Felix Chen, grade 9, was named a semifinalist in the 2022 Profile in Courage Essay Contest for his profile of William Byron Rumford, the first Black American to be elected to public office in Northern California. Each year, the contest invites high school students to write a profile on an elected official who demonstrated courage in the face of opposition from society, interest groups and political parties, echoing John F. Kennedy’s work in his book, “Profiles in Courage.” Nearly 2,500 essays were submitted for this year’s contest, with 25 recognized as winners, finalists, semifinalists or honorable mentions.
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.”
At Thursday’s grade 8 promotion ceremony, the Class of 2025 formally concluded its journey as middle schoolers and began preparing to transition to the upper school. Middle school division head Evan Barth welcomed leadership council officers Aaron Bao and Sam Parupudi to speak to the departing eighth graders.
Parupudi thanked her classmates for helping her grow as a person during her time in the middle school. “You all have encouraged me to make so many decisions that I wouldn’t have even considered had I not been through these experiences with you,” she said. “You all have made more of an impact on my life than you or even I will ever know of, and I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank you for that.”
Bao expressed confidence that he and his fellow soon-to-be ninth graders would meet the challenges ahead and thanked teachers and parents for their guidance and support. “Our teachers are the ones who have laid the foundation of our learning and the ones who have supported us in our endeavors. Our parents have supported us throughout our entire lives in everything we have done,” he said. “Thank you to all who have had the patience to help us pursue our goals.”
Following the Middle School String Quartet’s performance of Handel’s “La Rejouissance,” Rebecca Williams, middle school English teacher and Class of 2025 dean, delivered her farewell address. Williams summarized the students’ many extraordinary accomplishments over the past year, particularly their ability to adapt to unprecedented circumstances, which made clear the importance of finding new solutions to new problems. “We in fact need to do things differently because the new normal is no longer the normal that we left behind,” she said. “So as you enter high school and you start kicking around that question, ‘what are you going to do?’ Maybe you do something differently, because you’ve proven you can. And in doing it differently, maybe you show that it can be done better.”
The Middle School Jazz Band then performed Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train,” and rising senior Dawson Chen, who is also the 2021-22 upper school ASB president, took the podium to deliver a welcome address to the incoming freshman class. Chen shared a pair of stories about the lessons he learned at middle school, one in which the results of an algebra test taught him the value of studying and hard work. “The experience of middle school math classes has instilled in me a notion of working hard and taking no shortcuts,” he said. The second story involved a movie night with his friends, where after witnessing them devour the treats he had helped prepare, he “couldn’t help but marvel at the cheerful, cozy atmosphere that we managed to create together with the power of community.” He called up on the Class of 2025 to reflect on their fondest memories as middle schoolers, “whether it’s cramming your expository writing essays, winning in an epic sports game or going to your first dance, and share those memories with the friends, teachers, coaches and family that you experienced them with.”
Students then each received their promotion certificates from Head of School Brian Yager. Barth then offered his closing remarks, saying, “The status quo can work, but I encourage you to be observant and seek out changes that will make you happy and happier. I am confident that is an effective strategy for you to get the most out of high school and beyond, and I hope you will embrace it.”