Today, senior Sally Zhu was named one of the top 40 finalists in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search. Zhu’s project, titled “On the Smoothness and Regularity of the Chess Billiard Flow and the Poincaré Problem,” was chosen by a jury of professional scientists. Zhu is now eligible to attend the final stage of the competition, to be held in Washington, D.C., in March. There, the finalists’ work will be judged and the top 10 prize winners will be selected to win cash prizes ranging from $40,000 to $250,000. Each finalist will be awarded $25,000.
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Jan. 10, 2023:
Today, seniors Rohan Bhowmik, Alexander Lan, Krish Maniar, Ashley Ruan, Deeya Viradia and Sally Zhu were named Top 300 Scholars in the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search. This year’s scholars were chosen from 1,949 applicants from 48 states. Each of the scholars will receive a $2,000 cash prize and schools will receive $2,000 for every scholar enrolled. The top 40 finalists for this year’s competition will be named on Jan. 24, with the final stage of the competition set to take place in Washington, D.C., in March.
In November, 15 Harker students earned high marks at the Berkeley Math Tournament, held at the University of California, Berkeley. The largest university-sponsored high school math competition on the West Coast, it attracted more than 600 students, the most in its history. A total of 18 Harker students (three teams with six students each) participated in the tournament. Individual competitors had the choice of taking a general test or competing in two of the tournament’s four focus subjects: algebra, calculus, discrete math and geometry.
Students who received awards in the tournament are as follows:
Aman Chandra, grade 9 – Honorable mention (top 50 percent) in geometry
Emma Gao, grade 11 – HM in calculus, Distinguished HM (top 20 percent) in discrete math
Jessica Hu, grade 9 – HM in calculus
Alex Huang, grade 10 – HM on general test
Neil Krishnan, grade 10 – HM in algebra, DHM in geometry
Catherine Li, grade 11 – HM in calculus, HM in geometry
Ian Ogden, grade 11 – Seventh and DHM in algebra, HM in discrete math
Caden Ruan, grade 9 – DHM in algebra
Aniketh Tammula, grade 11 – HM in algebra, HM in geometry
Michelle Wei, grade 11 – HM on general test
Stephen Xia, grade 12 – HM in calculus, DHM in discrete math
Olivia Xu, grade 11 – DHM in geometry
Jonny Xue, grade 10 – HM in algebra
Eddie Zhang, grade 9 – HM in algebra
William Zhang, grade 11 – HM in algebra, seventh and DHM in geometry (after a third-to-eighth tiebreaker)
This story was submitted by Ariana Gauba, grade 10.
More than 120 Harker DECA members attended the regional Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC), held Jan. 6-8 at the Santa Clara Marriott. SVCDC officially kicked off this year’s competitive season and consisted of testing, roleplay and written presentations, as well as speeches from the state officer team and the election of this year’s California DECA vice president of Silicon Valley.
“This SVCDC was a really memorable experience,” said CEO Anika Muddu, grade 12. “It was our first completely back-to-normal regional conference after COVID, so the energy was amazing, and I could really tell that everyone gave it their all. It was an amazing experience for our first-year members, and I’m incredibly proud of the chapter’s competitive success!”
During the opening ceremony, California DECA’s VP of Silicon Valley, Vineeta Muvvala, and VP of leadership, Nitin Jaladanki, introduced the conference, went through the schedule for the weekend, and introduced this year’s theme, “Get the Edge.” They also honored the late Pam McKenney, who was a crucial part of California DECA. Attendees also listened to speeches from the candidates for this year’s VP of Silicon Valley, one of which is Harker DECA’s director of written events, sophomore Emily Mitnick.
“The Silicon Valley conference was a great experience for me as a candidate because I got to meet and talk to hundreds of students in the span of three days. I had never given a speech to over 100 people before, so presenting my speech to over 800 students and teachers was an important milestone,” Mitnick said. “The two other candidates were both so friendly, and I couldn’t have been happier to spend my time getting to know them and becoming friends with them.”
The next day was dedicated to competition. All competitors participated in their roleplay and written presentations. Harker DECA competed in a wide variety of events, including individual series and team decision-making roleplays, as well as Entrepreneurship, Professional Selling, Integrated Marketing, Operations Research plans and more.
“SVCDC definitely aided in building my confidence when competing. From the time I spent practicing, presenting, and competing there, I built upon my speaking skills and expanded my overall knowledge of business management. Having a competition locally made me more comfortable in the environment,” said attendee Minal Jalil, grade 9.
The final day of SVCDC consisted of awards ceremonies. Students made their way to the grand ballroom on Sunday morning for the Mini Awards Ceremony, where many Harker DECA chapter members were recognized for their test and presentation scores. Harker was extremely successful, with many students becoming finalists and 35 teams placing in the top three for their events.
“The conference itself was a great experience and I really enjoyed learning, presenting my ideas, and spending time with friends. Placing first in my event was one of the best feelings because it felt like all the work I had put into my project had finally paid off,” said sophomore Sahil Varma, a first-place winner in Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling.
“I am so proud of each and every student that competed in this conference,” said Juston Glass, Harker business and entrepreneurship teacher and chapter advisor. “It was obvious that all competitors worked extremely hard on their presentations, and there is no doubt that we got the edge at this conference! From winning glass to Emily being elected VP of Silicon Valley, this conference is definitely a memorable one. I can’t wait to see the great things Harker will do at SCDC!”
Top three award winners are as follows:
First Place:
– Joy Hu, grade 9: Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event
– Sahil Varma, grade 10: Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling
– Claire Luo, grade 11: Professional Selling; Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
– Sathvik Chundru, grade 11: Innovation Plan
– Annmaria Antony and Grace Hoang, both grade 12; Independent Business Plan
– Ashley Hong and Metrica Shi, both grade 11: Franchise Business Plan
– Tanisha Singh, grade 11: Business Service Operations Research
– Valerie Li, grade 10: Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
– Alicia Ran, grade 10, Tiana Salvi, grade 10: Finance Operations Research
– Meishin Yen and Medha Yarlagadda, both grade 11: Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research
– Saahira Dayal, grade 10: Automotive Services Marketing Series
– Sanaa Bhorkar, grade 10: Business Services Marketing Series
– Meishin Yen, grade 11: Hotel and Lodging Management Series
– Andrew Au and Edward Huang, both grade 11: Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making
– Ariana Gauba and Shaila Tandon, both grade 10: Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making
Second Place:
– Shiven Balaji, grade 10: Integrated Marketing Campaign – Product
– Caleb Tang, Jonathan Wang and Bowen Xia, all grade 10: Franchise Business Plan
– Krish Arora, grade 9: Principles of Finance
– Maya Affaki, grade 10: Hotel and Lodging Management Series
– Chloe Lee, grade 11: Marketing Communications Series
– Caleb Tang, grade 10: Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series
– Roshan Amurthur and Angelina Antony, grade 9: Marketing Management Team Decision Making
Third Place:
– Saahira Dayal, grade 10: Financial Consulting
– Allison Huang, and Ruhi Banerjee, both grade 9: Buying and Merchandising Operations Research
– Gary Jin, grade and Jason Yi, both grade 10: Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations Research
– Joy Hu, grade 9: Principles of Business Management and Administration
– Aashvi Ravi, grade 9: Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
– Sophia Ou, grade 9: Principles of Marketing
– Alicia Ran, grade 10: Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series
– Vedant Balachandran, grade 10: Food Marketing Series
– Keren Eisenberg, grade 10: Marketing Communications Series
– Medha Yarlagadda, grade 10: Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
– Grace Hoang and Annmaria Antony, both grade 12: Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
– Gary Jin, grade and Jason Yi, both grade 10: Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making
This story was submitted by Jia Jia Jiang, grade 10.
On Wednesday, Harker’s CareerConnect club hosted an event with entrepreneur and venture capitalist Atit Jariwala, who reflected on his high school, college and work experiences. He spoke to students about how he was able to transform his success from his early years into the business world. Additionally, he provided insightful advice on the transition from school to work and how students could better their opportunities. Jariwala graduated valedictorian of his high school. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University and an MBA from Stanford University. Since then, he has founded startups in real estate and technology, opened a restaurant chain and worked in the venture capital industry. Jariwala also shared about some recent projects he had been working on in states including Missouri and New York, and discussed the change from in-person to online work.
The event was helpful for many students who wanted to hear personal advice from a working professional. Sophomore Deeya Verma, reflecting on Jariwala’s journey to success, commented, “Learning about the route he took to success was interesting and plausible for anyone with determination and passion, making it an overall eye-opening and informative experience.” Sophomore Sam Parupudi believed that “his knowledge about all things business combined with his academic skills and an easy-to-follow manner of speech made this the perfect event.” Overall, the attendees enjoyed listening to Jariwala’s story and experiences and were glad to hear from someone with knowledge in many industries.
Harker’s Office of Communication recently received a Best of District VII award from the Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), which each year recognizes the best digital and print publications serving educational communities, primarily universities. Harker received the award for the series of videos about the construction of the middle school campus, filmed and edited by the OOC’s own Eric Marten with generous help from freelance videographer Jenny Miller.
This latest win marks the eighth CASE award for the department since 2011, when it received a silver award for Harker Quarterly magazine. Since then, the OOC has earned CASE awards for major projects including the Harker website, the 125th anniversary sub-website and the 2018 athletic branding campaign. The OOC also has received more than two dozen MarCom awards — administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals — since 2007.
The Harker Math Club, coached by upper school math teacher Anu Aiyer, just won the fall 2022 high school Math Madness championship. It was the club’s first time winning the competition since 2015. Held by AreteLabs, the biannual online competition consists of four league rounds and six tournament bracket rounds. Teams compete in 30-minute matches with two teams facing off at a time. Teachers schedule the times for their teams to complete the seven or eight multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions that make up each match. Approximately 20,000 students participate in Math Madness competitions each year.
Following their big win in the James Lick Invitational tournament, varsity boys basketball dropped a very close game against Del Mar High School with a final score of 53-55, the team’s first loss of the season. The team bounced back two days later with a 47-24 win over University Prep Academy, and faces Design Tech at home this Friday, Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.
Varsity girls soccer is off to a great 4-0 start, defeating Scotts Valley, James Lick High School, Prospect High School and Castilleja since their Nov. 29 start. The team will play Half Moon Bay in an away game this Friday at 5 p.m.
Varsity girls basketball defeated Lincoln San Jose last week, coming back from losses against Evergreen Valley and American High School in the Sandi Stober Classic tournament. The team will be busy during the winter break, facing Independence High this Saturday at home, followed by away games against Piedmont Hills and North Salinas and participating in the Cupertino Classic tournament at Cupertino High School.
Boys varsity soccer lost last week to Santa Clara High, and played to a tie against Lynbrook on Friday. The team’s final game of 2022 will be at home versus Yerba Buena this Friday at 3 p.m.
On Nov. 28, Simar Bajaj ’20 received the Foreign Press Association’s Science Story of the Year award, for a piece he penned for The Guardian in August about pig-to-human heart transplants. Bajaj, who currently attends Harvard University, went to London to receive the award in person. A video has been posted of Bajaj receiving the award, as well as some of his remarks. The FPA is the world’s oldest press organization, dating back to 1888. Bajaj is the youngest awardee in the organization’s history.
The fourth-annual Santa Clara Children’s Business Fair, organized by ninth grader Mikhil Kiran, took place Oct. 22 at Live Oak Park in Santa Clara, during which 100 young entrepreneurs pitched their product ideas to visitors from the local community. “We had a really good event, with a wonderful turnout,” said Kiran, who estimated that several hundred people attended.
Kiran, who is also the founder of the nonprofit Kidzrule, has run the event since he was a fifth grader. He started the nonprofit to create and inspire the next generation of young entrepreneurs.
Harker students participating at the fair included fifth grader Ryan Santosh, who created Nature Designs, and Aditya Shivakumar, grade 9, and Trisha Shivakumar, grade 8, of Magic Escape.
Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Santa Clara City Councilmember Kathy Watanabe, who gave special speeches to the entrepreneurs, were present at the fair, encouraging and congratulating the young entrepreneurs on their first adventures into business.
In mid-November, three Harker eighth graders were honored in the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest’s junior division. This year’s contest, held by Bow Seat Ocean Programs, received 4,000 entries from around the world and aimed to inspire youth to learn about and take action on climate change. Students researched and wrote about climate issues in their grade 7 expository writing classes, and their essays were entered into the contest as part of the curriculum.
Additionally, middle school English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine received an Educator’s Award along with $750 to put toward education on climate change. “I submitted a summary of the way I used the contest in my classroom at Harker,” Hazeltine said. “The theme last year created the perfect opportunity to teach satire, persuasion, rhetoric and humor.”