Last week, students in Rebecca Williams’ grade 7 English classes participated in an activity modeled after the popular TV show “Shark Tank.” Students created pitches to convince a panel of “Sharks” – middle school division head Evan Barth, assistant middle school division head Patricia Lai-Burrows, global education director Jennifer Walrod, English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine and middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey – to award money to charitable organizations chosen by the students.
Pitches were created by several students from each grade 7 English class, and each class voted to see who would face the panel in the final round. Williams came up with the idea for the activity both as a persuasive writing exercise and as a means of helping students “realize the privilege that we have.”
Harker parents raised the $700 in prize money, which was distributed among the finalists based on the judges’ evaluation of their pitches. Ritu Belani’s pitch took first place, earning $480 for the Women’s Global Empowerment Fund. Lera Vaisburd’s second-place pitch netted $90 for the American Cancer Society. In third place were Meishin Yen and Mira Goodwin, who donated $70 to the Best Friends Animal Society. Jason Monaghan won $40 for Doctors Without Borders, and Alice Tao and Reshma Kosaraju secured $20 for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We really wanted the kids to have to consider their audience,” Williams noted. “I was just truly blown away by their preparedness, poise, confidence and passion.”
A group of students had a unique opportunity to see the game creation industry from the inside in mid-January. The students, four seniors and four freshmen, visited Manticore Games, a stealth-mode startup working on a new multiplayer gaming platform that is seeking to disrupt the gaming industry. The gaming industry is a $100 billion-plus industry, larger than TV, movies and music combined, said Michael Acheatel, business and entrepreneurship teacher. “They gave us a tour of their office, created a customized Harker demo of their product, and served a catered lunch with their CEO, CTO, art director and others from the company,” Acheatel added.
“We learned about the state of the gaming industry and got an insider view of the early stages of a game developer startup,” he continued. “They recently raised $15 million from former execs at EA, Xfire and Zynga. We were asked to not share specific information about the product, but the CEO was quoted on their website saying, ‘The Manticore team is working in stealth mode on a new form of hardcore multiplayer gameplay, leveraging user generated content.’”
It was an eye-opening experience for students. Ishaan Mantripragada, grade 9, noted the company had “the most innovative idea that I’ve seen in a while.”
“It was super fun. We got to meet some great people while learning about the gaming industry and what it takes to make a game,” said classmate Shika Tseitlin.
Senior Cameron Jones noted, “Our trip to Manticore was an unexpected look into the inner workings of a startup company that both revealed how fluid the early stages can be and how a product can motivate so many to invest in it. It’s definitely an experience that I’ll look back on not only for their interesting technologies but also for their entrepreneurial spirit.”
The Harker Podcast Network has produced a new series to help Harker students make informed decisions about the courses they take, and the site has had around 400 visitors.
“We produced this series with the hope of helping students make more informed decisions about the courses they take,” said Arushi Saxena, grade 10. “Apart from a brief description in the Course Catalog and what they hear from upperclassmen, students oftentimes don’t have much to go off of when choosing courses, so these interviews with the teachers of these courses should provide students with a better understanding of each course.
“We currently have over 20 episodes completed, covering individual courses from Food Science to Behavioral Economics, as well as comparative episodes that help students make decisions like Honors versus AP Biology, AP Physics 2 versus AP Physics C, and AP English Literature versus senior English electives. All of the podcasts are 5-8 minutes long, and the majority of them cover electives offered alongside core subjects.”
The Harker Podcast Network team of Enya Lu, grade 12, Evan Cheng, grade 11, Larissa Tyagi, grade 11, and Arushi Saxena, grade 10, began brainstorming this series about two months ago, and since then have been writing questions, recording, editing and posting.
The series is an ongoing project, “and we hope to add many more episodes on academic courses over the next several years in addition to the 20 we’ve already recorded,” said Evan Cheng, grade 11. “This next month, we also plan to record episodes on all the extra period options, such as Speech & Debate and Principles of Business, as well as the Study of Arts courses like Study of Theater.
“Working with Ms. Horan, the upper school academic dean, we’ll get these episodes to the incoming freshman (the Class of 2023) so they can make more informed decisions about their freshman year courses. As a whole, the HPN team is also releasing a Blockchain Decrypted podcast within the next month to help demystify the world of cryptocurrency and localize its application on our very own campus.
The group has expansion hopes. “Since the reception to the Courses at Harker series has been extremely positive, we see a bigger opportunity to help inform students about not just the courses at Harker but other aspects of the upper school as well,” said Cheng. “For example, we may produce an episode on how students can fulfill their P.E. requirement or an episode on the Harker Conservatory’s Certificate Program. For now, though, our priority is to expand the amount of courses covered in the Courses at Harker series.”
Podcasts can be accessed either through the web at www.harkerpodcasts.net or through the Apple Podcasts app by searching “Courses at Harker.” The team is working with Horan to add podcasts to the student portal for easier access.
The Harker Podcast Network was started in 2014 by the Business and Entrepreneurship Department.
The Society for Science & the Public announced the 40 finalists for this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, and three Harker seniors are among those named! They (and their projects) are:
Ayush Alag, “Computational DNA Methylation Analysis of Food Allergy Yields Novel 13-gene Signature to Diagnose Clinical Reactivity”
Natasha Maniar, “MapAF: Deep Learning to Improve Therapy of Complex Human Heart Rhythm Abnormalities”
Ruhi Sayana, “Precision Care for Leukemia: Discovery of Novel Therapeutics for High-Risk ALL via Epigenetic and Computational Transcriptome Profiling”
Each of these students will head to Washington, D.C., in early March for the national finals.
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Jan. 9, 2019:
Seven Harker seniors – the most of any school in California – were named Top 300 Scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Society for Science & the Public announced today. Ayush Alag, Cameron Jones, Natasha Maniar, Ruhi Sayana, Katherine Tian, Cindy Wang and Richard Wang were among 300 students chosen from the 2,000 entries in this year’s competition. Each will receive a $2,000 prize, and Harker will be awarded an additional $2,000, as will every school that produced a Top 300 Scholar.
This year’s 40 finalists will be announced on Jan. 23, and in March they will embark on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the final portion of the competition, during which more than $1.8 million in prizes will be awarded. Congratulations and best of luck to these stellar students!
Next month, senior Nikhil Dharmaraj (pictured, second from the right) will visit Cambridge, Mass., to speak on a panel about the intersection of artificial intelligence and the humanities with Harvard University faculty members Jessica Fjeld and David Weinberger of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Dharmaraj’s work with Harvard began last summer during an internship at the college’s metaLAB, “a joint product of [Harvard’s] graduate school of design and the law school,” he explained, “which seeks to explore various issues at the intersection of technology and the humanities. Right up my alley, as I’m equally interested in both subjects!”
Dharmaraj worked on two projects during his time with metaLAB. The first, titled “Moral Labyrinth,” was showcased at the prestigious Ars Electronica festival in Linz, Austria, in September and consisted of mazes with borders made up of ethical quandaries about technology and nature. “My role in the project involved web development and early design of the digital labyrinth that ended up being exhibited at the festival,” said Dharmaraj. “I also contributed to the ideation of the physical labyrinth as well as general research for the project.”
His next project was “The Laughing Room,” an installation designed to emulate the set of a sitcom, in which participants’ conversations were scanned by an algorithm for speech patterns that would elicit laughter. A laugh track would play when the algorithm detected a phrase perceived as funny. “As a summer intern, I completed a full literature review on philosophical theories of laughter and computational humor, and I contributed to the project’s data collection and code,” Dharmaraj said. “It was done using a neural network, trained on various stand-up comedians.”
Upon matriculating at Harvard in the fall, Dharmaraj plans to continue working with metaLAB while working on his dual concentration in computer science and classics.
From Jan. 4-6, nearly 100 students from The Harker School DECA chapter traveled to the Burlingame Waterfront Marriott to compete in the 2019 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). Harker performed respectably, with 69 teams as overall finalists and 30 top three winners.
“SVCDC was a really great experience for all participants, both new and returning members. A lot of people were able to stage and place [in the] top 10 in their events, which was encouraging for everyone, especially as many returning members were trying new events,” said Shania Wang, grade 12, Harker DECA CEO. “Beyond that, I think that the spirit of the chapter was something really great to see, as everyone was supporting each other and cheering for every Harker member that went on stage. In general, we are at a wonderful place as a chapter and have really great momentum as we approach the states conference.”
Members placing in top 10 are as follows:
First Place
Rishi Dange, grade 11, Accounting Applications Series
Ronit Gagneja, grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Mahi Kolla, grade 11, Entrepreneurship Individual Series
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 11, Start-Up Business Plan
William Chien, grade 9, Principles of Finance
David Feng, grade 11, Professional Selling Event
Ghalsasi and Allison Jia, both grade 11, Travel and Tourism Marketing Team Decision Making Event
Second Place
Anay Karwal ,grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Claire Luo, grade 10, Business Finance Series
Arun Sundaresan, grade 11, Business Services Marketing Series
Dange, Financial Consulting Event
Phil Han, grade 11, Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling
Simren Kochhar, grade 9, Principles of Business Management and Administration
Victoria Han, grade 9, Principles of Marketing
Evan Cheng, grade 11, Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
Enya Lu and Shania Wang, both grade 12, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making Event
Third Place
Calais Poirson and Elaine Zhai, both grade 10, Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making Event
Andrea Thia grade 9, Business Growth Plan
Sayon Biswas and Suraj Pakala, both grade 12, Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Bryan Zhang, grade 10, Finance Operations Research Event
Fonda Hu and Anvitha Tummala, both grade 10, Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research Event
On Friday, Harker DECA members and chaperones traveled to the Burlingame Waterfront Marriott for the first competitive conference of the 2018-2019 competitive season. While participants were waiting for hotel rooms, the Harker DECA officer team had Jamba Juice brought in for members to enjoy. Testing session began promptly after and took up the remainder of the day until the opening ceremony, at which the California DECA officer team welcomed all of the competitors with the SV Factor, the annual talent show, and officially kicked off the beginning of the conference.
Competitive events began early on Saturday morning, and teams made use of the leisure time before and between their competitive events to practice and receive some last-minute feedback from their officers and mentors.
“As a first year member attending my first conference, it was stressful at times to talk in front of a judge and answer the questions that they had impromptu,” said Rosh Roy, grade 10. “However, it was a wonderful learning experience and an opportunity to build and strengthen friendships, and I’m excited to bring this new knowledge into SCDC.”
After finishing their competitive events, members were given the rest of the day to explore Burlingame, relax and grab some dinner. Silicon Valley DECA also hosted the DECA Dance, a great opportunity to create networks with other members from different schools.
Early Sunday morning, all attendees and chaperones gathered for the award ceremony, where Harker proudly sent 69 teams to top 10 at the mini awards.
“Because it’s my first competitive DECA Conference, I didn’t think I would place, but then they called my name up,” said William Chien, grade 9, who was awarded first place in Principles of Finance. “It’s inspiring because I didn’t have as much experience as compared to some of my other competitors, but it really goes to show that if you do your best, you can achieve anything.”
After the mini awards, breakfast was served and not long after, the grand awards session began in the Grand Ballroom, where Harker members were continuously recognized. Overall, 30 teams placed as top 3 in their events, a monumental honor for the Harker DECA chapter.
After the grand awards, Enya Lu, grade 12, vice president of Silicon Valley DECA, announced the approaching end of her service on the Silicon Valley officer team, spoke about the accomplishments of her term and encouraged other members to campaign.
“It was a very bittersweet moment and it felt like time had passed so fast since when I went up on stage to speak at my last SVCDC,” said Lu. “However, I have about two months left in my term until states, and I’m looking forward to what I can do for SV during these months. Once again, I am incredibly thankful to my chapter that has supported me through their cheers, spirit and work.”
Overall, the 2018-19 SVCDC was an enormous success and a rewarding experience for all Harker DECA competitors and officers. All members were able to experience a competitive conference, gain useful preparation skills for the upcoming states competition, and leave feeling inspired and motivated to continue with their DECA journey.
“As a chapter advisor, I think this year’s SVCDC was a stellar kickoff to the competitive season,” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA chapter advisor. “It gave students confidence as they continue on to the states conference, and I’m proud of the effort, poise and determination that each student demonstrated to prepare for the competitions. Go Harker DECA!”
Every Friday and several Saturdays leading up to SVCDC, Harker DECA held weekly study sessions in the Innovation Center, where students could practice their role-plays in front of an officer, receive live feedback for their written events and take mock exams. To prepare for the California State Career Development Conference, DECA strongly advises all members to attend the weekly study sessions. Go Eagles!
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 so that the next generation will be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
To learn more about this story, please contact Elaine Zhai, director of communications for Harker DECA, 21ElaineZ@students.harker.org.
On Friday, students in Charles Shuttleworth’s class on Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation received a special visit from Jami Cassady Ratto, daughter of influential beat writer Neal Cassady, whose works were a major influence on Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other important counterculture writers. Joined by her husband, Randy, Ratto shared excerpts from a famous letter that Neal Cassady wrote to Kerouac, which had a major impact on the style that Kerouac later became famous for in works such as “On the Road.” She also reminisced about her time growing up in early 1960s Los Gatos and told stories about her father, Kerouac and other cultural icons of the time, including the Grateful Dead.
Julie Wheeler’s AP US History students were invited to sit in on one of the classes and were given a brief overview of the Beat Generation and its works by Shuttleworth’s students, covering the authors’ disillusionment with 1950s American culture, their jazz-influenced writing style and their importance to later counterculture movements.
“The students told me they really enjoyed the experience,” said Shuttleworth. “It was another opportunity for them to interact directly with a primary source and experience living history.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
In this 125th anniversary year, I hope you are enjoying learning about the people, events and traditions that are celebrated on the banners and poster boards at our four campuses. I am struck by how often teachers are featured in these memories. While varied in the ways they have impacted the school over the past 125 years, the teachers at Harker always have been at the forefront of our efforts to bring out the best in every student. Recently, the words from one of my most influential elementary school teachers, Mrs. Robinson, were pulled to the front of my mind as I observed some of the exciting things going on at Harker in 2018.
Mrs. Robinson’s words are etched in my memory, forever providing guidance. She was our grade 6 teacher at Montecito Union School in Santa Barbara, and, like all great teachers, she sought to instill in us wisdom that would remain with us long after we had moved on from her classroom. Her favorite message always started with a question: “What is the most important time in your life?” She’d ask us this when we were at our best, eagerly paying attention, following directions and primed for reinforcement, and she’d ask us when we were having a tough day, or she was. The pause between her words and ours was essentially nonexistent, for from the first day of class we learned the response she sought – the single monosyllabic key to all of our focus. “What is the most important time in your life?” Mrs. Robinson would ask. Our chorus was firm and instantaneous: “Now.”
This message was on my mind during some seminal Harker experiences, the first of which was the seventh grade national parks trip. In Utah and Arizona, among the wind and water-carved sandstone arches and vermillion cliffs, the brief span of our lives relative to the workings of our Earth comes into focus. The landscape of the Grand Canyon took millions of years to emerge from the sandstone deposits of our continent’s primordial lake. In this landscape, it would be easy to feel that the present is of little significance. Yet, even among the grandeur of the formations, one can see the effects of each blow of wind, each cycle of freeze and thaw in the fissures of the rocks, and each footstep on the sandy base of the trails. Even to the landscape that defines our nation, now is still the most important time, and for us as visitors, the juxtaposition of the work of millennia and our brief visit invited all of us to make the most of each day on the trip and throughout our lives.
In addition to being exposed to the beauty of the landscape, the seventh graders also were fortunate to spend some time among the Navajo. Their tradition of orienting all exterior doorways to the East reflects an appreciation for the sun and the arrival of each new day – to focus on the now, even while honoring the past and preparing for the future.
The upper school’s first fall production in the Patil Theater in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center similarly spoke to the importance of the present. The play, a beautiful rendition of “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder, challenged our actors to explore the importance of the ordinary, everyday moments in our lives. One of the play’s central themes is that it is easy for us to emphasize, if not fixate on, our lives past and future, but that meaning comes from the present, and that now is what matters most.
The present for Harker is an exciting one. In addition to the ongoing processes of the school year, we are in the midst of an accreditation cycle and also are celebrating our 125th year of educational leadership. As we look to the future and plan for the next 125, we are taking the opportunity to reflect on our measures of success in three crucial areas. The first two relate to the opening line of Harker’s mission statement, which reads: “Our mission is to educate students for success at college and beyond.” What does it mean for our students to succeed in college? What does it mean for them to succeed beyond? The third question we are exploring is, what does it mean for us to succeed as an institution?
All three of these questions in essence look to the future, for even as we reflect on how we define institutional success, we must recognize that our efforts are aimed at positively impacting the entire lifespan of each of our students. It is an interesting dichotomy that while our efforts as an educational institution are focused in the moment, the process of education is, by definition, one of optimizing the future.
The central challenge of assessing our efficacy is that the manner in which we succeed in preparing students for life does not materialize immediately. Education requires committing to delayed gratification. To be sure, there are daily joys and constant evidence of student growth and achievement, often to a profound degree. However, the long-term impacts – arguably the most important outcomes – can only be viewed and assessed with the gift of time. Some of the seeds we plant germinate quickly. Others take time to sprout, and, even then, like the valley oaks and redwoods around us, might take decades to reach their full size, and longer still to mature to their full potential.
Yet, as Mrs. Robinson continuously reinforced, our commitment to the present is the best path for a successful tomorrow, however we define that success. Thank you for being part of the Harker community as we continue to strive to live our lives fully and guide our students toward their futures … now.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2018 issue of Harker Magazine.
Words by Vikki Bowes-Mok
When Jacob Bongers ’07 was a young boy, he would visit his grandfather in Geleen, The Netherlands, and they would trek to ancient Roman sites in southern Holland and France.
“During these trips, I marveled at the Roman architecture and developed a deep interest in making archaeological discoveries to learn more about the past,” remembered Bongers with a smile. “The relationship between my grandfather and me was absolutely critical for developing my passion for archaeology.”
Bongers is grateful to have realized his passion so young and has taken that curiosity to the highest levels of academia as he prepares to receive his Ph.D. in archaeology from UCLA.
When Bongers joined Harker in high school, he had to adapt to the academic rigor, but his focus on archaeology remained steady.
He was determined to gain some hands-on experience, so he searched online for opportunities. He found a dig on the Archaeological Institute of America website and immediately knew he had to participate. So when he was 16 years old, he packed up his bags and went to Portugal to work on a Roman site near the border of Spain.
“It was the first time I’d traveled by myself and I was so excited,” said Bongers with energy bubbling from his voice. “I absolutely loved the experience – meeting people, exploring the site and uncovering the past.”
As he ponders his past, he reflects about how important it is to remain open to all opportunities, listen deeply to what brings you joy and not feel pressured to choose the “right path.”
“When I went to USC, I majored in archaeology, but I minored in game design, and I’m so glad I did that,” said Bongers. “Every experience you have helps shape the person you become, so always explore and be open because you never know what will ignite your passion.”
His intellectual curiosity and passion for archaeology put him on a path that has led him around the world. He has field experience in Portugal, Chile, Peru and Ethiopia, and he even met his wife, Ioana Dumitru, on a dig in Oman.
“Jacob is simply one of the most dedicated, bright and hard-working young scholars that I have ever known,” said Charles Stanish, director and professor emeritus at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. “He does not posture or play games; he loves intellectual debate and is open and extremely generous with colleagues.”
Bongers’ academic career started at USC, where he received his B.A. in interdisciplinary archaeology, summa cum laude, in 2011. After a few digs and some soul searching, he landed at UCLA to work on his master’s and now Ph.D. He won four extramural grants at the beginning of his graduate career in 2013: a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, National Geographic Young Explorers Grant and a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid.
“There is no question that he will be at the top of his field in a very short time,” said Stanish. “With most students, it is necessary to push them to think more broadly; with Jacob, we actually had to reel in some of his enthusiasm to focus on more manageable topics.”
As Bongers is putting the final touches on his dissertation, he is pondering his next step but has the gift of focus that will help guide him.
Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.
Stanford University recognized Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, as a dedicated educator and mentor. Millie Lin ’18, now attending Stanford, nominated Gargano as someone who has had a profound influence on her as a student.
“Ms. Gargano combines her immaculate organization and productivity with an immensely warm, devoted heart,” said Lin in the award certificate. “During my time at Harker, she [was] invaluable in shaping a more connected, productive school community, tirelessly supporting her students’ endeavors inside and outside of school, and fostering the personal growth of her well-fed, card-playing advisory. As my beloved high school advisor, Ms. Gargano models my vision of a fine educator and what it means to be of service to the community.”