Last week, first graders sent more than 500 items and more than $300 to the Humane Society Silicon Valley to cap off their annual donation drive. The effort ran from Feb. 28-March 10, collecting food, linens, toys and other goods for the many animals in HSSV’s care. “Our team was thrilled to receive the donations,” said Kristi Mack, HSSV’s human resources director. “Our team loved meeting all of your amazing first graders and their teachers. What a fun way to start a day learning about helping animals!”
Founded in 1929, HSSV is notable for being the world’s first model shelter, a distinction earned by meeting all of the more than 500 guidelines for animal care identified by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. It operates 365 days a year, providing services such as adoption, affordable spaying and neutering, vaccinations and microchipping.
Arushi Sharma, grade 11, recently received a Congressional Silver Medal Award, one of the highest honors for civilian youths. The award honors young people for their service and achievements. Sharma was recognized for her work with a number of community organizations during the last few years, including Compassion for Seniors, which puts on musical performances for patients in Bay Area memory care facilities. She also organized efforts to send care packages to support caregivers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and mentored students for the organization Inclusive World, which provides skill development and employment opportunities for the differently abled.
The San Jose Mayor Youth Forum, organized by students from Harker and Yerba Buena High School, was held Oct. 25 at the Cambrian Branch Library in San Jose, during which San Jose mayoral candidate Matt Mahan and a representative for Cindy Chavez, mayoral candidate and Santa Clara County supervisor for district 2, discussed each candidate’s platforms and positions on various issues. Topics included support for the unhoused, public transportation and education. Students had the opportunity to meet and chat with the speakers after they presented their platforms.
Harker seniors Sara Bhowmick, Kris Estrada and K.J. Williams and sophomores Valerie Li and Sahngwie Yim organized the event with a group of students from Yerba Buena High School, meeting via Zoom to plan its content and discuss promotion.
Late last month, senior Amiya Chokhawala received a Youth Leadership Award from St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew. She was recognized for founding the nonprofit organization STEMHer, which inspires young women from less privileged backgrounds to pursue STEM careers through workshops, tutoring and Q&A sessions. Through a partnership with St. Kitts and Nevis’ CARE Foundation, STEMHer brought free coding and artificial intelligence workshops to girls aged 12-16, held both virtually and in-person. STEMHer also created a short documentary on its partnership with the CARE Foundation. Earlier this year, Chokhawala was featured on the Future of the Business World podcast, hosted by the Wharton School of Business.
On Friday, the lower school held its annual Kids Heart Challenge, which raised more than $20,000 for the American Heart Association while promoting active, healthy lifestyles. Taking place mainly in the lower school gym, students could be seen enthusiastically jumping rope and hula-hooping to show their appreciation for the benefits of physical activity. Donations are still being accepted until March 18.
Each year, schools across the country hold Kids Heart Challenge events of their own. Harker began participating more than 20 years ago when the event was known as Jump Rope for Heart.
Sophomore Arushi Sharma recently received her second consecutive President’s Volunteer Service Award, which is awarded to people who have a positive impact on their communities and inspire others to serve. Sharma works with Compassion for Seniors, an organization that stages musical performances for seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. Sharma was instrumental in putting together a massive mask donation effort last year, at time when masks were in short supply at senior centers. By her own estimation, she sewed nearly 200 masks by hand.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award was created in 2003 by AmeriCorps, an independent U.S. government agency that coordinates service efforts across the country. Awards are given to eligible volunteers by certifying organizations, which can include nonprofits, schools and community-based organizations.
In August, the App Dev League, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Harker junior Krish Maniar, held its first Appathon for high school students. Participants created business pitch videos, proposals and prototypes of apps they wanted to develop. The event had more than 300 participants and offered $20,000 in prizes thanks to its 20 partners and sponsors. Speakers at the event included Brian Dean, founder of the USA Computing Olympiad, and entrepreneur Damian Musk.
The App Dev League’s leadership is made up of Maniar, Harker sophomore Kabir Ramzan and Saratoga High School juniors Shafin Haque and Ishir Lakhani. Since the organization’s founding in December 2019, it has hosted more than 15 computer science education events with the aim of increasing diversity in the tech industry. Attendees at these events have learned to develop web applications, games, mobile apps and more in a project-based program that is designed to be friendly to those new to development. An estimated 5,000 students have been helped via these events. In the future, the organization hopes to offer technology assistance to schools and create more international branches in addition to monthly events.
Last month, the Harker Key Club was named Organization of the Year in the city of Cupertino’s 2021 CREST (“Cupertino Recognizes Extra Steps Taken”) Awards. This annual award is given to Cupertino residents who’ve made positive impacts on their communities. In a statement, Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul noted the effort shown by this year’s awardees, saying, “Giving back to your community is an honorable thing to do at any time, but continuing to do so during a pandemic shows incredible dedication and commitment.” On Monday, Harker Key Club officers (from left to right) Anishka Raina and Lucy Ge, grade 12, and Reshma Kosaraju and Olivia Xu, both grade 10, were filmed on campus by the city of Cupertino’s media team for a short film that will be shown at the Cupertino CREST Awards ceremony on Oct. 14.
On Wednesday, the annual grade 3 pajama and book drive came to a close, with 156 pairs of pajamas and 406 books collected. The goods will be donated to the Pajama Program, an organization that will distribute them to children living in shelters and temporary housing.
The annual assembly celebrating the effort was held virtually this year, but key parts of the tradition remained, including students wearing pajamas and a special story reading by Butch Keller, upper school division head, who read Pat Zietlow Miller’s “Be Kind” to the students in attendance.
On Friday, a virtual middle school assembly celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At the assembly, a series of grade 7 speakers delivered calls to action on issues important to them in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day’s designation as a day of service.
The activity was directed by English teacher Rebecca Williams, who asked her students to be “voices of change” by bringing awareness to issues they felt were important.
Linda Zeng spoke on the pressure felt by students preparing for standardized tests and offered some ways students could alleviate stress. Ritik Raman and Rahul Sundaresan spoke on the danger posed to aquatic life by pollution and how people can contribute to a more sustainable world. Disha Gupta offered a passionate plea for the community to find ways to end bullying, which she said creates “a never-ending cycle of abuse.” Savitha Satish talked about the discrimination faced by sufferers of mental illness and encouraged people to educate themselves and others on mental health. Elie Ahluwalia and Myra Thakker talked about how stereotypes can lead to discrimination and explained the difference between being a passive “non-racist” and an active “anti-racist” who analyzes their own stereotyping thoughts and works for a more equal society. Finally, Sofia Shah talked about gender inequality in the workplace and how norms that keep women at home and in a narrow set of jobs must be rejected.
Following the student talks, seventh grader Tanvi Sivakumar announced the Blessing Bags service project, which will provide basic necessities such as water, food and toiletries to the homeless.
The assembly ended with Williams challenging the attendees to find issues they care about and learn how to become an agent of change, followed by attendees announcing the issues they chose in the Zoom room’s text chat.