Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
In mid-May, junior Allison Jia was named one of two winners of the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair! Jia’s project, which studied proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases, won her a $50,000 prize! It also was named Best in Category for cell and molecular biology and won a First Award, earning Jia an additional $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Senior Ruhi Sayana also did well at the fair, winning a $10,000 scholarship from the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association for her project in the biomedical and health sciences category, in which she also won a $1,000 Third Award from Intel ISEF and a $500 Second Award from the Ashtavadhani Vidwan Ambati Subbaraya Chetty Foundation. In the computational biology and informatics category, junior Cynthia Chen received a Third Award of $1,000. All three students won trips to the Intel ISEF at the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science & Technology Championship in March.
Jia’s efforts were writtten up in several publications:
Juniors Cynthia Chen and Allison Jia and senior Ruhi Sayana were all grand prize winners at the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science & Technology Championship in March, each earning a trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held in May in Phoenix. Junior Aditi Ghalsasi was a grand prize alternate winner, which earned her a trip to the California State Science Fair. Nearly 40 Harker students were winners this year; the Synopsys championship website contains a list of all middle and upper school winners.
By Jenny Achten, Speech and Debate Department Chair, Grades 6-12
The middle school speech and debate team had an outstanding weekend at the Middle School Tournament of Champions, hosted by the University of Kentucky on May 11-12.
The team won first place in overall sweepstakes for the best performance at the tournament by any school. Shoring up this award were the top speaker in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Ansh Sheth, grade 7, and top speaker in policy debate, Deeya Viradia, grade 8. Arjun Krishna, grade 7, Krishna Mysoor, grade 7, and Mir Bahri, grade 8, also won debate speaker awards.
Harker had a three-way closeout of the final round in Lincoln-Douglas debate with Alexander Lan, grade 8, Kabir Buch, grade 7, and Mysoor sharing the championship. Joe Li, grade 7, and Sheth also cleared in Lincoln-Douglas. The policy team of Bahri and Viradia made it to semifinals. Additionally, Arissa Huda, grade 8, was in the final round of extemporaneous speaking.
The coaches are all thrilled with the results of our students’ hard work! A special thanks to Shania Hunt, middle school debate teacher, who did a fabulous job of organizing this large and complicated trip. The students were not only well prepared, but were safe and had fun.
It was another huge day for our Harker swimmers, this time at the state championships on Saturday. Ethan Hu, grade 11, and Matthew Chung, Rhys Edwards and Jason Kwok, all grade 10, laid down the best performance in Harker swimming history with a fourth place overall finish at the CIF State Championship.
Hu won the 200 individual medley, dropping almost three seconds and breaking the state record. Hu would go on to win the 100 fly in record time of 45.72, just missing the national high school record by 0.20. Chung was seventh in the 200 individual medley and ninth in the 500 free and dropped 2.69 from his prelim time. Kwok was third in the 100 breaststroke, dropping 1:46 from his prelim swim. Edwards was in both the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay as the anchor. The relays swam 20.92 and 20.95, respectively, placing third and fourth.
Congrats on a great season! And check out this article putting Hu’s record-setting performance into perspective:
The boys volleyball team blew through the CCS D3 brackets, defeating Sacred Heart Prep, Pacific Collegiate and Carmel, all 3-0, to become the first CCS team champions in Harker history. The Eagles head into the NorCal D1 playoffs as the No. 2 seed and host Northgate of Walnut Creek on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Track and Field
Congrats to Ayush Vyas, grade 12, who finished at No. 31 in CCS in the shot put and Gio Rofa, grade 11, who finished at No. 29 in CCS in the triple jump. But the story of the day was Alexa Lowe, grade 9, who qualified for the triple jump finals on Friday at Gilroy High with her top 10 performance. Congrats to Ayush and Gio, and good luck to Alexa.
Baseball
The baseball team ended the regular season on a high note with a 17-1 win over Westmoor and a 14-9 win over Thomas More to finish the year with a 15-8 record. In the win over Westmoor, Zach Hoffman, grade 12, Max Lee, grade 11, and Luke Wancewicz, grade 10, each drove in two runs, while four pitchers combined for a one-hitter. The Eagles just missed out on the CCS playoffs, but congrats on a great season.
Softball
The softball team started its week with an 11-5 loss to Mercy Burlingame, but ended the week and season on a high note with a dramatic 23-22 win over Notre Dame San Jose. After falling 2-19 in the fifth inning, the Eagles exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the fifth, eight runs in the sixth and four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Huge games from Cameron Zell, grade 12, and Molly Mobley, grade 10, who each had four hits and four RBIs, and Natasha Yen, grade 10, who added four RBIs on two hits.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team headed into the WBAL tournament as league champs, but after defeating Aragon 7-6, fell to Woodside 6-9 to end the season. The Eagles were 14-4 on the year.
Boys Tennis
The doubles team of Ramanand Vegesna and Mihir Sharma, both grade 11, will begin their CCS tennis journey as they face the duo from Carmel on Tuesday.
Boys Golf
Boys golf heads to Laguna Seca on Tuesday for CCS finals.
By Elaine Zhai, Harker DECA Director of Communications
The Harker DECA chapter traveled to Orlando, Fla., in late April to attend the 2019 International Career Development Conference (ICDC), where participants faced competitors from all around the world. ICDC this year consisted of difficult competitions and memorable experiences, and Harker DECA performed exceptionally, with eight teams staging in their event during the preliminary round and six teams advancing as finalists. Three teams placed in the top 10, with one team taking first.
Finalists are as follows:
First Place
Phil Han and Evan Cheng, both grade 11; Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making
Top 10 Finalists
Claire Luo, grade 10, Business Finance Series, and Thomas Rainow, grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing
Naveen Mirapuri, grade 11, Business Services Marketing
Pranav Varmaraja, grade 9, Principles of Business Management and Administration
Upon arrival in Orlando, students had the opportunity to converse with members of DECA Japan during dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy before returning to the hotel and relaxing after a long day of travel.
“It was really cool to meet with DECA Japan and learn about their perspective on DECA, especially with this being their first year competing at ICDC,” said Luo, Harker DECA vice president of operations and top 10 finalist in the Business Finance Series. “We talked about what we had in common, such as the books and the shows that we liked, and it was unique to be able to interact with them and share our experiences with each other.”
On Saturday, the chapter participated in the DECA 5K run at the West Concourse to raise money and awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Participants had the opportunity to meet and network with other competitors from California. For the rest of the afternoon, some students enjoyed the attractions of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park while others relaxed and prepared for their competitive event. At night, Harker DECA attended the Grand Opening Session, joining over 22,000 other participants from around the world. Featured in this session was key-note speaker Ben Nemtin, producer and star of “The Buried Life” and author of “What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?”
“Just being able to witness 22,000 people in one room moving as a unit or like a colony of ants was awe-inspiring,” said Andrea Thia, grade 9. “Interacting with various countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia, and communicating with young entrepreneurs and industry professionals in the exhibit halls were once-in-a-lifetime experiences I will never forget.”
On Sunday, members attended their event briefing and took their written examinations throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Then students and chaperones were given the rest of the day to relax, prepare for the competitions ahead, and catch up on some homework. To end the day, Harker DECA assembled for a chapter dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.
Monday, students attended their competitive event preliminary competition. Throughout the day, all participants also had access to the exhibit hall booths, which included exhibits from various business colleges and corporations, serving as a great chance for Harker DECA to meet and network with other participants. Visitors received beneficial information about various professional opportunities and merchandise to keep as souvenirs. Additionally, those who were campaigning for a position on the 2019-20 Executive DECA team also set up booths and presentations. Afterward, students and chaperones spent the evening at Universal Studios.
With Tuesday being the last full day of ICDC, students and chaperones convened for the Achievement Awards Session to find out whether they had advanced to the final round of competitions, which would take place later that afternoon. After top participants for presentations, career cluster exams and overall performers were acknowledged and praised, the top 20 teams that would continue competing were announced for each event.
With eight teams recognized on stage and six teams headed to the final round, Harker DECA performed incredibly, supporting these finalists with pride. The rest of the chapter had the afternoon to themselves and had the option to finish some homework or visit the Epcot Theme Park. Later that evening, Harker DECA prepared for the Grand Awards Session and, as the top 10 finalists were called onto the stage, proudly sent three teams. With Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making being the last event that was announced, Harker DECA gathered in support of Han and Cheng, who won first place. Members celebrated with a quick chapter photo before heading off to meet California DECA for the State Dinner, where the top participants were again celebrated and recognized for their accomplishments at ICDC.
“These past three years, I’ve been searching for validation through DECA,” said Han, Harker DECA co-CEO. “Because it was my dream for so long, when it actually happened what I felt was almost indescribable. I was suddenly hit with a flurry of emotions, awe, overwhelming joy and pride. But most importantly was a resonating gratitude for everyone who supported me and of course, my partner, Evan.”
With many new experiences and opportunities, ICDC 2019 was definitely memorable for all of its participants and served as a fantastic way to close the 2018-19 competitive season.
“This year’s ICDC was a fantastic experience for students and chaperones and definitely helped the chapter become closer,” said Kolla, Harker DECA co-CEO. “Many members were able to stage for their event, which was a reflection of the dedication and hard work that they put into DECA from the very first study session all the way up until the final moments before their competition. It was absolutely amazing to see everyone so supportive of each other, and this ICDC served as a competitively shaping experience for the chapter.”
“I was extremely proud of how our students did this year at ICDC and throughout the 2018-19 competitive season,” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA advisor. “It was amazing seeing their growth from the beginning of the year, especially with all the underclassmen that we had. They really worked their hardest and never gave up, putting forth their best effort into their competitive events. I can’t wait to see them continue to develop professionally the next four years to become emerging leaders, and I’m so grateful to be their DECA advisor.”
About The Harker School DECA
Harker DECA is an International Competitive Business Organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
Contact Information
To learn more about this story, please contact:
Elaine Zhai, Director of Communications
21elainez@students.harker.org
www.harkerdeca.org
This year’s collection of papers written by John Near and Mitra Family endowment scholars have some fascinating titles. Each year, the scholars are honored at a reception in the Nichols Hall auditorium, celebrating the completion of their intensive research and writing projects.
At the reception, each student talked about the journey to self-knowledge that comes from writing such a complex paper. Each was generous in acknowledging the program’s value to their growth and in praising the mentors who helped them succeed. Each scholar had vivid memories of the road to completing their paper.
2018-19 Near Scholars:
Logan Bhamidipaty, mentored by Byron Stevens and Lauri Vaughan: “Plain Language: Henry George, Denis Kearney, and the Anti-Chinese Movement in Nineteenth-Century California”
Prameela Kottapalli, mentored by Mark Janda and Sue Smith: “Deliberately Unafraid: Audre Lorde as a Pioneer of Intersectional Feminism”
Leon Lu, mentored by Carol Green, Susan Nace and Meredith Cranston: “Soul of the Jazz Resistance: Charles Mingus and the Civil Rights Movement”
Kelsey Wu, mentored by Kelly Horan and Sue Smith: “The Loneliness Disease: Challenges of First-Generation Chinese-American Parents of Autistic Children”
2018-19 Mitra Scholars:
Nikhil Dharmaraj, mentored by Clifford Hull and Meredith Cranston: “The Evolution of Evolution: Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species”
Ryan Guan, mentored by Ruth Meyer and Meredith Cranston: “The Rattle of the Bones: Reading T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ as a Response to World War I”
Haris Hosseini, mentored by Andrea Milius, Josh Martinez and Sue Smith: “Unveiled: The Appropriation of Afghan Women in the War on Terror”
Katherine Tian, mentored by Damon Halback, Chris Spenner and Lauri Vaughan: “Does God Play Dice? Understanding the Role of Uncertainty at the Intersection of Antirealist Philosophy and Quantum Mechanics”
Preschoolers had a great Earth Day last week! Parent volunteers were key to making the day special: one parent volunteer talked about climate change and read “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss to the class. Other parent volunteers stood by to demonstrate various ecological investigations for our students to explore: solar, wind and water energy stations, a water filtration station and germination station. It was a great week for students, parents and teachers!