Tag: eweekly

Journalism receives First Amendment Press Freedom Award

Today, the Journalism Education Association (JEA) named Harker as one of 17 recipients of the 2022 First Amendment Press Freedom Award. Public and private high schools selected for this recognition — determined by representatives from the JEA, National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society — are judged to have actively upheld their students’ and teachers’ First Amendment Rights, particularly as they concern student-run media. This marks Harker’s first time receiving the award.

The process of selecting schools for the award began with a questionnaire submitted by advisors and at least one editor. Schools advancing to the next stage were then tasked with submitting responses by their principals, media advisers and student editors, as well as published media and school policies.

All 17 schools receiving the award will be honored at a special ceremony in Los Angeles on April 7, as part of the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention.

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Sibling pianists place high in contest, will perform at Carnegie Hall

Two Harker students recently earned high marks in the American Protégé International Piano and String Competition. Seventh grader Christine Tao, a pianist, placed second in the junior category (ages 11-14) with her performance of Chopin’s “Nocturne #8 in D Flat Major,” while her brother, fifth grader James, placed second in the young musicians category (ages 5-10) for his rendition of Mozart’s “Fantasia in D Minor.” Both have been invited to perform at the Weill Recital Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall during American Protégé’s 2023 recital season. Videos of Christine’s and James’ performances have been made available. Congratulations to both of these young talents!

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Harker middle and upper school students win 166 art and writing awards

Late last month, 166 Harker students were named regional winners in the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, with 75 art awards and 91 writing awards. Among them were 28 Gold Key winners, 49 Silver Key winners and 89 Honorable Mentions. All Gold Key winners are eligible to win national awards, which will be announced in March, and national medalists will be invited to a national ceremony in New York City, scheduled for June.

The complete list of Harker winners is as follows:

Art Awards

Vivian Vivian 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Digital Art Bodies
Vivian Bi 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting Bedroom
Shareen Chahal 10 Harker Upper School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration A Smile’s Power
Shareen Chahal 10 Harker Upper School Gold Key Digital Art My Reflection Isn’t Me
Karina Chen 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Comic Art Tint of Life
Karina Chen 11 Harker Upper School Silver Key Digital Art Wild Fire
Karina Chen 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Digital Art Vomit
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Worlds Collide
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Tree of Life
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Smile! You’re on camera!
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Past Present Blurred
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Chains of the Pandemic
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography A Sliver of Another World
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Photography Tropical Tint
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Photography Shaken Not Stirred
Alice Feng 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Watched
Sania Gupta 10 Harker Upper School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration Memories
Sonya He 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting “Three Strangers Inside the Subway”
Sonya He 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting The Dreamer
Angelina Hu 10 Harker Upper School Gold Key Digital Art Fish Cage
Angelina Hu 10 Harker Upper School Gold Key Drawing & Illustration Emergence
Ally Lee 11 Harker Upper School Gold Key Digital Art Joint Custody
Yueyao Li 9 Harker Upper School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration Eleven-Headed Guanyin
Yueyao Li 9 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Hermaphrodite
Michelle Liu 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting Memento Mori
Michelle Liu 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Painting Waiting
Michelle Liu 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Painting Family Birthday
Sophia Liu 9 Harker Upper School Gold Key Digital Art Airplanes With Feathers
Claire Luo 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Twilight
Claire Luo 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Downpour
Claire Luo 10 Harker Upper School Silver Key Photography Anyone There?
Claire Luo 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Next in Line
Claire Luo 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Last Moments of Glory
Desiree Luo 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting Reflection
Desiree Luo 10 Harker Upper School Silver Key Painting Tenacity
Aastha Mangla 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Into Wonderland
Brenna Ren 8 Harker Middle School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration Flowering Hope
Brenna Ren 8 Harker Middle School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration The Dress
Sophia Shan 11 Harker Upper School Gold Key Digital Art Vertigo
Alena Suleiman 10 Harker Upper School Gold Key Sculpture Behind the Fairy Tales
Alena Suleiman 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Sculpture Gossamer Skeleton
Alena Suleiman 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Sculpture Mimicry
Alysa Suleiman 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Film & Animation A Taste of Home
Emily Tan 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention “Editorial Cartoon sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation” March on the Capitol
Nicole Tian 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Sculpture Through the Looking Glass
Nicole Tian 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Expanded Projects Pupa
Nicole Tian 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Still Life
Nicole Tian 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Expanded Projects Marital Bliss
Nicole Tian 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Sculpture Saving Face
Kurtis Tong 11 Harker Upper School Silver Key Painting Bred
Aimee Wang 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Shining
Aimee Wang 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting High Summer
Aimee Wang 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting Liminal Spaces
Kaitlyn Wang 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Creations of Mankind
Nicholas Wei 11 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Living Infinity
Esther Wu 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Art Portfolio The Beauty of Nature
Austina Xu 11 Harker Upper School Silver Key Printmaking Harbor
Austina Xu 11 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting White Calla Lily Flowers
Kathy Xu 11 Harker Upper School Silver Key Photography “Avocado (half 161 Cal) Toast (1 slice)
Kathy Xu 11 Harker Upper School Silver Key Photography Race You To The Top
Olivia Xu 10 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Wildflower
Cecilia Yang 10 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Lingering Warmth
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Painting Beach Days
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Jellyfish
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Beauty of Smile
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Comic Art Glowing Path of the Generations
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Comic Art Recolorized
Alina Yuan 12 Harker Upper School Gold Key Photography Hope cannot be quarantined!
Katelyn Zhao 10 Harker Upper School Silver Key Drawing & Illustration Untitled
Emily Zhou 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Gasping Garden
Emily Zhou 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Praying for Rain
Emily Zhou 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Photography Friend and Foe
Gloria Zhu 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Drawing & Illustration Confronted
Gloria Zhu 12 Harker Upper School Silver Key Expanded Projects Restless
Gloria Zhu 12 Harker Upper School Honorable Mention Painting Corner of the Room

Writing Awards:

NAME GRADE TITLE CATEGORY AWARD(S)
Malar Bala 12 Unarranged Short Story Honorable Mention
Ava Bhowmik 8 Longevity Noodles Personal Essay & Memoir Silver Key
Iris Cai 9 fantasia through the keys Poetry Silver Key
Iris Cai 9 Ode to Sweet Tomatoes Poetry Silver Key
Iris Cai 9 I Want To Be an Author Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Iris Cai 9 the depths below Poetry Gold Key
Shareen Chahal 10 Rosaline Poetry Honorable Mention
Shareen Chahal 10 Cage of Expectations Poetry Silver Key
Brian Chen 11 The Man Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Catherine Feng 12 On Mercy Poetry Honorable Mention
Varun Fuloria 10 Addressing the Real Immigration Threat Critical Essay Silver Key
Varun Fuloria 10 Diversity in Journalism: A News Beginning Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Varun Fuloria 10 Not Much to Like: Social Media’s Power and Problems Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Emma Gao 10 Lessons from a Bug Bite Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Emma Gao 10 Youth Homeless in Santa Clara County Struggle Unseen Journalism Silver Key
Emma Gao 10 Women in The Odyssey: Wielding Their Power in an Oppressive Society Critical Essay Silver Key
Helen Gu 8 Dictionary Words Poetry Gold Key
Dyllan Han 11 Fading Light Science Fiction & Fantasy Silver Key
Trisha Iyer 10 Blood & Bone Poetry Honorable Mention
Trisha Iyer 10 girl•friend Poetry Honorable Mention
Trisha Iyer 10 Language Lessons Poetry Honorable Mention
Trisha Iyer 10 RBG Poetry Silver Key
Trisha Iyer 10 Great-grandchildren Poetry Silver Key
Trisha Iyer 10 The Names Poetry Honorable Mention
Trisha Iyer 10 Matriarchs, Proceeding Like Queens Poetry Silver Key
David Jang 10 Afghanistan: A New Entry to America’s Growing List of Embarrassments Journalism Silver Key
Laurie Jin 11 Earth’s Climate Before the Industrial Revolution Journalism Honorable Mention
Michelle Jin 11 Embracing Neurodiversity: An Abecedarian Poetry Honorable Mention
Michelle Jin 11 The Authoritarian’s Message Flash Fiction Honorable Mention
Michelle Jin 11 Aging: Grasping Onto New Identities Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Lindsay Li 8 the solace of the dark (where you once walked) Flash Fiction Honorable Mention
Lindsay Li 8 glass & crystal Science Fiction & Fantasy Gold Key
Lindsay Li 8 Hansel and Gretel as Told by a Bird (and a Cat, I Guess) Humor Silver Key
Raeanne Li 7 Greenish Science Fiction & Fantasy Honorable Mention
Sydney Ling 10 the art of a movie still Poetry Silver Key
Sydney Ling 10 She’s a Maneater: Jennifer’s Body and How the Boy-Run Media Makes Women Seem Crazy Critical Essay Gold Key
Sydney Ling 10 To All the Grades I’ve Gotten Before: As an Asian American Student in the Bay Area, I Never Feel Like I’m Good Enough Critical Essay Gold Key
Sydney Ling 10 Generation Zine: The Zine Scene and Everything In-Between Journalism Gold Key
Desiree Luo 10 Opinion: Before paying college athletes, treat them as students Journalism Silver Key
Anika Maji 10 The Waiting Game Science Fiction & Fantasy Honorable Mention
Anika Maji 10 Beholden Flash Fiction Gold Key
Katerina Matta 9 Measured in Moments Personal Essay & Memoir Silver Key
Sarah Fathima Mohammed 11 Swimming Lessons Poetry Gold Key
Kabir Ramzan 10 Environmental Influences on the Aztec and Egyptian Civilizations in Society and Religion Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Lily Shi 8 Two Truths and a Lie Flash Fiction Gold Key
Ishani Sood 10 Bhaiya Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Alysa Suleiman 12 Confronting Conformity, Redefining Identity Critical Essay Silver Key
Alysa Suleiman 12 When the Sun Drowned Short Story Gold Key
Alysa Suleiman 12 Pulse of the people: Not a new issue Journalism Honorable Mention
Kairui Sun 8 Censorship Short Story Honorable Mention
Kairui Sun 8 Snapshots Poetry Silver Key
Andrea Thia 12 Something I Wrote During Quarantine, But Never Knew I Loved Poetry Honorable Mention
Nicole Tian 12 Double-consciousness And the Outside Gaze in The Bluest Eye: Toni Morrison’s Gendering of W.E.B. Dubois’ Black Selfhood Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Sara Wan 11 Pork and Cabbage Wonton Soup Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Cynthia Wang 10 That One Girl Short Story Honorable Mention
Cynthia Wang 10 Oceans Apart Short Story Honorable Mention
Cynthia Wang 10 when they grow up Poetry Gold Key
Cynthia Wang 10 Truly Trinity Flash Fiction Honorable Mention
Kaitlyn Wang 10 Little Philosophers in the Garden Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Arianna Weaver 12 Making Amends Short Story Silver Key
Nicholas Wei 11 The Dust in the Wake Personal Essay & Memoir Gold Key
Nicholas Wei 11 Come, Child Poetry Honorable Mention
Austina Xu 11 A Realism of Romance in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138 Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Austina Xu 11 An Examination of the Portrayal of Religion in “Dover Beach,” “The Second Coming,” and “Church Going” Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Austina Xu 11 Ode to the Kitchen God Poetry Honorable Mention
Kathy Xu 11 Black Lives Matter and Retail: The Commodification of Oppression Critical Essay Silver Key
Olivia Xu 10 Spinning with Positivity Journalism Silver Key
Selina Xu 10 Childhood Travels Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Fiona Yan 10 The Light in the Darkness Flash Fiction Honorable Mention
Alison Yang 9 Save Money, Live Better Flash Fiction Silver Key
Alison Yang 9 Ditching the Maps Personal Essay & Memoir Silver Key
Cecilia Yang 10 Empress Wu Zetian and Joan of Arc: Women Who Rose to Power in a Patriarchal Society Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Cecilia Yang 10 The Observatory Short Story Honorable Mention
Chloee Yang 8 Fallen Angel Poetry Silver Key
Irene Yuan 12 Three Vignettes Short Story Honorable Mention
Ariel Zhang 8 white gold Poetry Silver Key
Ariel Zhang 8 goldfinch Poetry Honorable Mention
William Zhang 10 Strength, Cunning, and Courage: Qualities Most Valued in a Male Hero in the Odyssey Critical Essay Honorable Mention
William Zhang 10 “Utopian” Absolutism In The Tempest Critical Essay Silver Key
William Zhang 10 Comparing and Contrasting the Value of Ibn Battuta’s and Zheng He’s Cross-Cultural Exchanges Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Tina Tianjiao Zhong 12 Indifferent Redeemers: How Hawthorne, Fitzgerald, and Lahiri’s Protagonists Love Indifferent Social Insiders. Critical Essay Silver Key
Emily Zhou 12 Grandma Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Emily Zhou 12 Climate Change: Ocean Blues Personal Essay & Memoir Honorable Mention
Sabrina Zhu 11 Frankenstein as a Parable: Analyzing the Consequences of Ambition and Advice Critical Essay Honorable Mention
Sabrina Zhu 11 Finding purpose through filmmaking: Ajay Madala captures stories and exhibits his individuality in movies Journalism Honorable Mention
Sally Zhu 11 Sestina After 20 Months Poetry Honorable Mention
Sally Zhu 11 Slime and stickers for sale: Students take charge through small businesses Journalism Honorable Mention
Sally Zhu 11 Humans of Harker: A force to be reckoned with Journalism Silver Key
Sally Zhu 11 To Shangqiu and Back Short Story Honorable Mention
Tiffany Zhu 8 Nights Without My Brother Poetry Honorable Mention
Tiffany Zhu 8 A Greek Movement Poetry Silver Key
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Alumnae faculty join Cantilena for concert guest appearance

At last month’s upper school winter choral concert, women’s vocal group Cantilena was joined by three Harker alumnae who are now faculty members. Upper school journalism teacher Whitney Huang ’08, upper school English teacher Bridget Nixon ’12 and middle school science teacher Kathy Peng ’05 – all former Cantilena members – gathered onstage with the current Cantilena lineup to perform Norwegian composer Frode Fjellheim’s “Eatnemen Vuelie.” They also sang “Truth” by Andrea Ramsay as a trio.

The collaboration was the idea of music teacher Susan Nace, who reached out to the three alumnae at the beginning of the school year. They began rehearsing once a week in October, and even though they were all from different graduating classes, greatly enjoyed the experience of working on music together. “Although I didn’t necessarily know all the other alumni at the time while I was at Harker, because I’m a lifer I’ve crossed paths with many Cantilena alums,” said Huang, who was involved with performing arts throughout her student life at Harker and currently sings with two local choral groups. “Being back in the same classroom … really brings back memories of what Cantilena used to be like.”

The concert presented Nixon with an opportunity to perform again, which she had not done much of in recent years due to being focused on her teaching career. “I like getting to sing again, and we all have this shared experience of being part of Cantilena, which is pretty unique,” said Nixon, who started singing as a middle school student. “Susan has been generous with her time and expertise, and I’m grateful that she has given us this opportunity to sing together.”

Peng, who became a member of Cantilena the same year Nace formed the group and sang for several years after graduating from Harker, described the experience of being directed by her former teacher as “kind of surreal,” adding that she was honored to have been asked to be part of the concert. “It is a testament to the impact that Ms. Nace had on me and her other students that we would feel drawn to sing together again, after all these years, and under the circumstances of the pandemic,” she said.

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Emerald Brass Quintet reimagine and rearrange their favorites at Harker Concert Series

Emerald Brass Quintet’s clever and loving renditions of many of its favorite works were well received by the audience at the Patil Theater at the second event of the 2021-22 Harker Concert Series season.

For the first portion of the show, the group performed the entirety of its 2020 album, “Danzon,” which featured the works of a wide range of composers reimagined and rearranged for brass instruments. Several pieces featured the accompaniment of drummer and percussionist Jim Kassis, including Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s lively and dramatic “Libertango,” the concert’s leadoff number.

Other pre-intermission highlights were the quintet’s rendition of Arturo Marquez’s “Danzon No. 2,” which fused styles from Mexico, Cuba and Argentina, and Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” which was arranged by Emerald Brass trombonist Chris Van Hof from Ravel’s original piano composition.

Following the intermission, the group capped off its official evening repertoire by returning to Piazzolla with its version of “Meditango,” which prominently featured the talents of each member of the group. They then offered a preview of what’s in store for their next recording, which will feature sounds from – and those inspired by – the German region of Bavaria. One of these was the popular drinking song, “Ein Prosit,” which led with the group singing the tune’s refrain.

For a brief encore, Emerald Brass performed a medley it put together as a fun experiment, which wove in melodies from famous pop songs, concluding with the hook from the Britney Spears hit “Toxic.”

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Published research by Jacob Bongers ’07 receives extensive coverage

The latest article by Jacob Bongers ’07, “Assembling the Dead,” was recently published in the archaeological journal “Antiquity.” The subject of the article is the 192 human spines recently uncovered in Peru’s Chincha Valley, which represent a method of treating the deceased previously unknown to the area.

The vertebrae were found attached to posts in indigenous graves called “chullpas,” and date back to the period during which colonizers from Europe had been in the region, which coincided with disease and famine killing much of the local population, said Bongers, a senior research associate at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom. Previously, he documented the looting of graves in the Chincha Valley, which was also rampant in the colonial period due to the gold and silver contained within them, as well as the colonial practice of wiping out indigenous religious practices and customs. As such, the method of placing the spines on posts, the research suggests, may have been a means to repair the damage caused to the remains by the looting.

Bongers’ research has so far garnered coverage from CNN, The Guardian, Science, Nature, India Today and dozens more outlets. He was also interviewed for the Feb. 3 episode of NPR’s “The World.” His interview starts at 39 minutes and 40 seconds.

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Class of 2020 celebrates Harker career at January gathering

In early January, the Class of 2020 gathered at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose for a special celebration that brought together hundreds of alumni and their loved ones to reflect on and honor their time as Harker students.

Safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 graduation exercises, a heartbreaking end to a tumultuous year.

“It’s fun to see everyone again,” said 2020 graduate Anthony Shing. “I was bummed out that we didn’t have graduation and I’m happy that we were able to meet again. It was a great event.”

During the event, attendees viewed each graduate’s class collages, watched a special recap video of their years at Harker and heard speeches by their classmates. “It felt like I was still in high school. It was nice seeing everyone,” said Simren Gupta ’20.

The event was also a chance for the families of the graduates to celebrate and reminisce. “The Class of 2020 deserved such a nice sendoff, even one-and-a-half years later,” said Julie Buckly, mother of 2020 graduate Jeffrey Fung. “I think the students truly enjoyed seeing each other and it was fun to reconnect with parents as well.”

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Sophomore fencer to represent Team USA in Paris

This week, national competitive fencer Ishani Sood, grade 10, is traveling to Paris to represent the United States at the cadet-level fencing World Cup. A competitive fencer for several years, Sood channeled her love of the sport into service last year, co-founding Fun With Fencing, a nonprofit that brings instructional programs to local Boys and Girls Clubs. Best of luck in Paris!

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Upper school singer performs at Carnegie Hall

In December, sophomore Miki Mitarai, who was a second place winner in the fall 2020 American Protégé International Music Talent Competition, gave a performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, singing “Voi Che Sapete” from Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Each year, American Protégé invites young musicians from around the world to submit video auditions for the competition. Mitarai’s invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall was extended after her placement in the competition, but was postponed for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mitarai, who is a member of the upper school vocal group Cantilena, said the opportunity was “well worth” the long wait.

Prior to her performance, she encountered a group of singers in Central Park, and was greatly inspired “by the emotion and passion in their voices,” determined to carry that inspiration with her into that evening’s performance. “Singing always makes me happy, and that night, the feeling was just amplified,” she recalled. “The concert went super smoothly and I was so proud of how much time, practice and hard work I had put in to get to where I was.”

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Harker DECA has successful weekend at Career Development Conference

From Jan. 7-9 the Harker DECA chapter participated in the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC), the first competitive conference of the year. The transition back to the in-person environment sparked excitement in the community, as the event garnered over 120 signups. The weekend consisted of written and roleplay presentations in front of professional judges, networking opportunities and motivational speeches from California DECA’s State Officer Team.

On the first day of the conference, each student took exams in their respective clusters: Marketing, Business Management and Administration, Finance, Hospitality and Tourism, or Business Administration Core. Later that evening, SVCDC kicked off with the opening session in the Grand Ballroom. California DECA’s vice president of Silicon Valley, Tim Jing, announced the theme of the year, “Maximize Your Momentum,” and encouraged all Silicon Valley DECA members to do so while at the conference. The opening session closed with a talent show featuring two acts from the Harker DECA chapter. Sophomores Chloe Lee and Kaitlyn Wang and  junior Anika Muddu performed an acoustic version of “Gone” by Rosé, while sophomore Shreeya Merchia sang a powerful rendition of “Red” by Taylor Swift.

The next morning, roleplay events began, which primarily consist of team decision-making, individual series, principles and personal financial literacy roleplays. Soon after, members competed in their written events where they gave 15-minute presentations in entrepreneurship, integrated marketing campaign, professional selling or business operations research categories. For the remainder of the afternoon, students socialized with friends and explored restaurants nearby. 

On Sunday, the mini awards ceremony recognized competitors who performed exceptionally well in the testing, roleplay or presentation subcategories of their events. 

“I honestly was so shocked when I received the awards, but I was extremely happy that my hard work paid off and I was able to perform well in my events. In the end it was a great and thrilling experience,” said Saahira Dayal, grade 9, who placed second overall in Principles of Business Management and Administration.

Later, during the grand awards ceremony, a total of 20 Harker teams placed in the top three overall for their events, while many more earned spots in the top 10 awards.

Overall, despite the effects of COVID-19, the conference was a huge success. It provided attendees with a fantastic experience that provided valuable insights into their competitive events and a special chance to forge new friendships. 

“I’m incredibly proud of all the officers and attendees for adapting to the new restrictions and environment at this conference. It was great to see how much dedication everyone put into their competitive events, and I can’t wait to maximize our momentum at the State and International conferences this year!” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA’s chapter advisor.

Members placing in the top three are as follows:

First Place:

Shreeya Merchia, grade 10, and Anika Muddu, grade 11: Sports and Entertainment Operations Research

Marcus Blennemann, grade 9: Principles of Finance

Second Place:

Chloe Lee and Kaitlyn Wang, both grade 10: Marketing Team Decision Making

Bowen Xia, grade 9: Principles of Finance

Tanisha Singh, grade 10: Entrepreneurship Series 

Medha Yarlagadda, grade 10: Restaurant and Food Service Management Series

Claire Luo, grade 10: Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series

Saahira Dayal, grade 9: Principles of Business Management

Third Place:

Chloe Lee, Kaitlyn Wang and Cynthia Wang, all grade 10: Integrated Marketing Campaign- Event

Marcus Blennemann and Nelson Gou, both grade 9: Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan

Catherine He, grade 12: International Business Plan

Saahira Dayal, grade 9: Franchise Business Plan

Jonathan Wang, grade 9: Principles of Finance

Valerie Li, grade 9: Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research

Ashwin Kuppahally and Adrian Liu, both grade 10: Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making

Bowen Xia, Caleb Tang and Jonathan Wang, both grade 9: Finance Operations Research

Sanaa Bhorkar, grade 9: Principles of Business Management

Justin Chen, grade 10: Business Finance Series

Meishin Yen, grade 10: Hotel and Lodging Management Series

Catherine He, grade 12: Restaurant and Food Service Management Series

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