Nikhil Panu ’13 and his app, Squadz, were among just 10 teams selected to participate in the Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures Social Innovation Lab (SIL). “In addition to being promising solutions to pressing social issues in the areas of health, education and community development, these ventures and their leaders represent the strength and diversity of Baltimore’s social innovation and entrepreneurship community,” said Darius Graham, SIL director, in the university’s news story.
The report noted, “Squadz is a social activity and venue booking platform that connects the community to play pickup sports, while generating revenue for community centers and recreation facilities. [It is] operated by Nikhil Panu, a Johns Hopkins University graduate student in the Whiting School of Engineering.”
“As a member of the cohort,” said Panu, “I see Squadz making the transition from a neat mobile app for pickup sports to a true sports community platform. We’ll be able to grow our user base through forming strategic partnerships and expand our venue network by meeting the right community leaders in the Baltimore area.”
Congrats to Nikhil! We’ll be watching to see where he takes Squadz!
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Alumna Shatters Records at Pepperdine
It has been a very good year for Izzy Connell ’13! After a break from track while she spent her sophomore year abroad in Florence, Italy, Connell returned as a junior this year to set three Pepperdine University records in indoor track (60-, 200- and 4×400-meter relay) and four school records in outdoor track (100-, 200-, 400- and 4×400-meter relay). Connell actually broke her own record in the 200 three times throughout the season!
“At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t focused on the records,” said Connell. “I concentrated on achieving my own goal times in specific events and breaking records was just icing on the cake.” This is the school’s first year competing in indoor track, and Connell had the unique experience of traveling to Arizona with her teammates to race against collegiate and professional runners.
“Racing in between professional women was intimidating but the competition made me faster,” she recalled. Connell, who is studying psychology, has been named a scholar-athlete both seasons that she has competed at Pepperdine. Her secret to success is managing her time well.
“I never procrastinate because that just makes things worse in the long run,” Connell said. “Being a student athlete has definitely taught me to be disciplined when it comes to my studies.” Connell ran varsity track all four years at Harker, qualifying for CCS every year. She also set school records in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 runs and the 4×400 relay, all of which still stand, except the 800, which was broken by Niki Iyer, grade 11.
Niki Iyer Continues Stellar Career
In her time at Harker, Niki Iyer, grade 11, has accomplished a lot. The distance runner has multiple first team and league MVP awards; she holds the Harker record in the 800-meter, the 1600 and the 3200; she has been a top three CCS finisher in cross country and a top five CCS finisher in the 3200 for the past three seasons, with back to back fifth place finishes at the state cross country finals; she briefly held the top high school 3200 time in the country earlier this year; and, most recently, she was the 2016 CCS champ in the 3200 that led to a third place finish at the state finals.
The week before CCS, Iyer was ranked eighth in the state in the 3200, but according to coach Scott Chisam, “She has not pushed a fast race since early April … she will go all out this Friday.” And go all out she did, taking home a CCS championship, outrunning the next runner by 2.5 seconds and earning a trip to the state finals. At state, Iyer ran an incredible race, finishing third, less than a second behind the second place finisher.
“It’s been such a fun experience this past season, because I was blessed by being healthy,” said Iyer. “I’ve never had a full season where I’ve been injury-free, so it was pretty awesome to go out there and actually be able to perform to the best of my ability.” Heading into her senior year, Iyer hopes to leave Harker with a lasting impression of who she is as an athlete.
“I feel like the legacy I’d like to leave is not just one of fanfare and athletic accomplishments, but one in which people remember me as an athlete who just loved the sport,” she said.
Three alumni are deferring personal lives to work for this year’s presidential campaigns. Isabella Liu ’02 is in Florida working on the Clinton campaign. Liu, a field organizer, first got involved in January and played a key role in San Francisco during the California primary. She then had the option to organize in the Bay Area, Florida or battleground states like Virginia, and she chose Florida, which is the biggest, most influential swing state, Liu noted.
It was a tough decision to drop everything and commit to the campaign, she said, but added that she and thousands of other organizers across the U.S. are driven by their shared vision of a more equitable, humane and sustainable country and world.
Just this past Monday, Liu introduced Ann Holton, wife of vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, at a Women for Hillary house party in Fort Myers, Fla. “The campaign is scrappy and, though getting involved is not easy or glamorous,” said Liu, “every volunteer that puts in a few minutes to a few weeks will be all the difference we need in November!” Liu noted that if others wish to get involved, they can visit https://www.hillaryclinton.com/events.
Felix Wu ’15 recently decided to take a break from his studies at Emory University to take a full-time position with the Iowa Democratic Party. During an Aug. 10 rally in the Iowa state capitol of Des Moines, Felix gave a speech to the large crowd that had assembled for an appearance by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “Felix has always been very passionate about politics and civil service, and we are glad that he continues to pursue his passion after Harker,” said May Lau, Felix’s mother.
Finally, Shannon Hong ’16, headed off to New York to work on the Clinton campaign. “This summer, I was given the opportunity to represent my personal role model in Philly, and now, I am elated to be able to help again in Brooklyn,” she said. Hong has deferred her education for a semester to follow her passion.
We’ll add details from our alumni on the campaign trail as they come in!
Felix Wu ’15 recently decided to take a break from his studies at Emory University for a full-time position with the Iowa Democratic Party. During an Aug. 10 rally in the Iowa state capitol of Des Moines, Felix gave a speech to the large crowd that had assembled for an appearance by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “Felix has always been very passionate about politics and civil service, and we are glad that he continues to pursue his passion after Harker,” said May Lau, Felix’s mother. Read about another alum working on the Clinton campaign, ‘Isabella Liu ’02 in “Alumna Takes on Clinton Campaign Role.”
Shay Lari-Hosain ’16 is taking a gap year before starting college and, not one to let the grass grow under his feet, already has been published in The Mercury News. Lari-Hosain was very active in Harker’s Journalism program and, as assistant editor in chief and designer, was instrumental in founding Wingspan, the student longform magazine. Here’s his interview with The Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Lauren Gutstein ’06 Teaching English and Drama at a Quaker School in Delaware
For the past two years, Lauren Gutstein ’06 has worked as an upper school English and drama teacher at the Wilmington Friends School in Delaware, a private Quaker school serving preschool through high school students.
“Getting up in front of class can be, in my opinion, quite theatrical, which fits my personality. I also love that teaching requires me to be constantly learning,” said Gutstein of her work at the school, which was founded in 1748 by members of the Wilmington Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers).
The school was originally intended for Quakers as well as for underprivileged children, regardless of religion. As Delaware started offering public education, the school moved toward its current college-preparatory program. Today only about 7 percent of the students are Quaker.
Gutstein, who teaches grades 10 to 12, called it “fascinating” to experience high school from “the other side.” Now, she said, she empathizes with her students as they agonize over a paper, audition or college application, remembering how she felt in those moments.
A highlight for Gutstein is directing the upper school’s annual musical. This past fall she worked with her students on the musical “Kiss Me Kate.”
Prior to teaching at the school, Gutstein lived and worked in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country and former Soviet republic, for several years. In addition to teaching English and literature at the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, Gutstein started a drama program. “We actually put on five trilingual (English, Kazakh and Russian) plays. I was working at a fairly new school and they were doing a lot of experimenting with curriculum and school organization, so one skill I really learned there is flexibility,” she recalled.
“The respect and admiration I had for my teachers at Harker was another factor in choosing teaching as a profession. Harker definitely nurtured my many interests, both academic and extracurricular. Harker also taught me how to balance a million responsibilities at once, which is teach- ing in a nutshell,” said Gutstein.
When asked to give advice for other alumni interested in teaching, Gutstein suggested teaching in wildly different environments. “Between Quaker education, Kazakhstani education, and student teaching in The School District of Philadelphia, I’ve seen dramatically different educational models and experienced joys and frustrations with each. Also, I learned what minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit feels like, so East Coast winters seem pretty tame!” she said.
Grace Hudkins ’08 Working Abroad in South Korea
Grace Hudkins ’08 had never been to Korea before moving there to teach theater to elementary school children attending Chad- wick International (CI). Located in the newly created city of Songdo in Incheon, South Korea, CI is an independent, coed, non-sectarian, preK-12 international school.
Hudkins recalled taking “a huge leap of faith” going to CI. Not only was she unfamiliar with Korea, she was entering into an intern position, so figured she would only stay a year or two. “I had never even eaten Korean food! But when my boss offered me the chance to start a drama program for the elementary school, I couldn’t say no!” recalled Hudkins.
“My first year I was an intern in a grade 3 classroom, then for the last two years, I have taught elementary school drama. Next year I am moving into a role as the coordinator of our theater spaces, as well as teaching some middle and upper school drama and theater tech,” said Hudkins, who currently works with students in preschool and kindergarten.
Incheon is known as an exciting area and transportation hub bordering the country’s capital of Seoul. Life in Korea is pretty great, said Hudkins, thanks to “a wonderful built-in community at the school, with expats from all over the world.” During her free time, Hudkins enjoys exploring Seoul, which is about an hour away, and is jam-packed with museums, shopping, culture and restaurants.
Teaching comes naturally to Hudkins, who has always enjoyed being around children. “I started babysitting when I was just 11, and was a camp counselor from the time I was 16. I became licensed for early childhood education, and my background in theater prepared me to build the elementary school program out here at CI,” she explained.
Hudkins credits Harker’s performing arts programs with spurring her interest in her current work. “It was through the arts that I found community, family and a sense of belonging. Harker’s conservatory program gave me a really well-rounded understanding of the arts, which launched me into my college student theater group as a director and stage manager in my first year.”
When Hudkins thinks about life after CI, she is not certain if it will always be as a traditional classroom teacher. “I can see doing educational outreach for a theater company, stage managing for a youth drama program or something completely different. For the foreseeable future, I am really passionate about international education and I love teaching drama, so I hope to keep doing that even after I leave CI,” she said.
Hassaan Ebrahim ’11 Working with Low-Income Families in East San Jose
Hassaan Ebrahim ’11 recently received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from the University of Southern California but put plans to apply to medical school on hold. Instead he signed up for a two-year stint with Teach For America (TFA), a nonprofit organization promoting educational equity.
After competing an intense training program this past summer, he was placed at Summit Rainier High School in East San Jose as a grade 9 math teacher, becoming one of the thousands of college graduates now serving as TFA teachers nationwide, and one of 340 in the Bay Area. These select individuals, known as “corps members,” commit to teaching for at least two years in a public or charter K-12 school in one of 52 low-income communities the organization serves.
“Education is more important than simply allowing someone to earn a steady income. Education opens doors of opportunity, allows one to discover new passions and to live an authentic life,” said Ebrahim. “The fact that such inequity exists in our country is shocking. I am drawn to working towards bringing quality education to those who need it most.”
According to TFA statistics, there is an educational crisis in San Jose, with nearly 40,000 students not proficient in grade-level skills and 2,300 middle and high school students dropping out every year. To combat the problem, back in 2009, a group of committed parents from East San Jose approached Summit Public Schools – a nonprofit organization created to provide high quality public school options to diverse communities – about bringing a Summit charter school to their community.
In 2011, two Summit schools in San Jose were born, Summit Rainier and Summit Tahoma. Summit Rainier is now a thriving high school in East San Jose and ranks among the top 20 public high schools in Santa Clara County.
Ebrahim, who plans to begin medical school after fulfilling his teaching commitment, recommends TFA to any alumni interesting in going into teaching. Corps members do not have to be certified teachers but must attend a training program. Once placed at a school, TFA teachers are considered full-fledged faculty members there.
“I wanted to do something different, not touring the world, but something still purposeful, before going on to medical school,” shared Ebrahim, who, after spending his TFA time working with children, is now considering becoming a pediatrician.
“My time at Harker taught me about the value of making a meaningful impact. I have such gratitude to the teachers I had. And Spanish at Harker really paid off as I now use it to speak with the families of some of my students!” he added.
Leyna Cotran ’94 Sharing Passion for Computer Science with University Students
Leyna Cotran ’94 knows a thing or two about racking up frequent flier miles. Prior to recently becoming a full-time computer science instructor at Santa Clara University, she worked there as a part-time adjunct faculty lecturer while completing a Ph.D. in software engineering at the University of California, Irvine. That meant a lot of back and forth travel between Southern California and the Bay Area.
“It was just go, go, go!” recalled Cotran, who along the way also became pregnant with her first child, a daughter now 2 years old.
Prior to working at Santa Clara University, Cotran was the project lead for Navy re-entry systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., one of four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin, an American global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technologies company with worldwide interests.
Although she spent many years working in the private sector, Cotran, who earned her master’s degree in software engineering from Santa Clara University, says she feels at home teaching at her alma mater. One of the first courses she created and taught at the college continues to be part of the school’s master’s curriculum for software engineering.
One of the things Cotran enjoys most about teaching at Santa Clara University is the opportunity to transmit knowledge to a new generation. “The students I teach today are going to be leaders during my child’s future,” said Cotran, who finds she has a fresh perspective on teaching now that she has become a parent.
“Much of my own character was shaped at Harker. Now that I am teaching, it feels like things have come full circle,” she said.
In early March, Judge John Owens ’85 came to campus to speak to upper school students at a morning assembly on “Honors and Ethics,” sponsored by the Honor Council.
Owens said that his time at Harker remains “the most significant professional and personal influence on me.” He went on to say that Harker provided him with the study skills necessary to succeed in school, and more important, the ethics and values to succeed in life.
Owens started out as a Harker student in 1979, graduated from grade 8 in 1985, and worked as a summer camp counselor/coach at the school from 1985 until 1991. Today, he remains active with the school in his capacity as a member of Harker’s distinguished board of fellows.
He was previously featured in Harker News when he was appointed to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the nation’s largest appeals court.
Prior to his talk at the upper school, Owens had returned to Harker’s lower school to talk with third graders about his life as a judge.
March has been very good for a pair of athletic Harker alumnae! Ashley Del Alto ’13 is currently the starting left fielder for the Briar Cliff University Chargers and last week was named the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports softball player-of-the-week. The Chargers went 4-0 on the week, thanks in large part to Del Alto, who went 8-15 with seven RBIs in the four victories. Del Alto is currently leading Briar Cliff with a .338 batting average.
A little closer to home, Izzy Connell ’13 has been tearing up the track and the record books at Pepperdine University. This past weekend, Connell broke her own school records in the women’s 100m (12.13 seconds) and 200m (24.96 seconds), placing fifth and sixth, respectively, at the Bruins Legends Invitational held at UCLA. She also holds the school record in the 400m. Go, Harker alumni!
Amit Mukherjee ’06, a senior associate at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), was included in Forbes magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” list of young movers and shakers in the venture capital category for 2016.
Mukherjee has worked at NEA since 2012, overseeing more than $500 million of invested capital. A leading source for reliable business news and financial information, Forbes is well known for its annual lists and rankings. The “30 Under 30” list prides itself on predicting the brightest and most ambitious young adults to watch in the coming year.
“I had been a finalist for ’30 under 30′ the year before, and was then not selected,” he said. “Winning the award after not being selected the year before was a great lesson that sometimes things go my way and other times they don’t, and my long-term outlook would vary little regardless.”