Miya Jones, high school representative from the Art Institute of San Francisco, came to Harker in late April as part of the CareerConnect program to educate students on various employment paths in the commercial art field. She presented student portfolios from the institute, along with works ranging from caricatures to advertisement videos.
Jones talked about potential job fields that require art skills, including culinary arts, graphic design, drawing, animation, 3-D design, photography and video game graphics. Students viewed examples of works by college students, and learned how to create a resume and display one’s works. Billy Fan, grade 9, said, “The speaker did a good job of explaining all of the features at the art institutes and gave me insight on different career paths.”
Jones also spoke to what the Art Institute provides in terms of advancing one’s career in the humanities. Maria Teplova, grade 9 noted, “(She) gave me an idea about potential college choices and whether the art institute would be good for me or not, and gave me an idea of different art major options.”
Jones stressed the importance of networking and going to college in an area that offers jobs in students’ field of interest. She ended the talk by answering students’ questions and offering them an opportunity to connect with the San Francisco Arts Institute.
Harker students did extremely well last weekend at the California High School Speech Association state tournament, with four Eagles making it to finals! Avi Gulati, grade 10, was second in original oratory; Haris Hosseini, grade 11, was third in original oratory; Nikki Solanki, grade 10, was seventh in thematic interpretation; and Jason Huang, grade 11, was seventh in congressional debate. Jason Lin, grade 9, also qualified to compete in congressional debate. Congrats to the students and coach Scott Odekirk on a great season. Watch for more speech and debate news from National Speech & Debate Association Nationals in June.
The policy debate duo of Anusha Kuppahally, grade 11, and Megan Huynh, grade 12, finished the season tied for fifth place in the nation! The tournament, hosted by the National Debate Coaches Association, was held in Atlanta last week. The team of Alan Hughes and Jacob Ohana, both grade 12, also had a nice finish in the double octofinals of the tournament.
In late March, CareerConnect hosted Marguerite Gong Hancock, founder of the Computer History Museum’s Exponential Center and a graduate from both Stanford and Harvard, for a workshop titled “Career Advice in Humanities Fields.” She spoke about her professional experience and potential careers in various fields within the humanities. Gong talked about her career trajectory, what she has accomplished and why she chose this career path. She also offered advice to students who are interested in pursuing a degree in the humanities, and how to plan and prepare for a career in these fields.
The workshop was sponsored and promoted by Harker CareerConnect, a student-led networking, career preparatory and professionalism program. “I had an amazing time at the workshop,” said Arjun Virmani, grade 9. “The workshop, overall, made me more interested in the field of humanities.”
Alexander Young, grade 11, noted, “I enjoyed the event and gained a new perspective about how humanities can be useful in all fields.”
Harker’s varsity speech and debate team is heading into the end-of-season championships phase! The team has qualified an impressive 18 students (see photo!) to represent us at state and various national championships. The coaches are especially proud that the school will be represented in all of our main events: policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, speech, congress and public forum debate.
This weekend, students will attend the first of the national championships, hosted by the National Debate Coaches Association in Atlanta. Next weekend, team members will attend the state championship in Mountain House, near Tracy. The weekend after, they will travel to the Tournament of Champions in Lexington, Ky. The team concludes its season with the National Speech & Debate Association Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in June. Watch for updates!
Qualifiers are:
Alan Hughes, grade 12
Megan Huynh, grade 12
Serena Lu, grade 12
Jacob Ohana, grade 12
Alycia Cary, grade 11
Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 11
Haris Hosseini, grade 11
Jason Huang, grade 11
Anusha Kuppahally, grade 11
Cindy Wang, grade 11
Clarissa Wang, grade 11
Avi Gulati, grade 10
Maddie Huynh, grade 10
Sachin Shah, grade 10
Nikki Solanki, grade 10
Jason Lin, grade 9
Andy Lee, grade 9
Andrew Sun, grade 9
Huge congrats to all! Best of luck in the coming events!
Greg Achten, upper school speech and debate coach, has been awarded a 2 Diamond degree of membership in the National Speech & Debate Association’s Honor Society.
The award is directly tied to student performance; the congratulatory letter noted that Achten has earned more than 3,000 points from presentations, competitions and service by students. He earned his first diamond in 2013; a second diamond can only be awarded after five years, and the teacher must earn a certain number of points each year in between. Achten will receive his award at the 2018 National Speech & Debate Tournament in Florida in June, and will be noted in the association’s magazine, Rostrum. Huge congrats!
This article was written by Radhika Jain, Harker DECA director of communications.
From March 2-5, 84 students and six chaperones from The Harker School DECA chapter traveled to the Anaheim Marriott to compete in the 2018 California State Career Development Conference (SCDC).
At the conference, students competed in events, attended workshops and networked with students from throughout the state. Harker performed respectably, with 27 overall finalists. Thirteen of those finalists also qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), to be held in Atlanta in April.
“With the State Career Development Conference being my last conference as a member of Harker DECA, it was definitely memorable for me,” said Ashna Chandra, grade 12, Harker DECA co-CEO. “I’m excited to see the outcomes of chapter members in future years, and I know they’ll be successful in whatever they pursue.”
Members placing in the top eight are as follows:
First Place
Andrew Sun, grade 9, Principles of Finance
Nishka Ayyar and Riya Gupta, both grade 11, Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10, Advertising Campaign
Erin Liu, grade 11, Business Growth Plan
Second Place
Emma Andrews, grade 9, Principles of Business Management and Administration
Rishi Dange, grade 10, Accounting Applications Series
Evan Cheng, grade 10, Business Services Marketing Series
Naveen Mirapuri, grade 10, Food Marketing Series
Alyssa Huang, grade 10, and Enya Lu, grade 11, Financial Services Team Decision Making
Third Place
Vignesh Panchanatham and Ashna Chandra, both grade 12, Learn and Earn Project
Fourth Place
Aditya Singhvi, grade 9, Principles of Finance
David Feng, grade 10, Marketing Communications Series
Bryan Wang, grade 10, Retail Merchandising Series
Fifth Place
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Arnav Joshi and Nikhil Sharma, both grade 10, Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Sayon Biswas and Suraj Pakala, both grade 11, Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Zara Vakath and Ronit Gagneja, both grade 10, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making
Shania Wang and Enya Lu, both grade 11, Public Relations Project
Arushi Saxena, grade 9, Innovation Plan
Sixth Place
Claire Luo, grade 9, Principles of Finance
Anay Karwal, grade 10, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Ashna Chandra, grade 12, Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series
Michelle Si, grade 9, Financial Consulting
Seventh Place
Jeffrey Liu, Rakesh Nori, both grade 10, Hospitality Services Team Decision Making
N Wang and Andrew Sun, both grade 9, Innovation Plan
Eighth Place
Arun Sundaresan, grade 10, Business Services Marketing Series
Ramesh Nori and Jeffrey Liu, both grade 10, and Alisa Su, grade 12, Independent Business Plan
On Friday, students had a chance to relax and study before examinations later that day. From 4-8 p.m., students took their respective tests and gathered soon after for the grand opening session in the Marquis Ballroom.
Saturday was the first day of competitions, and students performed their role-play events throughout the day. Competitions finished around 4 p.m., and students had the options of going to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm, or staying at the hotel.
On Saturday, students were required to attend one workshop hosted by keynote speakers, as well as take one Protégé exam. These exams are a great way for students to be recognized on stage. Students from Harker DECA who were recognized on stage for their Protégé exams were Aditya Singhvi, Anvitha Tummala, Helen Zhu, Stephanie Shen and Elizabeth Szeto, all grade 9; and Rishi Dange, David Feng, Shomrik Mondal, Allison Jia, Jessie Wang, Bryan Wang, Arun Sundaresan and Martin Bourdev, all grade 10.
“I took the insurance exam, and I found it pretty interesting,” said Zhu. “I’ve never really taken a test of that sort on that topic, so it was a different experience for me.”
Along with those events, there was also a room for Downtown DECA in the Anaheim Marriott, where state candidates campaigned, businesses hosted booths and students took their Protégé exams. In light of the recent tragedy in Parkland, Fla., Harker DECA set up a banner in Downtown DECA for students to write notes of encouragement towards the Marjory Stoneman Douglas DECA chapter.
“In order to commemorate those who have been affected by the recent shooting in Florida, we organized a campaign to raise awareness,” said Jia. “I’m really happy with the outcome of it, and I hope this banner can brighten up the students’ days a little.”
Sunday was written events day, and students presented their written projects to a judge. Similar to Saturday, they were required to attend another workshop as well. After students finished their written presentations, they had down time throughout the afternoon to do homework, attend workshops and hang out with their friends.
To prepare for these events, the Harker DECA officer team had organized various study sessions after school to give students the opportunity to perfect their competitive skills and build confidence. Held one to three times a week, the officer team as well as chapter advisors and mentors were available to help students with their written events and role-plays.
In the evening, Harker DECA gathered in the Marquis Ballroom once again for the grand awards session as well as the closing ceremony. New, this year, mini awards and grand awards were presented together. In total, Harker DECA performed admirably, with a number of teams called up to the stage and qualifying for ICDC.
“Being on stage was amazing and stressful at the same time,” said Anay Karwal, grade 10. “I felt nervous when I was walking up, but the support from my chapter definitely calmed me down. It was one of the best and most surreal moments of my life.”
After awards concluded, the closing ceremony began. The California DECA state officer team for the 2017-18 year said their goodbyes. The new state officer team for the 2018-19 year, including Harker DECA’s very own Enya Lu, took an oath of commitment to always support and serve California DECA.
As the closing ceremony finished, members of California DECA had time to hang out with friends and attend a social dance before curfew. With the conference coming to a close, California DECA cherished these last moments together.
Overall, Harker DECA had a very successful and enjoyable conference, as students were able to hone their competitive skills in their events, learn new things from motivational speakers, and network with other students from around California. Harker DECA looks forward to the next SCDC in San Diego in March 2019.
In preparation for the International Career Development Conference in April, qualifiers have the time to prepare to face the best of the world! Stay tuned for more updates on ICDC.
“At this year’s SCDC, students were given a variety of opportunities to broaden their horizons in business and entrepreneurship and try something new,” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA chapter advisor. “I am extremely proud of all members of Harker DECA, and I really hope students can utilize the skills they learned in future events and conferences.”
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 Radhika Jain, director of communications 20RadhikaJ@students.harker.org.
100 Mile Meals – a company that helps those who grow, prepare and deliver food reach a wider audience – has created a video about Harker’s great kitchens! The 100 Mile Meals show airs on YouTube, Roku, the company’s website and some Comcast channels. The company also has a PBS version of its show, which airs on 138 stations in 31 states, reaching 17.5 million homes. The production was spurred by one of Harker’s food suppliers to help showcase its products, but the video is all about why Harker food is legendary! Check it out!
Sophomore Avi Gulati achieved one of his dreams at the Cal High School Speech and Debate Tournament, held Feb. 17-19, by taking first place in original oratory. Not only does this performance make Galati a contender for the national championship, but he also got to speak to a huge audience on a stage that has featured many speech and debate legends. The whole team is very proud of this accomplishment. Huge congrats to Avi!
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10, contributed to this report
A group of young women from Harker attended the Watermark Conference for Women at the San Jose Convention Center on Feb. 23. More than 6,500 people attended the sold-out conference for women professionals.
The conference provided several networking and learning opportunities for female high school students. As part of the Young Women’s Program, the girls were able to attend a variety of workshops ranging from body positivity to life after high school graduation. The students also had the opportunity to observe two phenomenal keynote sessions with speakers Amal Clooney, Reese Witherspoon, and Jodi Kantor, who spoke about their personal experiences and about the role of women in the workplace.
Aliesa Bahri, grade 12, commented, “there were lots of great mentors and inspiring speakers that made it a genuinely amazing conference for me; especially Amal Clooney because she’s one of my personal heroes, and I am interested in law.”
Senior Melissa Kwan said, “I’ve never been in a room with that many people that care so much about equality and are willing to express their opinions on it. It was awesome to hear all the applause after all the points the speakers were making. Someone would say it’s time for equality in the workplace and everyone would stand up clapping.”
“The event featured speakers, workshops and exhibitors to empower, connect and inspire women from all over the Silicon Valley,” noted Juston Glass, business and entrepreneurship teacher. “This is a great CareerConnect event and opportunity for our young women to expand their network and skills in areas including personal branding, setting and achieving goals, communications, negotiations, leadership and organizational excellence,” he added.