The classes of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 gathered at Davis Field on Aug. 20 for the 2021 matriculation ceremony, which was held in-person after the COVID-19 pandemic forced last year’s matriculation to be held online.
The juniors and seniors were seated before the freshmen, who received enthusiastic applause as they approached to take their seats. Brian Yager, head of school, was the first of the morning’s speakers and remarked about the resilience shown by the Harker community during the pandemic. “It was a tough year, but we bore it, and in amazing fashion many of you thrived,” he said, later commenting on the confidence he had in the community to face the coming year. “Given the host of challenges we all faced last year, we are in the position to have a wonderful rebound year this year, and the ability to benefit from and enjoy this year lies squarely with you, our students.” Yager then introduced the upper school vocal group Cantilena, which performed “Rise Up” by Cassandra Batie and Jennifer Decilveo.
Per tradition, upper school head Butch Keller also took the podium to address the students. He first praised the student leadership who stopped to help out the maintenance staff who were drying off the moisture that had collected on the seats overnight. “That’s what I call a community,” he said. “That’s what I was proud of.”
Keller spoke to grade 9 on how they should define success during their upper school careers. “I hope that what you’re chasing looks more like earning a spot in the fall play, being a good teammate on the volleyball team or the football team,” he said. “Or maybe it looks like being an integral part of the speech and debate team being led by those great coaches.
“I hope what you’re chasing looks more like making lifelong friends,” he continued. “I hope what you’re chasing, whatever that is, is sincere. I hope it means that you’re going to be the best that you can possibly be.”
Dawson Chen, a senior and the Associated Student Body president, then offered the freshmen some key points of advice on how to make the most of their time as upper school students, which he livened with humor, such as when he told them what a proper parenthetical citation looks like. He also encouraged students to make use of the upper school’s incredible resources and to practice open-mindedness. “Be open to perhaps extraordinary or unfamiliar perspectives,” he said, “whether it’s in an English class discussion or a debate with a friend at lunch.” In closing, he implored the freshmen not to “spend four years trying to fulfill other people’s expectations of you,” and to “find friends who are like family.”
Chen then introduced the members of Harker’s Student Diversity Coalition – seniors Uma Iyer and Brooklyn Cicero, juniors KJ Williams and Mir Bahri, and sophomore Dina Ande – who spoke to their fellow students about SDC’s mission. Bahri explained that the SDC is a student organization that is “designed to foster an inclusive environment for all members of our community.” Part of their mission is to provide safe spaces for students and staff to discuss topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The establishment of the Black Student Union and the Latinx Affinity Group last year were crucial to this goal.
Cicero told the audience that Harker’s first affinity group was founded in the wake of the June 2020 protests that erupted across the world after the murder of George Floyd. “We wanted to stop being complacent with the microaggressions and biases that we were receiving on and off campus,” she said. The members went on to summarize the SDC’s activities over the previous year – such as the talks by Leon, a Holocaust survivor and Bettina Love – and promoted the open meetings that all Harker community members are invited to attend. Once a director of diversity, equity and inclusion has been hired, the SDC plans to establish more affinity groups to make Harker more inclusive and welcoming.
Following the speeches, all students in attendance recited the matriculation oath, and the grade 9 students each took their turns signing the matriculation book, while The Harker String Quartet, directed by Dave Hart, performed Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”
As is custom, the ceremony ended with “Freshman 101,” a series of skits designed to inform the Class of 2025 of many key aspects of upper school life, including the honor code, the many clubs on offer and the spirit competition. Students donned costumes inspired by famous characters from “The Avengers,” the “Harry Potter” franchise, Disney’s “Frozen” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Young theater enthusiasts returned to upper school campus this summer for another run of Summer @ The Conservatory, during which students in a variety of grade and experience levels learned the fundamentals and finer points of performing for stage and screen.
The first session was a three-day course on screen acting, in which attendees underwent training in various film acting techniques and principles. “Students spent the first two days learning the art of how to act on camera and how it’s different from acting in on stage,” said performing arts chair and Summer @ the Conservatory artistic director Laura Lang-Ree. “They are on camera from day one, learning the nuances of being a film actor in real time.”
Students also did screen tests and created a short film on day three of the workshop. “They have a whole full shoot day on the third day, where they are filmed on-set,” said Lang-Ree.
In July, Summer @ The Conservatory featured a three-week session that included Conservatory Presents for grades 5-9 and Conservatory Intensive for grades 9-12. Students from each group auditioned for roles in productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “In the Village of the Brothers Grimm” and “Star-Cross Lovers,” which were all performed on the final day of the program.
The plays performed by the students were chosen by directors, who looked for works that would be both fun and appropriately challenging. “We love to pick things that will excite our students and challenge them in their acting world,” said Ellie Lang-Ree ’19, who directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the Conservatory Presents program. Directors also teach theater classes in the mornings and offer support to students in their learning. Students also dove into the study of musical theater, including dances from musicals such as “Hamilton.” “They got a taste of a bunch of different musical theater styles,” said Brandi Reinhard, a director who graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in theater performance.
The Conservatory Intensive program was open by audition only to students entering grades 9-12 who wished to deepen their knowledge of theater and expand their acting skills into new territory. This year’s students explored concepts including comedia – a style of three-act play from the Spanish Golden Age that incorporated comedic elements – and abstract forms of theater. “This particular group is really close,” said Laura Lang-Ree, “and they get into skills that are appropriate for their age level. Summer @ the Conservatory grows with our students and our performers love to return year after year, growing as theater artists.”
The program also received visits from industry professionals, who delivered special workshops. Improv performer Justin Smith, who has worked with the Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City, returned to deliver another improv workshop, and actor Fred Cross, whose credits include “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Office,” gave a workshop on film acting.
Live music is returning to Harker, as the 2021-22 season of the Harker Concert Series kicks off Nov. 5 with an appearance by Grammy-award winning drummer Jared Schonig, who has recorded and performed with instrumentalists including Nicholas Payton, Lonnie Smith, Donny McCaslin, Miho Hazama and Ernie Watts, as well as vocalists including Broadway legend Kristen Chenoweth, Emmy and Tony award winner Cynthia Erivo and Welsh singer-songwriter Donna Lewis. He has also released five albums as co-leader of The Wee Trio, garnering praise from respected publications such as Downbeat and All About Jazz.
The Emerald Brass Quintet, made up of graduates of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., will perform Feb. 4. Since forming in 2006, EBQ has performed with highly respected ensembles including Canadian Brass and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. They also have been featured guests at the Gualala Arts Center Concert Series and have appeared on WXXI 91.5’s “Backstage Pass,” as well as the 2009 Brass in Frankenwald festival in Hof, Germany. Their first album, “Danzón,” was released in November 2020. Individually, EBQ members have performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room and with orchestras all over the country.
The final act of the season will be the Daedalus Quartet, which has been collecting accolades around the world for 20 years. Winners of the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Daedalus Quartet have performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Vienna’s Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and many more prestigious venues throughout the world. The New Yorker called them “a fresh and vital young participant in what is a golden age of American string quartets,” and The New York Times has praised their interpretations of Haydn, Beethoven, Berg and Dutilleux.
Admission to each Harker Concert Series event will be $25, and concerts will be held at the Rothschild Performing Arts Center at the upper school campus. A 6 p.m. reception with hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be held before every concert, which will start at 7 p.m. in the Patil Theater.
For the safety of Harker’s guests, ticket sales and seating will be adjusted to comply with any event capacity and/or social distancing protocols in place at the time of ticket sales. Receptions at each event will be held outdoors. Face coverings are expected to be required while attendees are indoors. Attendees will be informed of any updates to face covering requirements.
Last weekend, senior Erica Cai gave a presentation about colorism in Japan at an event held by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). During the spring 2021 semester, Cai became an honoree of the 2021 Reischauer Scholars Program along with fellow seniors Kailash Ranganathan and Daniel Wu. The Reischauer Scholars Program selects 25 to 30 high school students each year to embark on an intensive study of a topic related to Japan. The program was named in honor Edwin O. Reischauer, a former ambassador to Japan.
Last week, Opportunity X, a nonprofit co-founded by Harker alumni, was awarded the $2,500 STEM Action Grant from the Society for Science, which organizes prestigious competitions such as the Regeneron Science Talent Search and Broadcom MASTERS.
“At Opportunity X, our mission is to bring cost-free science research opportunities to underrepresented and low-resource middle school students across the country via school enrichment programs, summer camps and science fairs,” said rising senior Alice Feng, a co-president of Opportunity X. The funds will be used to help further their efforts in bringing STEM education to underserved communities. The organization is currently staffed by 18 Harker student volunteers and seven Harker alumni as well as students from high schools around the Bay Area.
Opportunity X was founded in 2016 by Cynthia Chen ’20 and Adishree Ghatare, then a student at Saint Francis High School. Since then, the organization has held after-school programs at many area schools, including KIPP Heartwood Middle School, Morrill Middle School and River Glen School. Earlier this year, two programs were held at middle schools in Virginia. To date, the organization has held more than 850 research workshops in 18 schools. They now have branches in seven states, including Texas, Florida, Virginia and Alabama.
In 2019, Opportunity X held its first Science Fair at the Alum Rock Branch Library in San Jose, where students showcased their projects and received trophies for their work. Another Science Fair was held virtually in May of this year and included speakers from NASA, Google and Stanford University.
The STEM Action Grant program provides support to community nonprofit organizations that promotes STEM education to underrepresented communities. This year, Society for Science provided $165,000 in grants to 38 organizations across the country.
Recent graduates Vivian Jin and Katie Li were today announced as winners of college-sponsored scholarships in the final round of National Merit Scholars announced in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. The announcement brings the total number of Harker winners to 20. Congratulations to all of the students who were recognized in this year’s program!
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June 2:
Utkarsh Priyam ’21 was today announced as another winner of a National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship from Purdue University, bringing the total number of Harker winners this year to 18. These scholarships are funded by US colleges and universities and provide winners with funding for their undergraduate education for up to four years at the institution financing the scholarship. In April, Priyam was named a semifinalist in the 2021 Presidential Scholars competition. The next round of National Merit scholarship winners is slated to be announced July 12.
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May 19:
An additional 15 seniors won National Merit scholarships last week, bringing the total number of winners so far to 17. This round of $2,500 scholarships was awarded to National Merit finalists in each state who were assessed according to their academic achievements and their potential to do well in college. The winners were: Manasa Bhimaraju, Preston Ellis, Jason Lin, Andrew Lu, Claire Luo, Arya Maheshwari, Akshay Manglik, Krishay Mukhija, Aditya Singhvi, Andrew Sun, Betsy Tian, Daniel Wang, N Wang, Sidra Xu and Russell Yang.
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April 30:
Yesterday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced winners of corporate-sponsored scholarships in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. Seniors Fonda Hu and Helen Zhu were named winners in this round, each receiving scholarships from NVidia. Corporate sponsors award scholarships to National Merit finalists who are children of employees, are residents of the companies’ local communities or are pursuing careers in industries the sponsor supports.
This is the first round of winners announced in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. This story will be updated if and when more Harker winners become known.
Earlier this month, the Harker Research Club hosted a panel with Vikas Bhetanabhotla ‘14, Cynthia Chen ‘20, Anastasiya Grebin ‘18 and Ruhi Sayana ‘19, who spoke about their post-high school careers and offered advice on how to find research opportunities.
The panelists each shared what they had done after graduating from Harker and how the research they conducted as Harker students helped shape their current work. At Harker, Sayana, who currently works in a lab at Stanford University studying neurodegenerative diseases, had a significant interest in pediatric oncology before becoming interested in genetics. “When I was applying to labs at Stanford, I was trying to look at something at the intersection of pediatric disease and genetics, and that’s how I ended up at the lab that I am now,” she said. “So [my work at Harker] definitely informed it.”
Bhetanabhotla, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018 and now works at Palo Alto Networks, was heavily interested in machine learning. “My research was the intersection of cosmology with machine learning, so that research experience with machine learning really guided my interests through college,” he said. This carried through to his post-college career, as machine learning is now a part of his work at Palo Alto Networks
“In high school pretty much all of my research was wet lab, and I jumped around a lot,” said Grebin. “I did some plant science. I did some data set analysis for cancer mutations.” As a sophomore, she participated in a directed evolution project that “didn’t pan out,” but she now attends CalTech, “which is the place where directed evolution was essentially invented,” and her work now incorporates directed evolution to create viral constructs.
Most of Chen’s projects at Harker were in bioinformatics, which incorporated biology and computer science. Her work in that area earned her a spot as a finalist in the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search. She is now attending Harvard University and works in a lab at MIT, doing research to learn how to better explain how artificial intelligence models work. “I think the projects [I worked on at Harker] gave me a good starting point for figuring out what I wanted to explore further in college,” she said.
The panelists also offered advice on how to find research opportunities in high school. “It’s all about casting a wide net,” Bhetanabhotla said. “I knew I was interested in the astronomy area a little bit but I was also interested in biology potentially so I just emailed a lot of different professors.”
Sayana agreed. “You’re in high school,” she said. “This is the time to explore as much as you can, and if you’re reaching out to labs there’s a very high chance that a lot of people won’t respond to you, so the wider out you go, the better chance you’re going to have at getting a response.”
Chen recommended the approach of emailing research labs that seemed potentially interesting or open to taking on high school students, “because I didn’t really know specifically what I wanted to do in terms of research in high school because you’re exposed to so many different subjects.”
Grebin did much of her research in high school at Harker after school. “I kind of advocate for that path for at least the first couple of years before you decide to move on to working in a lab and doing slightly more in-depth research,” she said. “Simply because you have so much more ability to pick what you want to do. I miss being able to pick the project that I want to work on as an undergraduate.”
Late last month, Misha Ivkov ‘17 received the Mark Stehlik Alumni Undergraduate Impact Scholarship from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science (SCS), which “recognizes and supports SCS undergraduates whose drive for excellence extends beyond the classroom,” according to the CMU SCS website. The scholarship is awarded to students as they approach the end of their undergraduate career. “Awardees have demonstrated a desire to make a difference in SCS, the field of computer science and the world around them,” a news story posted on the website states.
According to the story, Ivkov’s drive was applied not only to his own studies but to teaching other students, for which he was awarded the Alan J. Perlis Undergraduate Student Teaching Award. He has served as a teacher’s assistant in three classes and co-developed a student-taught class to help students give technical interviews.
Harker students took top spots in the 2021 TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science) competition, in which teams of students collaborate to solve real-world engineering problems. This year, TEAMS dispensed with a national finals event and issued scores based on state-level results.
Harker’s 11/12A team – juniors Harsh Deep, Alex Hu, Sasvath Ramachandran and Kailash Ranganathan – placed third nationally after taking first in California. Meanwhile, team 9/10A – sophomores Brian Chen, Riya Gupta, Stephen Xia and Sally Zhu – placed sixth in the nation overall.
Junior Mark Hu gave an incredible, history-making performance on the mound on Tuesday, pitching Harker baseball’s first-ever perfect game in a 15-0 victory against Priory. Striking out 18 of 21 batters, Hu denied Priory even a single base hit and did not walk any hitters, only twice allowing the ball-count to reach three. In their reporting on the game, the Mercury News noted that Hu’s 18 strikeouts match the Central Coast Section record set by Valley Christian’s Patrick Wicklander in 2018.
The win brought Harker to 9-0 in league play and 11-4 overall. Coach Mike Delfino called Hu “absolutely dominant” and noted that the junior accomplished the feat in just 86 pitches. He also delivered at the plate, contributing three hits and a two-run homerun. The Eagles will face Priory again on Thursday.