Last week, author Kyle Lukoff spoke to middle school students via Zoom about his 2021 novel, “Too Bright to See.” Using the book as a reference point, Lukoff discussed some of the many important aspects of novel writing, such as world building.
“You have to make a lot of decisions about the world your characters live in and the kinds of rules … that your characters have to follow,” he said. As an exercise, he asked to students to think about the kinds of rules for a story that takes place underwater, such as how to move about the world and how to breathe.
“Too Bright to See,” which is a ghost story, also has rules that its ghost must follow. The main character and the reader, Lukoff explained, are left to interpret what the novel’s ghost is trying to communicate by interacting with objects, since it cannot speak. If the ghost was able to explain itself clearly, “the story would be one chapter long and I wouldn’t have won any of these cool awards.”
Lukoff also stressed the importance of research, referencing his own experience writing “Too Bright to See,” which takes place in rural Vermont, a place he had never lived. “I was very worried about getting details wrong,” he said. “So far that hasn’t happened.”
Toward the end of the talk, Lukoff briefly talked about his next novel, which he said will be another middle-grade work that is “a little bit more advanced.” Like “Too Bright to See,” the main character will again be a transgender boy, drawing on Lukoff’s own existence as a transgender man. He also plans to include his experience as a Jewish person, incorporating Jewish folklore and history.
Last week, a special middle school assembly featured author and historian Jan Batiste Adkins, who shared the history of African Americans in the Bay Area and Santa Clara County area. “I think that understanding each other’s history … is crucial,” said Adkins, who has taught community college for 15 years. “We have to learn from each other. We have to live and experience each other’s experiences and that’s what history does for us.”
Adkins’ most recent book covers African American history in San Jose and Santa Clara County. Her talk began with the record of the first Africans making their way to what was once called New Spain in the 1500s. After the establishment of Puebla de San Jose de Guadalupe in 1777, people of African descent, Adkins explained, mingled and intermarried with Mexican, Spanish and indigenous people of the area.
Mexico later achieved independence from Spain and until 1850 controlled the territory known as Alta California, the last governor of which was Pío Pico, a politician and entrepreneur of mixed African and Native American-Spanish ancestry. Numerous locations in California are named for him, including Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles and the city of Pico Rivera in Los Angeles County.
Following California’s statehood in 1850, plantation owners took their enslaved workers west to seek gold and encountered resistance from the local population, who contended that the enslaved laborers unpaid work amounted to unfair competition. As a result, the sale or purchase of enslaved labor became prohibited in the state. California’s abolitionist movement also helped many of these workers free themselves of slavery by providing them funds to hire lawyers. One such landmark case was that of Sampson Gleaves, who was released from bondage in 1854. Gleaves’ manumission papers are still preserved and maintained by History San Jose.
Another enslaved man named James Williams was taken to California in the 1840s to help search for gold. He was allowed to work at night for other miners and eventually purchased his freedom. The descendants of Williams’ former owner still live in San Jose, Adkins said, and in order to retrieve Williams’ photo for her book, she had to first contact this family, who requested anonymity.
In 1861, Rev. Peter Cassey established the first Black secondary school in San Jose, which was also the first in the state. It also admitted Asian American and indigenous students. The First AME Zion Church was founded just a few years later in 1864, and still exists today on 20th Street in San Jose, where it has resided since 1972.
Black-owned businesses also became increasingly common, Adkins explained, including San Jose’s first Black barber shop, which was established in the 1860s by the White brothers, who also founded the Afro League to address the ongoing problems of racial inequality.
One artist who rose to prominence around this time was Edmonia Lewis, a sculptor who arrived in California in 1873 and the first Black American sculptor to achieve widespread renown. Her work is still viewable today at the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library in San Jose. Lewis came to California at the invitation of Sarah Knox, whose husband owned the Knox-Goodrich building in San Jose.
During the latter half of the 20th century, San Jose State College (now known as San Jose State University) became known for its athletic dominance, and two of its track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, became famous for raising their fists in a Black Power salute during the medals ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympic games in Mexico City, where Smith won gold and Carlos won silver. At the time, Adkins explained, San Jose State did now allow Black students to stay in the campus dorms, forcing them to find housing options off-campus.
Toward the end, Adkins briefly discussed recent figures such as Maynard Holliday, the robotics engineer who attended graduate school at Stanford University and later worked at Livermore National Laboratory and the Pentagon, designing robotic and positioning systems. While working as an engineer in Santa Clara County in the 1970s, Jerry Lawson led the team that developed the video game cartridge, which became the most widely used format for the video game industry for decades, popularized by platforms such as the Atari 2600. Francine Bellson, educated at MIT, also worked at Fairchild and later in research and development at IBM.
The 2022-23 season of the Harker Concert Series closed with one of the most unique performances in its history on Friday night, as the Twin Cities, Minn.-based Cantus delivered a diverse and creatively arranged collection of songs based on the theme of “Alone Together Again.” The evening’s collection of songs reflected the thoughts and feelings the group had gathered during their time performing to empty theaters (with online audiences) during the COVID-19 pandemic, often projecting airs of both loneliness and togetherness.
Concert opener “Deep Blue,” by Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire, was a suitably dour arrangement, its dark harmonies carrying lyrics that matched many a mood in the spring of 2020: “We watched the end of the century / Compressed on a tiny screen / A dead star collapsing and we could see / That something was ending.”
“Deep Blue” closed with words imploring listeners to “put the cellphone down for a while,” which provided the perfect segue into Ingrid Michaelson’s “Twitter Song,” a light-hearted lampoon of the social media platform’s excruciatingly fast-paced and nuance-free user experience, the singers transfixed by their smartphones.
Things got much brighter later in the set, notably after the intermission, when the group launched into Ysaye Barnwell’s “Tango with God,” throwing in some very light percussion to further sell the mood. Their heartfelt rendition of Jean Sibelius’ famous tone poem “Finlandia,” with lyrics by Lloyd Stone, also fit neatly into the evening’s more hopeful fare, it being the performance that earned them viral fame in the summer of 2020.
Spirits were further lifted toward the end of the show as the singers performed the Limeliters’ folk jaunt “There’s a Meeting Here Tonight,” no doubt referencing the country’s slow but sure reintegration to in-person life. With the sunlight streaming in during “Yonder Come Day,” their show closer, it at least felt as though the world they envisioned could be realized. All the more reason to make John Lennon’s “Imagine” their encore.
The App Dev League, a nonprofit founded by Harker senior Krish Maniar in 2019, recently held a series of workshops on application development in partnership with the Oakland Housing Authority and the ICA Cristo Rey Academy in San Francisco. The organization aims to equip young people in underserved communities with the tools to help their communities through app development. App Dev League holds an annual Appathon in addition to providing website development services.
Maniar, junior Kabir Ramzan and sophomore Aarav Borthakur, working with Saratoga High seniors Shafin Haque and Ishir Lakhani, offered instruction on web development through games and presentations, in addition to offering attendees shirts, gift cards and even Google Chromebooks.
Since its founding, App Dev League has reached more than 7,500 students and grown its team internationally to include 75 high school students in 15 chapters.
This annual contest, run by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, tasks teams of high school students with developing a financial plan and investment portfolio. Semifinalists will submit a video presentation based on the information in their reports.
This past weekend, speech and debate coach Greg Achten was inducted into the Emory University Barkley Forum’s Gold Key Society, which was founded in 1964 to honor successful high school debate coaches. Existing members of the society select coaches to be inducted, which takes place at a ceremony during the Barkley Forum for High Schools Tournament. To date, 204 coaches have been inducted, including Harker coach Jenny Achten, a 2007 inductee.
Yesterday, Harker seniors Annmaria Antony, Rupert Chen, Nina Franz, Jack Hsieh, Jeremy Ko, Nicholas Wei, Vincent Zhang, Sabrina Zhu and Sally Zhu were named candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Each year, this program recognizes students for achievements in academics, the arts, and career and technical education. Candidates apply by submitting essays, school transcripts and self-assessments. Approximately 5,000 candidates were chosen from nearly 3.6 million students. Up to 161 will be chosen as Presidential Scholars.
Last week, longtime upper school art teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparza was named one of the 12 most recent Bay Area artists to join the Fleishhacker Foundation’s Eureka Fellowship Program, which has provided funding to local artists since 1986. A national panel of arts experts evaluated the work of each of the 123 artists nominated by local nonprofits. Agüero-Esparza’s award of $35,000 will be received in 2025 as part of the program’s three-year cycle.
A teacher at Harker since 2002, Agüero-Esparza’s work has appeared in many museums and galleries, including the San Jose Museum of Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, MACLA and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, frequently exploring concepts of race and inequality while channeling her own experiences living as a part of a marginalized group. In summer 2022, Montalvo Arts Center commissioned her to create a tapestry mural for their Claiming Space exhibition.
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.
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