further, if anyone owns investment properties in the Phoenix or Austin area, I’d love to chat!”