Harker Magazine Summer 2019 by The Harker School

A PUBLICATION OF THE HARKER SCHOOL l SPRING/SUMMER 2019

M A G A Z I N E

A TEAMAGES for the

Boys volleyball ranked fourth in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2039;

ECLECTIC ELECTIVES

DEBATE BANNER YEAR

ADVISORY PROGRAM

M A G A Z I N E

SPRI NG/SU M M ER 2019, V O LU ME 10, N U MB E R 2 Pam Dickinson Office of Communication Director William Cracraft Managing Editor Catherine Snider Production Editor Mark Kocina Photographer Jennifer Maragoni Copy Editor

Zach Jones Rebecca McCartney Staff Contributors Blue Heron Design Design Have an idea? Contact us: news@harker.org 408.345.9273 Or write: Harker Magazine 500 Saratoga Ave. San Jose, CA 95129

Harker is a Bay Area Green Certified Business of Santa Clara County. As part of our many sustainability efforts, Harker Magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper.

On the cover: Boys volleyball has a historic season. On this page: Grade 1 students shared messages at their Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Breakfast. On the back: Aryana Far â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;19 and her classmates were surprised with commemorative 125th anniversary tassels to mark this historic year. All photographs by Mark Kocina.

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26 CONTENTS Home Base Middle and upper school advisory programs provide downtime, support and community.

125th Anniversary Gala A great time was had by all.

Eclectic Electives Unique course offerings give students opportunities to explore, dig deeper.

Talking Points Speech and debate program develops valuable skills.

A Team for the Ages Our photo essay tracks the boys volleyball team’s historic season.

Giving from the Heart Partnership with Camp Okizu is a meaningful Harker tradition.

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Headlines: Head of School Brian Yager’s commencement

address considers California’s and Harker’s histories.

Top Stories: A summary of the most-read articles from

Harker News.

Face Time: Up close and personal with teachers and staff.

15, 33, 43, 58

Gallery: Photo highlights from the past semester – graduation, 16, 24, 50 performing arts, sports. Passion & Impact: Alumni following their dreams and 22, 34, 48, 56 making a difference in the world. Staff Kudos: Happenings in the professional lives of our faculty and staff.

Class Notes: Alumni news and photos.

H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

From its early beginnings in 1893 – when Stanford University leaders assisted in its establishment – to its reputation today as a leading preparatory school with graduates attending prestigious universities worldwide, Harker’s mission has remained constant: to create an environment that promotes academic excellence, inspires intellectual curiosity, expects personal accountability and forever instills a genuine passion for learning. Whether striving for academic achievement, raising funds for global concerns, performing on stage or scoring a goal, Harker students encourage and support one another and celebrate each other’s efforts and successes, at Harker and beyond. Harker is a dynamic, supportive, fun and nurturing community where kids and their families make friends for life.

HARKER MAGAZINE Harker Magazine is published biannually, in December and June, to showcase some of the top news, visionary programs and inspiring people of the greater Harker community. This magazine and its predecessor, the Harker Quarterly, have been recognized with CASE silver and bronze awards, and a gold and three platinum MarCom awards.

Subscribe to Harker News and get the latest daily updates. Visit news.harker.org.

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PREFER TO READ ONLINE? You can opt out of receiving Harker Magazine by mail and just read it online at https://issuu.com/ theharkerschool. To be removed from the mailing list, email us at communications@harker.org. The Harker School is an independent, coed, collegeprep school serving preschool through grade 12. Preschool: 4525 Union Ave., San Jose, CA 95124 K-Grade 5: 4300 Bucknall Rd., San Jose, CA 95130 Grades 6-8: 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose, CA 95117 Grades 9-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129

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WORDS BY BRIAN YAGER PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK KOCINA

Parallel Histories: California’s and Harker’s growths keep pace

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from Brian Yager’s commencement address. This past year, we have been especially focused on the history of Harker. As we have explored Harker’s past, it has been easy to link Harker’s trajectory with that of Silicon Valley, and many people have noted that the school has, over the past 125 years, enjoyed the same increase in scope, scale and success as has the valley in which we reside. This past year I delved into a book that provides further insight into the history of this part of the world. In 1834, Richard Henry Dana, a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard University, decided to take a break from his studies to explore the world. Following a dream he had harbored throughout his young life growing up on the riverside near the port of Boston, he signed on to the crew of the merchant ship Pilgrim, and for two years he lived at sea. Most of that time was spent along the coast of California, and he quartered with the other sailors in the forecastle – the room below the deck in front of the mast. Dana kept a diary of his adventures, which he published in 1839, with the apt title, “Two Years Before the Mast.”

May the wind be at your back, and your sunrises golden and your sunsets crimson, and the current your friend, and may your shipmates be trustworthy, competent and good company, and your compass and tiller true, and your destination be a good one, but the journey there even better.

There are many lessons to be found in Dana’s accounts, and among them are insights into the past and future of our state. At the time of his writing, California had a population of fewer than 14,000 people. His description of his ship’s first visit into San Francisco Bay is especially illustrative of the sparseness of population and human development. He writes, “There was no other habitation on this side of the bay, except a shanty of rough boards put up by a man named Richardson, who was doing a little trading between the vessels and the Indians.”

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In other words, in 1833, outside of the presidio and mission, there was a single house in what we today call the city of San Francisco.

communications@harker.org · 408.345.9273 NEXT ISSUE: FALL/WINTER 2019

This past weekend, as the senior class traveled by bus to Laguna Beach, we traversed the land which Dana spent almost two years exploring by sea (in fact, Laguna Beach is adjacent to Dana Point, the city named after Dana).

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In this journey, the Harker travelers spent time in what have arguably been humanity’s two most influential metropolises of the past half-century – San Francisco and Los Angeles – and through the valley that produces more sustenance than any other region on Earth. Yet Dana would not be surprised to see the grandeur of California today. In fact, he more or less predicted it, saying, “In the hands of an enterprising people, what a country this might be!” Today, the state supports a population of almost 40 million people, and an economy that would be the fifth largest in the world if California were its own country. There are many factors that have contributed to the emergence of California from its sleepy beginnings at the time of Dana’s journey, from the natural resources and climate we enjoy, to the confluence of technological developments and geopolitics. There has also been a culture of optimism and a can-do attitude that has permeated the people of the state. This attitude has been both captured and promoted by the entertainment industry, epitomized by the “Company that Walt Built” – Disney. As the seniors entered the park that Walt Disney built in 1955, they passed a sign that reads, “Here you leave today, and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” Disney’s vision was to create experiences that helped the world appreciate what it had been, and dream what it might become, and to provide not just material for our dreams collective and individual, but also the permission to ask what might be. And, at the same time, the story of Disney, and the story of California, are not all positive. In their growth there are cautions for us to heed. The state, for all of its brilliance, grandeur and wealth, faces significant social welfare challenges and is littered with our refuse. The technologies that drive our economy and propel us into the future come with costs both physical and emotional. The Disney empire has helped us dream, but it – and other media and entertainment companies like it – has also fueled a culture of consumption and commercialism that has perpetuated stereotypes and compromised our environment. Our growth and progress have come with a price. Yet, that same progress gives us hope for solutions to the problems we have created, and it is our hope – and our challenge to you and future generations of Harker students – that you can lead the way into a future that moves us forward without setting us back. Sixty years after Dana’s vessel first rounded the tip of the Peninsula, a couple from the East Coast followed their dream of starting a university on their family ranch, and named it after their recently deceased son. While Palo Alto only had a population of some 1,500 people in 1892, it made a suitable

home for the nascent institution the couple fondly referred to as “The Farm,” and officially called Leland Stanford Junior University. A year later, in 1893, a young educator named Frank Cramer started a small school called Manzanita Hall, and, as you know if you have been reading the various displays around our four campuses this past year, so began, 125 years ago, what we know today as The Harker School. While much has happened to Harker in the past 125 years, its journey, like the journey of the state in which we live, has been remarkable one. It has also been one built on hope: the hope that we can produce graduates who can and will steer the future in a positive direction; the hope that we can, collectively, capitalize on the opportunities with which we are blessed to undo the mistakes we have made in getting here; and the hope that our efforts to educate you will enable you to appreciate the world of yesterday, love the world of tomorrow, and that your fantasy will be to stand in a world, 50, 60, 70, maybe even 125 years from now, that is one that you can say, with pride and joy, that you helped make happen. Members of the Class of 2019, we live in an incredible time, and also one that presents problems that we need you to solve. Borrowing from the lexicon of the sea with which Dana wrote about his travels, may the wind be at your back, and your sunrises golden and your sunsets crimson, and the current your friend, and may your shipmates be trustworthy, competent and good company, and your compass and tiller true, and your destination be a good one, but the journey there even better. We hope, with all of our hearts, that in your journeys as graduates of The Harker School you will find joy, meaning and friendship, and that each and every one of you will fare well! H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

top stories

Jennifer Gargano named for dedication as educator

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!”

............................................................... [UPDATED] Three seniors named Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists Jan. 23, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9La

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 are Ayush Alag, Natasha Maniar and Ruhi Sayana. Each of these students will head to Washington, D.C., in early March for the national finals. 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. Congratulations and best of luck to these stellar students!

............................................................... Upper school speech and debate enjoys great winter results! Feb. 11, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9L2 The Harker speech and debate team has continued its winning streak this winter with successes at a host of tournaments across the nation. Students traveled to tournaments across California as well as in Illinois, Georgia, Arizona and Florida. Harker is having an especially strong season and we are proud of the success of all of the students. Read more using the short link and see page 36 for our feature article on the speech and debate department.

............................................................... JV speech and debate team, including some middle schoolers, sets record in championship event March 13, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9TH The Harker speech and debate team had excellent results in all four divisions it entered at the Western JV and Novice National Championship this past weekend.

Photo provided by Jenny Achten

The tournament, hosted by San Francisco State University on March 9-10, attracted 32 schools from three states. In JV Lincoln-Douglas debate, Harker students set a record! Harker was the first school in the history of the tournament to have the top six finishers in any event. The tournament was also special because so many upperclassmen attended as mentors and judges. The middle school and upper school coaches were very proud of the extraordinary work of all of the students!

............................................................... Upper school students win national gold and silver medals in Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, more than 60 recognized March 20, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9Ub On March 13, senior Raymond Banke and junior Kathy Fang were named national gold medalists in the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Banke won for his piece in the Future New category, titled “American Dreamers,” and Fang for her critical essay “A New Woman: A Rediscovery of Women’s Roles in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.” They are the first Harker students to receive the honor since Xinyi “Cherry” Xie ’12 in 2012. Three other students also received national recognition in the form of silver medals. Junior Eric Fang won in photography for his piece, titled “Into the Unknown”; Anna Gert, also a junior, won for her critical essay “Illnesses in Frankenstein: An Explication of Victor’s Recurring

Sickness”; and senior Alexander Young’s “A Iaccian Sestina” won in the poetry category.

............................................................... Harker students bring home 14 perfect AP scores, including one double perfect March 29, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9X5 Fourteen Harker students earned perfect scores on AP tests taken last spring. In economics, Ashwin Rammohan, grade 12, got perfect scores – no wrong answers – on both the macro- and microeconomics AP tests, one of only four students in the world to get perfect scores on more than one AP exam! Enya Lu, grade 12, got a perfect score on the AP Macroeconomics test, making her one of only 31 worldwide to do so. Rithvik Panchapakesan, grade 12, aced the AP Microeconomics test as one of 26 who got perfect scores worldwide. In computer science, there were 193 perfect scores worldwide and nearly 6 percent of them were from 11 Harker students. Harker students have turned in numerous perfect scores over the years. Search “perfect score” to find related articles in Harker News.

............................................................... Two students qualify for U.S. Physics Team April 26, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-a4h Freshmen David Dai and Rishab Parthasarathy were recently selected to be two of 20 high school students on the 2019 U.S. Physics Team. Each year, the American Association of Physics Teachers selects team members from the top scorers on the USA Physics Exam, who are then invited to a boot camp at the University of Maryland, College

Photos provided by Lifetouch Photography

Park. Five of these students will then be chosen for the traveling team for the International Physics Olympiad in Tel Aviv, Israel.

............................................................... [UPDATED] Seven students win National Merit scholarships, nearly 60 percent of class recognized overall May 9, 2019 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9wE May 9, 2019: Seniors Ayush Alag, Enya Lu, Rithvik Panchapakesan, Akshay Ravoor, Katherine Tian, Alex Yu and Katherine Zhang were among the second round of winners announced in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program yesterday. Each student won a $2,500 scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Program. The next two rounds of winners will be announced in June and July. Congratulations! Sept. 25, 2018: In mid-September, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation identified 68 Harker seniors as Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Competition. This designation places them among the 50,000 highest-scoring students (about 3 percent) from the 1.6 million who took the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test. Combined with the 43 seniors recently named semifinalists, this news brings the total number of seniors recognized by National Merit to 111, or 57 percent of the Class of 2019.

H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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Home O

n a typical day at the upper school campus, a casual observer might notice something that would seem peculiar at other high schools: students wearing T-shirts and hoodies adorned with the names (and sometimes faces) of their teachers, akin to merchandise purchased at a rock concert.

Photo by Patricia Burrows

Middle and upper school advisory programs provide downtime, support and community

It’s a sign of appreciation for Harker’s long-running advisory program, which has become a crucial component of student life at both the middle and upper schools. “It’s what makes independent schools unique, I think, particularly a school of our size,” said Kevin Williamson, upper school dean of students. “The advisory program for me helps keep that small school feel.” At both campuses, advisory is often an opportunity for students to turn their focus away from academics and enjoy some downtime. Students are assigned an advisory – each overseen by a different faculty member – upon entering grade 6, and stay with that advisory through grade 8. Once they enter the upper school, they are placed in a new advisory for the duration of their high school years. 8

HARK E R MAGA Z I N E l S P RI N G/S UM M E R 2019

WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

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HOME BASE

Middle school advisory sessions are held twice a week for 15 minutes each, while upper school advisories meet once a week for 30 minutes. During this period, activities can range from board games to guided discussions to simply chatting about whatever comes to mind, and are largely determined by what students tend to enjoy and what helps them bond as a group. “The ones I see that work really well are the teachers who are willing to just sit and have conversations with the kids and share some food and laughter,” Williamson said. Some activities even extend beyond campus. At the upper school, junior and senior advisories often trek to the local Starbucks, and Arabelle Chow’s grade 6 advisees are big fans of boba tea. “We try to eventually get off campus here and there when there’s a long advisory,” said Chow. “It’s such a big deal for them to get off campus [as a group].” Advisors often find that students feel much more comfortable discussing certain topics within the relatively open-ended environment of the advisory period. “The kids tend to be more themselves in advisory than in a class, where they’re graded, and they’re doing assignments and being tested. There’s a different dynamic,” said Patricia Burrows, assistant middle school head. “In your advisory, if you come in and you have a bad day, your advisor might be someone who can be more tolerant of your mood.”

Longstanding tradition The beginnings of the advisory program can be traced to the to the start of the upper school, “as early as when Howard and Diana Nichols started visiting schools back East and planning what this high school should look like,” recalled Williamson. “I think the advisory is a big part of what they saw as interesting, and so it started out more as a homeroom, where you’re disseminating information to kids.” As the school was very small, so too were advisories, made up of an average of just five to six students. As the school grew over the following few years, the administration sought ways to deepen the advisory program while keeping advisories at a maximum of 10 students each. Several faculty members attended a workshop on advisories and returned with “this sort of bible on how to build advisories,” said upper school theater teacher Jeff Draper, who is also the freshman advisory dean. “We did that for a couple of years, then we realized that teachers had a lot of their own ideas and that that book we were giving them didn’t need to be used as much.” 10

HA R K E R MAGA Z I NE l S P RI N G/S UM M E R 2019

“

I can’t stress how important it is for students, especially in middle school and high school, to feel like they’re a part of a group of people that supports them. That’s the goal of advisory.

– Avi Gulati, grade 11

”

Although advisors have considerable leverage over how their sessions are conducted, overarching goals and guidelines are communicated and pursued. At the upper school, these pillars include providing downtime and education on character and ethics, which includes visits by the upper school Honor Council. Wellness is another key benefit of the advisory program, and in addition to providing a place to destress, advisories also attend talks by guest speakers and workshops in the upper school’s LIFE (Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm) program. “Having regular discussions about non-academic aspects of school definitely helped me glean various student perspectives,” said senior Kelsey Wu. “As a member of student council who focuses on promoting mental health at school, student happiness is really important and valuable to me. Advisory is also a great outlet for stress, as it’s a time designated to purely have fun.”

‘Family’ bonding Each advisory also spends one day each year on a special outing to foster teamwork and bonding. Incoming freshmen enjoy their orientation day playing team-building games on Davis Field. During sophomore year, students traverse ropes courses in Santa Cruz and La Honda, and juniors go whitewater rafting. Just days before graduation, seniors embark on the senior trip to reminisce before the end of their high school careers. “Orientation Day involves a lot of field activities, and one that really stands out to me was the water pipe activity. Essentially, every advisory got a vertical PVC pipe with water in it, but the pipe had holes that advisory members were only allowed to block with their bodies,” said Wu. “It was a lot of fun, and a great bonding experience for us.” The early class outings are a crucial way in which students connect, as they drive home the importance of supporting their fellow advisees. “[The ropes course trip is] a time when advisories work as a team and troubleshoot, problem-solve and also have to support each other – literally carry each other’s weight as half the group is climbing in the trees and the rest are belaying, helping them hold the ropes,” said Draper. “And that metaphorical idea of being supportive, when it’s literal, all of a sudden they feel it and I just can see the groups being closer the next day.” As their years together draw to a close, the senior trip provides a way for students to close the loop on their advisory experience. “Days before graduation, they are with their advisory groups for a lot of that time, and it’s just this miniature family that has clicked over the years,” Draper said. “And it’s a really positive part of what I think the Harker experience is.” Overall, however, advisors have discovered that the character of their advisories can change drastically with

each new class, and that different classes receive the benefits of the advisory program in various ways. “My last two advisories loved playing games,” said Nicole Hall, the upper school administrative services manager. “So I thought [with my current advisory], I’ll make sure I have a lot of games. But it turned out they’re not really into games. So it definitely took some time to find what would work for them, and they tended to really like just having discussions.” Both the middle and upper school programs place advisors in the role of guides and advocates who can be consulted when students have questions about their academic path or when disciplinary issues arise. “We have [one-on-one] discussions with the kids about changing maybe from honors to AP or vice versa,” said Williamson. When there are disciplinary concerns, “as an advocate, it doesn’t mean I’m their defense attorney. I just want to help [them] figure out how to address the concerns this teacher has.” Chow stressed how important it is for students to feel like advisory “is a home base, and they’re not going to get in trouble for things, and I’m there to support them rather than knock them for things that they might not be doing right.” Although advisors are notified when a student has a disciplinary problem, the ensuing discussion “is about ‘what could we have done differently’ instead of ‘I can’t believe you did this.’” The “home base” aspect of advisory is talked about often at the middle school, where the program is similar to the upper school’s in that it provides a nonacademic space where students can receive support and participate in various activities. “It’s a home base for students to have a place to consistently meet an adult who provides some guidance for them,” said middle school Spanish teacher and advisory dean H AR KER MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

HOME BASE

their hobbies.” Chow’s advisees also do presentations about themselves and bring along snacks to share. Often these snacks have some importance to them, such as being a part of their cultural background or something they enjoyed growing up. “They’re kind of responsible for sharing about themselves with advisory, and they tend to bring snacks that are connected to them in some way,” said Chow.

Julie Pinzás. “Sometimes they discuss what happens around school, their everyday adolescent fears; study strategies are sometimes incorporated.” Wu, who became a Harker student at grade 5, enjoyed the idea of advisories from her first days at the middle school. “Having a smaller group of eight to 10 students in which mental health, student stress, and just plain fun is prioritized was really refreshing,” she said. “I think something like this is really valuable at a place like Harker or even the wider Bay Area, where students are very driven and passionate about their own goals.” Advisories at the middle school have more direction from advisors, who often have their advisees engage in activities that involve telling the other members of the advisory about themselves. “In my advisory we have students present about themselves to start us off,” said Pinzás. “They include their families, what they did during the summer, their likes and dislikes, some of

Avi Gulati, a junior who started at Harker as a third grader, remembered one middle school activity that helped him grow closer to his fellow advisees: performing a dance routine to Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” “We were all Beliebers,” he recalled. “Although our dance was initially uncoordinated, with practice – a lot of practice – we soon mastered the routine. This is the capstone and one of the defining memories of my middle school advisory experience.” Middle school advisors periodically receive new guidelines on what to work on with their advisories. Recently, advisories have emphasized that students are more than their grades. “We are having them think about what they do outside of school and their interests,” said Pinzás. “They are a brother, a son, a friend, a basketball player.” “Obviously grades are important, but we want them to think about what else they bring to the table,” said Chow. “It’s also another opportunity to get to know what they do outside of school, because they’re so involved in so many things, and we just never know about it. Oh, you’re a top fencer, and I had no idea!” The middle school advisory also includes the house system,

Photo provided by Ruth Meyer

HAR K E R MAGA Z I N E l S PRI N G/S UM M E R 2019

which was introduced in 2008 to help middle school students in different grades connect with one another. Within each house, sub-groups of three students from each grade were introduced this year, “because we want students to be able to get to know other grades as well, and there are some challenges with that,” said Burrows. Houses compete each year for spirit points, but there are also cross-grade activities designed to foster connections between students in different grades. “They’re not just one grade, but several grades, and they work together and they benefit from each other’s strengths,” said Pinzás. “It does help them see that there are other people out there, other than the students in their grade.”

students learn more about themselves and in turn become better at understanding others. “When we talk about social-emotional learning, we’re talking about things like self-awareness, self-management, self-regulation, interpersonal relationships,” Burrows said. “Those are the kinds of skills that we have the opportunity to develop in advisory.” “It’s my goal as an advisor that my kids are all just really good people,” said Chow. A recent advisory activity involved creating a chain-like display honoring social justice heroes, which led to a discussion about “why it’s important to use language that’s not hurtful to people.” These experiences are important to help students navigate conversations involving topics that are often uncomfortable to discuss. “You just have to embrace that discomfort, and figure out how to have the discussion in a mature way,” said Chow. Burrows identified advisories as an “important avenue” for teaching students social-emotional skills. “It’s in advisory that you can have the conversations about being a better person,” she said.

Avenue for growth Students have found that advisories have helped them stay up to date on school events in addition to being an opportunity for play and relaxation. “Advisory helps a lot with keeping up with announcements and other assemblies during the week,” said Keren Eisenberg, grade 6. “I also find it very fun and relaxing to have 15 minutes in the day to do nothing and play around a little bit.”

One reason the advisory may be so well suited to learning how to empathize with others is that students are put in direct contact with other students they may not have otherwise met. “Their best friend might not be in the group,” said Pinzás. “They’re mixed up a little bit so that they can have an experience with a different group of people and learn how to cooperate and work together.”

Sixth grader Harriss Miller appreciates how advisories help him keep track of things like assemblies. “Also, the time I have in advisory is very soothing. There is very little work required for advisory, and it is great for relaxing,” he said.

According to Burrows, creating those connections with others and learning to work through the differences and problems that may arise in bonding with students they may not normally interact with is central to the mission of the advisory program. “When they move into high school, where things are less structured, and with less guidance, they have some tools to make decisions that will be healthy for them,” she said.

This year, middle school advisories have begun to further incorporate social-emotional learning to help

Even with those tools, transitioning to high school life can be a challenge. Making this adjustment easier for H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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HOME BASE

incoming freshmen was a primary reason Draper became freshman class dean in spring 2018. “I get to help them with that first thing, getting started in high school and feeling safe, secure, happy, meeting friends, knowing how this all works, and then feeling like they’re at home as early as possible,” Draper said. Of great assistance in this task is the Link Crew, a group of Harker juniors and seniors who act as guides and mentors to freshmen, visiting and running advisories several times a year as well as being available to answer questions and listen to concerns.

Photo provided by Pam Dickinson

“We have so much student leadership at this school, and they’re empowered and they want to help each other out; they problem-solve and they work together, and they collaborate with each other, and with the new students,” Draper said. “And it’s just fun to watch that whole program work and run as well.” Students’ appreciation for what they do and learn in advisory extends well beyond wearing personalized attire during the school day. “At the end of the year, the seniors create a card and shout out to teachers and administrators who they really connected to,” Williamson said. “The thing that gets mentioned more than anything else is advisory. They’re so grateful for their advisory group, for their advisor.” Wu, who was in Chow’s advisory during middle school, greets her former advisor whenever they cross paths. For Chow’s part, visits from advisees who have gone on to the upper school or graduated is something she has come to expect. “The ones who always come and visit me from the high school or even after high school are my advisees,” said Chow. “Even though you don’t see them every day, it is one of those relationships that’s super strong and they tend to remember after leaving Harker.” For Gulati, the benefit of the support system gained from advisory cannot be overstated. “I can’t stress how important it is for students, especially in middle school and high school, to feel like they’re a part of a group of people that supports them,” he said. “That’s the goal of advisory. It’s such a regular part of my schedule … that I overlook how meaningful it is.” 14

HARK E R MAGA Z I N E l S P RI N G/S UM M E R 2019

What do you like to do when you finally have a block of free time? Travel, travel, travel! I have been to 15 countries and would like to add to that.

What is something interesting about you that almost no one knows? I eat raw meat. Completely raw. I season it and never cook it.

face time

alid Fahmy is a busy man at the lower school! He teaches health and P.E., and coaches after-school football, basketball, soccer and baseball, in addition to being a grade 5 homeroom teacher and the Spirit & Service Club coordinator. This Oakland native’s favorite things in the world are his two young sons, Marino and Rocco, but he also gets a lot of satisfaction volunteering for youth programs at his church and escaping to the beach to swim or lay in the sun. He tells Harker Magazine about a few more of his favorite things.

What is the best compliment someone can give you? I truly appreciate when someone compliments my loyalty. I feel that loyalty is a strong character trait – evident in the fact that I have been with Harker for 22 years now!

What is your most treasured memory? Delivering my firstborn son. Mine actually were the first hands to touch him. That makes me very happy!

What makes you feel like a kid again? Going to Disneyland with my boys and enjoying the rides, wearing Mickey Mouse ears and eating sugar all day!

What is something one of your parents said that you will never forget? My dad told me, “God gave you two ears, one mouth; so listen twice as much as you talk.”

Walid Fahmy H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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Ashley Rosenband, preschool “There’s a Monster in my Book”

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t this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduation ceremony, members of the Class of 2019 spent their final hours as Harker students surrounded by loved

ones and hearing words of hope and inspiration from valedictorian Kaushik Shivakumar, keynote speaker the Hon. John B. Owens â&#x20AC;&#x2122;85 and Head of School Brian Yager. The Harker Chamber Orchestra and 2019 Graduation Chorus provided wonderful music for the occasion, and the event was capped off with the traditional releasing of doves, which flew overhead to the oohs and aahs of the crowd. Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2019!

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arker brought back its spring gala following completion of the athletic center, with its Zhang Gymnasium, and the Rothschild Performing Arts Center with its Patil Theater. More than 370 parents, alumni, faculty and staff were feted at the quickly-sold-out event with custom videos, singing, live music, dancers, top-drawer food and drink, a hot band and great company. The event also served as the capstone for the school’s 125th anniversary celebration. “Our 125th Anniversary Gala was one for the ages!” said Kim Lobe, director of advancement. “It would never have been as successful as it was without the generosity of our guests and sponsors, and the commitment of our students and alumni, who all came together to honor Harker’s legacy and bright promise for the future. Thank you!” More photos of the gala follow.

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HOMECOMING, GRAND125TH REUNION, ANNIVERSARY PICNIC WEEKEND GALA

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ALEXA BUSH ‘02

“Alexa was a huge part of steering the direction of the student body in those first years.” ~Theresa “Smitty” Smith, coach

Alumna left the private sector to help rebuild Detroit

hen Ella Fitzgerald Park – complete with green grass, a jungle gym, a basketball court and two 60-foot murals – opened in summer 2018, Alexa Bush ’02 got to see firsthand the impact she is making in the world.

“We wanted to create a neighborhood that felt complete, intentional and cared for without having to build a single house,” she told online news source Citylab in an article about Detroit’s new holistic approach to redevelopment. Bush was recruited by Detroit planning director Maurice Cox, who was one of her professors at the University of Virginia, where she earned her master’s degree in landscape architecture. Cox had a vision to focus on three different neighborhoods to create a model for redevelopment, and he encouraged Bush to leave the private sector to rebuild Detroit. “Everything about Alexa’s story – her family’s roots in Detroit, her natural inclination to show empathy towards others, a design thesis spent reflecting on neighborhood vacant lots – has prepared her to ably guide residents towards courageous design solutions,” said Cox. “Alexa is such a wonderful role model for young professionals looking for their own

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path to making a positive difference in the world. ” Today, as design director for the city, she is leading a team of three planners and designers who are responsible for neighborhood planning, development and open space projects for the east side of Detroit. The east side of Detroit is where Bush’s mom grew up – so when her then-boyfriend-now-husband asked her to move to Michigan after graduate school, it felt right. Similarly, the decision to go to Harker for high school felt right many years ago. Bush was a member of the inaugural freshman class at Harker when it opened the upper school in 1998. “Alexa was a huge part of steering the direction of the student body in those first years,” remembered Theresa “Smitty” Smith, head volleyball coach who coached Bush for four years. “It was tough to be a member of that first class, as we were all learning together how to be a high school. Alexa was a positive role model, a leader by example and a multitalented student.” Members of the first class – who dubbed themselves “the guinea pigs” – bonded as they paved the way for Harker’s upper school. Bush commuted to Harker from Morgan Hill, so when the time came to look at colleges, she knew she wanted a campus where she could walk or take transit. After a visit to Boston and acceptance to Harvard University, she packed up and headed to the East Coast. She studied visual and environmental

studies, which cultivates skills in both the practice and critical study of the visual arts. She chose film production as her focus and thought commercial film was her future. “I had an internship in New York working on a film and thought this was my path,” said Bush. “But then my senior year, I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do, which was hard but felt right.” She graduated from Harvard and landed a job at Google, where she worked for two years. It was interesting, but she realized that a desk job wasn’t for her because she wanted to be more creative and actually create tangible products, she explained. So she applied to graduate school and chose the University of Virginia to study landscape architecture. She couldn’t have predicted how life after Harker would unfold, but she remembers sage advice a college advisor gave to her years ago when he said, “Alexa, I know you are successful and you like to plan your future, but sometimes you have to just be open to other things happening and then allow them to happen.” Bush couldn’t agree more; she looks back on her journey and realizes that so much of it was being in the right place at the right time, despite all her planning and hard work. “Being open to opportunity can be incredibly rewarding,” Bush reflected. Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

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pring 2019 was one of the most exciting semesters yet for Harker performing arts. The upper school production of “Urinetown,” which will be taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer, brought timely satire to the Patil Theater, and the Student Directed Showcase featured a series of one-act plays produced entirely by Harker students. At the middle school, a production of “Mary Poppins” offered a unique take on the beloved film musical, and the lower school’s kindergarten and grade 5 shows charmed audiences with heartfelt stories about friendship and ancient cultures. Middle and upper school dancers brought energy, rhythm and coordination to their respective dance shows, and a wide variety of concerts showcased the talents of all of Harker’s singers and musicians. At a very special Senior Showcase, this year’s Conservatory graduates gave their final performances as Harker students and two alumni were named inaugural Life in the Arts recipients (read more: https://wp.me/ pOeLQ-a8t).

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UNIQUE COURSE OFFERINGS GIVE STUDENTS OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE, DIG DEEPER

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A key tenet of Harker’s philosophy is enabling students to explore their interests and pursue their passions. One way the school accomplishes this is by encouraging its faculty to do the same. Many of Harker’s classes, especially its unique electives, exist because teachers are eager to share their passion for a subject with students. Never content to rest on their laurels, Harker’s faculty and administration continually work to create new and exciting classes that pique students’ interest, while preparing them for college and beyond. This innovative approach enables Harker to recruit high-level teachers who are experts in their disciplines and have an infectious enthusiasm for the subjects they teach, said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs. These teachers continually reevaluate and adjust curriculum to give students the skills they need to be successful, she added. “Teachers know that we are not a static institution, which is exciting for many,” Gargano said. “We attract the type of teachers we seek – those who are entrepreneurial, hard-working and desirous of an evolving curriculum.”

A rich experience In many ways, Harker’s upper school course list reads like a college catalog, with elective offerings including The Science of Food; Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation; and Advanced Stone Carving. These unique offerings even extend to physical education, where two semester-long courses in Kinesiology and Sports Medicine introduce students to topics including exercise physiology, biomechanics, and the prevention and care of athletic injuries.

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ECLECTIC ELECTIVES

“The course material itself was fairly nuanced and complex, but extremely fascinating, covering strategies and applications that many business models use,” she explained. Zhao said the class prepared her well to continue studying game theory in college, adding that the concepts also are applicable to everyday life. “As Mr. Lepler said on day one of the course, game theory is simply a strategic analysis of basic human interactions,” she said. “When I go off to college, I’ll meet more people and knowing more about the economic basis behind our interactions will deepen my relationships with my peers.”

Often these specialized classes aren’t offered at other schools. Take, for example, Sam Lepler ‘96’s post-AP class, titled Honors Advanced Topics in Economics: Game Theory, which is in the business and entrepreneurship department. “The class examines strategic human interaction using primarily mathematical modeling,” Lepler explained. “It covers various game structures (like the famous prisoner’s dilemma, a common game theory example), as well as strategic moves like threats and promises, the economics of information asymmetry, voting, auctions, bargaining and more.” Though it’s become a core course in university economics departments, Lepler said he doesn’t know of any other high school that offers an advanced course in game theory, “especially not with the use of multivariate calculus that I include,” he added. “I knew the students would love it, learn a ton, be able to use what they learn outside the classroom, and be well prepared to explore further at the university level.” And while the course sounds highly specialized, it draws a diverse group of students. Nearly one-third of the senior class takes the course, Lepler said. Some students enjoy the strategic decision-making, while others enjoy the applied math concepts or economics in general, he explained, adding that the diversity of students in the class makes it “dynamic and entertaining.” Tiffany Zhao, grade 12, became interested in game theory when she took AP Microeconomics as a junior. She took Lepler’s game theory class this past year and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Many of Harker’s courses reflect the college experience, commented English teacher Charles Shuttleworth. In college, for example, “literature courses are almost always genre studies or focused on a particular author. Students get the chance to develop a deeper understanding of a particular area of study that they’re interested in exploring, and to study with teachers who have a particular expertise and passion for the subject.” To bring that rich experience to his classroom, Shuttleworth developed a course titled Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. Shuttleworth first became interested in Beat writing in college and taught on the subject 25 years ago at Horace Mann School in New York, which Kerouac had attended. At that time, Shuttleworth interviewed more than 30 of Kerouac’s former classmates and presented his findings at a conference celebrating Kerouac’s life and work. “I think [it’s] a very important and relevant topic, as it had a profound effect literarily and culturally,” Shuttleworth explained, adding that the class covers more than literature. It explores “the changes in America from the 1930s to the 1970s, from the Great Depression through the hippie and punk movements – the emergence of a counterculture focused on personal freedoms and personal expression, giving voice to ‘the unspeakable visions of the individual’ (Kerouac’s phrase).” Shuttleworth said the opportunity to teach such specialized classes is what prompted him to leave his native New York to join the Harker faculty. Teaching on the Beat generation in Northern California – a major hub of the movement – also enables him to incorporate unique hands-on experiences, including an annual field trip to City Lights Bookstore and The

Beat Museum in San Francisco. Over the years, students also have attended readings by Beat poets, toured a home that was a setting in a Kerouac novel, and met with two Kerouac biographers, as well as Jami Cassady Ratto, daughter of Beat poet Neal Cassady. In an anonymous class evaluation, one student marveled at the depth of the class and Shuttleworth’s passion for the topic. “I am in awe at how mature a scholar you are and I think this experience taking your class is unparalleled,” the student said. This past year, Shuttleworth applied for and received a grant from the Raju and Bala Vegesna Foundation’s Teacher Excellence Program at Harker. The grant enabled him to further his research on Kerouac, “in particular his experience as a fire lookout in Washington state, which was pivotal in his life and career,” Shuttleworth said, adding that during his research, he uncovered several important unpublished documents, and has been able to share his experience with his students. (For a fuller account of Shuttleworth’s work on Kerouac under the Vegesna grant, see news.harker.org and search for Shuttleworth).

Students first Of course, no matter how passionate a teacher is about a topic, a class won’t be successful if it doesn’t appeal to students. “The primary goal in developing a new course is to think about the needs and interests of our students,” said science teacher Kate Schafer, adding that since Harker already offers a wide variety of courses, new offerings should fulfill unmet needs. Such was the case with The Science of Food, an elective Schafer developed several years ago. Students eat up the class – both literally and figuratively. “It’s definitely the only science class where you get to eat the results of your experiments,” Schafer said, adding that labs regularly involve cooking and baking. For example, different groups might prepare slightly different recipes to explore the differences between leaveners, fats or temperature. “One of the things that really excited me

“As a large school with a large faculty, we are able to offer many courses that speak to the interests of our students. Especially by the time students are juniors and seniors, they can create a specialized schedule based on their interests and/ or the skills they desire to learn or enhance.” – Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs H AR KER MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

feature about developing this course is that it had the potential to appeal to a wide swath of Harker students with varying academic interests. This definitely turned out to be the case.” In the class, students develop some kitchen skills while learning science, Schafer said, adding that there is also a nutritional component. “It’s important to have an understanding about how to make good choices in your diet and to be skeptical of the claims made about various diets and ‘health’ foods. It’s become clear that cooking for yourself means eating healthier, and I hope that my course helps students to have confidence in the kitchen and a curiosity about the science of why we prepare foods the way we do.” When the class was introduced in spring 2016, students did their cooking and baking in the kitchen in the auxiliary gym complex. Though Schafer made it work with the support of Harker’s kitchen staff, it wasn’t ideal to have 16 students gathered around one stove, she explained. This year, Schafer’s classroom was outfitted with two stoves, a dishwasher and a refrigerator. “It’s allowed us to do so much more in the course than we could initially,” she said.

ECLECTIC ELECTIVES

that encourages designers to understand their customers well and to explore multiple design concepts before settling on one to prototype,” explained teacher Sam Linton. “I enjoy seeing all the surprising and amazing things that the students come up with.”

Standing out from the crowd Before developing a new class, teachers must first get buy-in from the Harker administration. Once teachers get the green light, the process of developing the class and getting University of California approval as a class it will accept on a student’s transcript can take a year or more. “I have found that the administration is open-minded to new courses if they foresee a strong demand. I had to sell the idea, but they were open to buying it,” said Lepler of his game theory class. Other teachers echoed this sentiment, adding that the administration is committed to providing a wide range of classes to meet student interest and set Harker apart from other schools. “As a large school with a large faculty, we are able to offer many courses that speak to the interests of our students,” Gargano said. “Especially by the time students are juniors and seniors, they can create a specialized schedule based on their interests and/or the skills they desire to learn or enhance.”

Even at the middle school, classes such as Innovation Lab and an extensive array of visual and performing arts electives give students a taste of the specialized courses offered at the upper school. Innovation Lab, a sixth grade elective, teaches students to use a process called design thinking to develop solutions to unique problems and challenges. “The idea is to use a process

When Jaap Bongers, just-retired visual arts department chair for K-12, started the art department at the upper school in 1998, then-president Howard Nichols asked him how he could help make Harker stand out. “I answered him by saying we should allow art teachers to teach their strengths,” said Bongers, who had previously spent years carving marble sculptures in Italy. Stone carving isn’t a widespread skill and few high schools had facilities for such a class, Bongers said.

“Game theory is simply a strategic analysis of basic human interactions. When I go off to college, I’ll meet more people and knowing more about the economic basis behind our interactions will deepen my relationships with my peers.” – Tiffany Zhao, grade 12

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“Howard asked me what it would take. I explained to him that we needed a setup for pneumatic tools and small individual studios,” Bongers recalled. “You can imagine how surprised I was when I came back from summer break and found everything I had mentioned in place.” Bongers said stone carving is an activity that students either love or hate. “It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to work in stone, and that is not for everyone,” he explained. Unlike modern-day technology, which offers instant gratification, “this class forces the students to think long-term and develop the patience and ability to give things time, be creative and open to change all the way until the project has been completed.”

The love of learning In his 40 years teaching high school Latin, Clifford Hull said Harker is the first school he has taught at that offers post-AP Latin classes. Hull teaches honors advanced Latin literature courses covering Roman epic, satire, history and love poetry.

is geared toward the exam, post-AP classes are about “being a scholar, getting to read esoteric, incredible Latin works – not learning new grammar rules, but applying the ones we’ve already learned to uncover fascinating stories from the past,” he explained. “The classics are inherently interdisciplinary,” he continued. “In studying Latin, I learn so much about religion/culture, mythology, history, philosophy and linguistics. And since Latin is the root of so many modern languages, it is also mind-blowing to start making those connections, seeing how words I use every day come from this civilization from so long ago.” As a 2018-19 Mitra Scholar, Dharmaraj wrote an extensive research paper on the influence of Roman poet Lucretius’ works – including his epic poem “De Rerum Natura” (“On the Nature of Things”) – on

Post-AP Latin students must already have successfully

Beyond the classroom Harker students can further their learning in myriad ways, including for-credit online classes and discussions on current and historical topics. Following are a couple of examples.

completed the AP Latin course and received at least a three on the exam. Most have taken at least five years of Latin, and they all have a deep knowledge and love of the language. These students have spent many years studying Latin and the school administration recognizes that some students would love to continue on, Hull said. When developing or tweaking courses, Hull said he considers how the course relates to students in the 21st century; whether students will enjoy the class and what they will get out of it; how the knowledge they gain will relate to other disciplines; and whether the course will increase their love for and interest in Latin. Senior Nikhil Dharmaraj, who began studying Latin in sixth grade, said Harker’s post-AP Latin classes instilled in him “a true, deep love for the subject.” Whereas lower level classes focus on grammar skills and translating sentences, and the AP class

GLOBAL ONLINE ACADEMY: In addition to classes taught by Harker faculty, students can enrich their learning by taking various for-credit electives through the Global Online Academy, a consortium of independent schools from around the world. These online classes are taught by teachers from member schools. Students can choose from dozens of GOA courses, including various languages, Bioethics, Filmmaking, Medical Problem-Solving and Neuropsychology. For more information, visit www.globalonlineacademy.org. SALONS: Held three times a year (October, January and March/April), these after-school forums provide a venue for open discussion and discourse about current issues, as well as deep investigation of historical topics, explained Donna Gilbert, history department chair. Past topics have included: “Marx Tweets: Does Marxism Apply to Social Media Markets?”; “Confederate Monuments: How Should We Memorialize Contested History?”; “Rebels with a Cause: English Punk Feminists ’77-’80”; and “Toxic Masculinity,” among many others. H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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ECLECTIC ELECTIVES

Charles Darwin and the ideas he presents in “On the Origin of Species.” He plans to study both computer science and classics at Harvard University in the fall.

Hull said he is pleased to see his students, like Dharmaraj, making connections between Latin and other disciplines. “My greatest rewards for teaching these courses are the ‘aha moments’ when students make it very clear with an audible ‘aha’ that have just learned something new, and to also see them decoding, analyzing and appreciating the intricate motifs interwoven in the texts,” he said. Jennifer Maragoni is a freelance writer and editor based in Folsom.

“I enjoy seeing all the surprising and amazing things that the students come up with.” – Sam Linton, teacher 32

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What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? Let go of what is beyond your control.

What are you good at? I often find myself in the role of backup photographer at weddings and gatherings of friends and family. The distance and intimacy created by my DSLR lens enables me to capture something essential about the people I love.

What is something interesting about you that almost no one knows? I spent my junior year of high school living with a French family in a country house outside of Rennes. I discovered there my passion for walking and for butter.

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auline Paskali teaches three courses at the upper school: regular and AP American Literature, and Genre Studies. Her love of language and literature are evident even in casual conversation, and she’s known not only for imparting that passion to her students, but for her warmth and kindness. But people may not know of her deep love for nature – “[its vastness] always challenges me and inspires me to carry on,” she says – or that she has two pet chickens, Clementine and Guinevere. Raised in Connecticut and Massachusetts, this East Coast transplant tells Harker Magazine a few more fun facts about herself.

Where is the one place in the world that you like to escape to? Whenever I need a reboot, I return to the place I spent my summers as a child, a tiny village in the rugged Pindus mountains of northern Greece.

What is your most treasured object and why? Recently we discovered a book containing a poem my father had written when he was in his early 20s. No one in my family knew about his writing. Reading his verse brought back to life the young man who long ago reluctantly immigrated to America to assuage the pangs of hunger.

What do you love most about your life? Most people have to go to work every day, but I still get to go to school. Who doesn’t love being in an environment full of curious and kind people, young and old?

Pauline Paskali H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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“

here is a whole new world in medicine, thanks to technology,” said Rupan Bose ’07. “I’ve been lucky enough to have fantastic mentors, grow up in an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship, and be surrounded by extremely successful people at Harker.” But, of course, it’s more than just luck. Bose is driven to make an impact in the world and he’s on his way to doing that through his studies in medicine and his passion for technology. Bose came to Harker in fifth grade and stayed through the upper school, where he served as ASB president his senior year. He appreciated how Harker emphasized the intersection between different fields and trained him to think in a very multidisciplinary way. Bose focused on science and math but learned many valuable skills through his electives and other non-STEM courses. “These teachers taught me to look at the world from a non-scientific view. I owe a lot to them, because even in science there’s art,” said Bose, who spoke at the fountain dedication for former Harker English teacher Cheryl Cavanaugh, who died of cancer in 2007. “Dr. C knew English wasn’t my strongest subject, but she took so much time after class to help me. I was honored to give the speech; it was a monumental, vivid and emotional experience that I will carry with me forever.” As Bose remembers his past, he also looks optimistically toward his

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Alumnus plans to make an impact through his studies in medicine and his passion for technology internal medicine and as a part of USC’s new health, technology and engineering dual medicine-technology program.

future as he completes his residency as a doctor of internal medicine. Bose grew up in a house filled with engineers, so it was initially a surprise to his close-knit family when he veered toward medicine instead of technology. Bose studied neuroscience/pre-med at the University of Southern California. He then went on to pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology, with a particular interest in entrepreneurship, at the University of Pennsylvania, because he appreciated the combination of medicine, technology and business. It was while at Penn that he started seeing that medicine could be greatly improved by technology, and his worlds of medicine and technology began to merge. He then moved back to Los Angeles and started working at the USC Center for Body Computing, a digital health research and innovation center that is at the forefront of the intersection of medicine and technology. There, he focused on developing wearable sensors, mobile medical apps and virtual reality models for health care. While working at the CBC, he decided that next step to pursuing his dream of changing the world through medicine and technology was to become a doctor. So he returned to USC, this time attending the medical school with a focus on

“Rupan is a remarkable, open-minded and naturally gifted leader who inspires others to confront challenges and pursue their goals,” said Jacob Bongers ’07, who attended Harker and USC with Bose. “I remember years ago having a frank discussion about career anxiety and uncertainty. He listened intently to my concerns and offered precious advice about how the future is always uncertain, but finishing projects, tasks and degrees is such an important and valuable skill to cultivate. His words renewed my motivation to finish my Ph.D. and drove me to look to the future with confidence.” (Read Harker Magazine’s profile on Bongers in the fall/winter 2018 issue.) Bose and Bongers forged a strong friendship during their years at Harker and then USC. As the ever-humble Bose reflects back on his time at Harker, he realizes how important and formative it was. “Harker pulls together some of the most impressive, amazing and friendly people,” said Bose with pride. “These people are the movers and shakers who are changing our world, and I’m just lucky I got to know them.” Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

“I’ve been lucky enough to ... grow up in an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship ...” —Rupan Bose ’07

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Speech and debate program develops valuable skills

In respons e ...

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I believe ...

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oshni Bhatnagar ’11 doesn’t recall why she was drawn to speech and debate during her sophomore year at Harker, beyond noticing that other students seemed to be having a lot of fun on the team. “I just know that I enjoyed it immensely once I joined,” she said. She competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate, a one-on-one format that emphasizes logic, ethics and philosophy. Competitions offered a reward for the weeks of hard work conducting research and writing arguments. “Debate was a phenomenal opportunity to be exposed to different ideas, to learn how to compete and to have fun traveling to new places,” Bhatnagar said.

She also noted that Harker’s team and coaches were encouraging and supportive. “Whether I won or lost, it was always OK, because we were encouraged to see each debate as a step in the road and a learning opportunity.”

resident at UCLA this fall. “Thinking strategically and analytically at such a young age was key to my development as an excellent communicator and listener, skills which serve me well in my work with patients now.”

Bhatnagar had been out of high school for several years before truly appreciating what she learned as a student debater at Harker. “I developed strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as the mental agility to think quickly and to recognize patterns,” said Bhatnagar, who will be an internal medicine

Top Notch Hundreds of current Harker students are gaining the skills Bhatnagar spoke of – persuasion, organization of thoughts and ideas, intensive research and information literacy, poise and presentation – while finding success on the national speech and debate stage. The students are guided by the expertise of Harker’s speech and debate teachers Jenny Achten, Greg Achten and Scott Odekirk at the upper school, and Shania Hunt and JJ Kim at the middle school, who are in turn aided by numerous coaches (several of whom are Harker alumni). Launched in 1998 when the upper school was founded, the speech and debate program has grown into one of Harker’s most popular student

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activities, with 115 upper schoolers and 175 middle schoolers involved this year. It is one of the best programs in the nation, consistently sending students to national competitions and winning both individual and team national titles. As both an academic subject and an extracurricular activity at Harker, speech and debate emphasizes the connection between high-intensity learning inside the classroom and intellectual competition outside of class. “Our academic curriculum is largely about teaching kids to think critically about modern sociocultural controversies,” Odekirk said. “We translate that learning into the applied format of extracurricular competition, which adds so much to students’ intellectual and personal growth.” Upper school students are required to take a course in the speech and debate department – at the introductory, intermediate or competitive level – in order to compete on the team, while middle schoolers can take speech and debate courses as electives. Upper schoolers mainly prepare and practice for tournaments during class time, while middle schoolers meet three times a week after school.

A banner year for speech and debate In 2018-19, Harker students participated in dozens of speech and debate tournaments across the country. After achieving great results during the fall and winter, students continued to shine on the national speech and debate stage this spring. Here are a few highlights of their successes:

Photo provided by speech and debate

Western Junior Varsity and Novice National Championship (held at San Francisco State University, March 9-10) • Harker set a tournament history record by having the top six finishers in JV Lincoln-Douglas debate – Deven Shah, Akhilesh Chegu, Karoun Kaushik, Arnav Dani, all grade 9, and Krish Mysoor and Ansh Sheth, both grade 7 – close out two quarterfinals and all of the semifinals, making them co-champions. Shah also was the top speaker in the division. • Angela Gao, grade 9, novice Lincoln-Douglas debate champion • Ayan Nath and Dhruv Saoji, both grade 9, finalists in JV public forum “Harker’s program is unique because of the dedication of a highly qualified faculty that is solely focused on teaching and coaching speech and debate,” said Jenny Achten, speech and debate department chair for grades 6-12. “We also receive incredible programmatic resources and support.” Harker is a member of the National Speech & Debate Association, which chooses topics for student debaters, sponsors tournaments, and offers conferences and resources for teachers and coaches. Harker students compete in four categories of debate, including Lincoln-Douglas, congressional, public forum and policy (see page 41 sidebar for descriptions). Students choose from a variety of speech categories, depending on their personal interest, including original oratory, dramatic interpretation, impromptu,

• Aimee Wang and Alina Yuan, both grade 9, quarterfinalists in JV public forum • Caden Lin and Vedant Kenkare, both grade 9, semifinalists in novice public forum

National Debate Coaches Association National Championship (held at Glenbrook South High School near Chicago, April 13-15) • Anusha Kuppahally, grade 12, and Madison Huynh, grade 11, quarterfinalists in policy debate • Sachin Shah and Quentin Clark, both grade 11, finished in the top 20 in Lincoln-Douglas debate • Akshay Manglik, grade 10, named the tournament’s 10th overall speaker

The Tournament of Champions (held at the University of Kentucky, April 27-28) • Avi Gulati, grade 11, national champion in original oratory • Haris Hosseini, grade 12, third place in original oratory • Nikki Solanki, grade 11, third place in program oral interpretation • Alycia Cary, grade 12, semifinalist in original oratory • David Feng, grade 11, Andrew Sun, grade 10, and Nakul Bajaj, grade 11, semifinalists in congressional debate

National Speech & Debate Association Academic All-Americans (honored for academic excellence, competitive speech and debate success, and outstanding character and leadership) Daniel Cho ’11

• Nikhil Dharmaraj, Anusha Kuppahally, Kelly Shen, Cindy Wang, Clarissa Wang, all grade 12 • Avi Gulati, Annie Ma, Sachin Shah, Nikki Solanki, all grade 11 H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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TALKING POINTS Photo provided by speech and debate

extemporaneous and humorous interpretation. Speeches are either memorized in advance of a competition or prepared quickly (in 20 or 30 minutes) during the tournament. Harker students compete at 35 to 50 tournaments a year, though no one student attends all of them. “We believe students should have the freedom to select the number of tournaments and events of their choosing, depending on interest and time and how well they can balance other commitments,” Jenny Achten said. The competitive season runs the entire academic year, and this year, students

have competed at tournaments in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New Haven, Conn., and Jacksonville, Fla., as well as at local and regional tournaments throughout California (see page 39 sidebar for highlights). Eleven Harker students qualified for the postseason Tournament of Champions, held in late April at the University of Kentucky, and five students will compete at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Dallas in mid-June. “Tournaments don’t have age requirements so if a younger student – say a seventh grader – is advanced enough, they can compete at the varsity level, rather than junior varsity or novice,” said Hunt. “They may be in a little over their heads at first, but they learn fast.” It’s fairly common for upper school debaters to attend middle school practices to mentor and coach the younger students. Ariav Misra, grade 7, welcomed support from Harker’s upper school students after struggling at a varsity tournament in congressional debate. Harker’s older debaters help Misra with

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prepping bills and resolutions and give advice on how to compete effectively. “I love the sense of community on the team,” Misra said. Jason Lin, grade 10, agreed. “The team has created a truly unique, wholesome dynamic where the advanced debaters don’t hesitate to help novices with whatever they need,” said Lin, who participates in congressional debate. “Older students are even enthusiastic about helping underclassmen with things not related to speech and debate, like math homework.” The program has had such an impact on students that recent alumni often return from college to serve as assistant coaches. This year, Anika Jain ’17 and Ayush Midha ’15 have assisted the team as time allows. Jain, who just finished her second year studying economics and social policy analysis at Rice University, recalled her days of being inspired by older debaters. “They were so skilled in argumentation and in spreading, which is a fast-talking technique used in policy debate, and that motivated me to improve my skills,” she said, noting that she hopes her assistance with current Harker debaters provides similar motivation. “It’s great to advise students on aspects of debate that confused me as a middle schooler.” Midha debated for Harvard University while earning a degree in human developmental and

analytically d n a ly l a ic g rate “Thinking st as key to my w e g a g n u o nicator u m m at such a y o c t n e ll as an exce e me well in development v r e s h ic h w s skill and listener, nts now.” ie t a p h it w k r my wo gar ’11 – Roshni Bhatna

11 and 12) reach the quarterfinals of a national championship tournament. “That was the proudest moment of my involvement in Harker debate,” he said. Alexandru Iftimie ’03 recalls lugging around several 20-gallon tubs of documents at debate competitions in the days before digital files were readily available. “We had to be prepared for every possible argument,” he said. “Those

regenerative biology. He plans to attend medical school after spending a year in research at Boston’s Joslin Diabetes Center. As a high school student, he competed in policy debate and attended summer debate camps, intensively researching a topic and practicing debate with 30 other students. “Debate offers an interesting duality of a hypercompetitive activity that turns into a form of deep collaboration,” he said. Midha also mentored middle schoolers while at Harker, and this year he watched two of his former mentees (now in grades

Debate Basics Harker students compete in four categories of debate on topics provided by the National Speech & Debate Association.

Congressional A simulation of the U.S. legislative process, in which students generate a series of bills and resolutions to debate. Students alternate delivering speeches for and against the topic in a group setting.

Public Forum A two-on-two debate about a current event topic, such as whether or not India should be given a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Topics have a monthlong duration, so students can debate a particular topic at multiple tournaments. “This is probably closest to what you’d think of as a presidential debate,” Jenny Achten said.

Lincoln-Douglas A rapid fire, detail oriented, one-on-one format in which students debate a topic that presents opportunities to consider ethical, logical and philosophical arguments, such as whether or not the United States should provide military aid to authoritarian governments. The topics in this category have two- or four-month-long durations.

Policy A two-on-two debate that focuses on a policy question for the duration of the academic year, and during which students have the opportunity to cross-examine one another. This year’s topic is whether or not the federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States. “This format really tests students’ research and technical skills, and gives them the opportunity to take a deep dive into a specific area related to the resolution,” Jenny Achten said. “For instance, our team is arguing that the U.S. ought to accept more Syrian refugees.” Michelle Holt ’11

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“I still use the critical-thinking, publicspeaking and advocacy skills I learned from debate,” Iftimie said. “Those skills have been tremendous assets to me as a lawyer.”

Student Driven Harker’s speech and debate program wouldn’t be as successful as it is without the students who commit to learning debate techniques and skills while conducting hours and hours of research.

Photos provided by speech and debate

tubs contained piles of highlighted research at our fingertips.” Iftimie debated for the University of Southern California – coaching Harker students during the summer – and earned a J.D. from Yale University. He recently left the U.S. Department of Justice to return to the Bay Area as an attorney for a private-sector law firm.

“Speech and debate are academic competitions that allow our very bright students to apply their knowledge and test their wits against their peers, all while getting immediate feedback,” said Greg Achten. Students join the program for a variety of reasons, from a desire to learn more about current events to wanting to lessen public speaking anxiety to their parents suggesting it. Oftentimes, they’re hooked by the first taste of competition. Krish Mysoor, grade 7, tried speech and debate at his mother’s insistence and attended seven tournaments before he broke into the quarterfinals. “Taking all of those losses early on taught me that I was

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in it for the experience and the love of this brain sport more than I was into just winning,” he said. He has since seen more success, making it to a bid round for the Tournament of Champions this year.

debate provides tangible rewards for students beyond wins and losses, noted Haris Hosseini, grade 12, who recently earned third place in original oratory at the Tournament of Champions.

Harker’s teaching and coaching staff works to de-emphasize a “winner take all” attitude in speech and debate. “We talk a lot about realistic expectations,” Greg Achten said. “We talk about goals not associated with wins or losses, such as achieving a better understanding of an argument or improving in a particular debate technique.”

“I’ve become a better speaker, writer and friend,” Hosseini said. “My capacity for empathy has deepened by listening to those wildly different in background and circumstance than me.”

Competing in speech and

Madison Huynh, grade 11, joined the debate program in sixth grade because she wanted to have intellectual discussions on topics beyond what she was learning in class. “I love debate’s basis in curiosity, research and strategy,” said Huynh, who finished fifth in the nation in policy debate at the National Debate Coaches Association National Tournament in April. “From learning how to work on a team to developing strong critical thinking skills, being a part of speech and debate is truly a unique experience,” Huynh said. “It offers education and real-world skills in the most fun, intellectually spirited way possible.” Marla Holt is a freelance writer based in Minnesota.

What is an experience you’ve had that few others have experienced?

What would constitute a perfect day for you?

“Thank you … you made me believe and convinced me something was possible.”

A day where my students were incredibly enthusiastic and took an idea I gave them to another level. I love the question, “Can I do this other thing instead … and here is why?”

I was once shipwrecked on a freighter off the coast of Madagascar.

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sk a middle school student or colleague to sum up Cyrus Merrill in a few words and you might get “laughter,”“enthusiasm,”“energy” or, most likely, “Hawaiian shirts!” It may come as no surprise to learn he was his college’s mascot (a big blue sagehen). Merrill teaches grade 8 U.S. History and coordinates the grades 5-12 Future Problem Solving clubs, and is known for crafting engaging and humorous lessons. He says his 2-year-old daughter helps him remember that simple joys and laughter may be found in seemingly insignificant things. It’s clear from his chat with Harker Magazine that this enthusiasm for life and adventure runs through everything he does and shines on the students lucky enough to be in his classes.

For what are you most proud of yourself? I gave up a fellowship to Cambridge and instead somehow found the patience to sit for days on end sculpting rocks in Zimbabwe. I have the sculptures at home to remind me.

What is the best compliment someone can give you?

What is your most treasured memory? Finding dinosaur bones at age 10 with my geology professor father and his close paleontologist friend (who happened to make his biggest discovery – now on display – that very day).

Cyrus Merrill H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019

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PHOTO ESSAY BY MARK KOCINA

A Team Ages for the

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A season with the boys varsity volleyball program

n 2018, the boys varsity volleyball team came within inches of winning CCS and the NorCal championship, but ended up with second place finishes in both matches. The 2019 team returned its core players, and added some talented newcomers, which resulted in one of the best seasons of any team in Harkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s athletic history. The Eagles brought home the first team CCS championship in school history, played in the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second consecutive NorCal championship and finished the season as the No. 4 ranked team in the nation. Through the many highs and the seasonending low (a five-set loss to Monta Vista in the NorCal Division 1 finals), the 2019 boys varsity volleyball team proved it was a team for the ages.

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A TEAM FOR THE AGES

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PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY TIFFANY DUONG ‘02

hen Tiffany Duong ’02 signed up on a whim for a scuba diving trip to the Galapagos Islands, she didn’t know it would transform her life. At the time, she was working endless hours at a law firm in Los Angeles and thought the trip would be a distraction from her workhard, play-hard life. 48

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It was among the wild blue ocean currents that she literally took the plunge and committed to changing her life. She worked up the courage to quit her job as a lawyer and set out to follow her passion to protect the planet. And she’s never been happier. “I’m three years into my one-year sabbatical, and it’s just turned into my life because I keep ‘failing better’ and being OK with it,” said Duong with a bright smile on her face. “I am choosing more what is right for me (path B, C, D) vs. what I ‘should’ be doing (path A). So, even when I fail, I learn something or meet someone that pushes me forward, so I still feel like I’m moving in the right direction. And I’m having so much more fun doing it.” From fieldwork at a biodiversity research camp in the Peruvian Amazon to tagging sharks by scuba diving at Cocos Island in Costa Rica, Duong is fearless about pursuing a life with purpose. “It honestly doesn’t surprise me that Tiffany chose to leave the legal profession to throw herself into an environmental cause, given her independence and integrity,” said Spanish teacher Abel Olivas, who helped Duong fall in love with the language. “I’ll never forget the strength she demonstrated when, as salutatorian, she spoke at baccalaureate her senior year. She included a reference to the recent death of her father. Her raw but very eloquent comments made us cry and shook us on a very deep, human level. She turned her loss into urgent poetry, reminding us not to take the people we love for granted.” Duong started at Harker in first grade and graduated with the inaugural upper school class. She played volleyball, ran track and field, served as ASB president and was editor-in-chief of the yearbook. She remembers in elementary school when Mrs. Peterson, the art teacher, encouraged them to use anything and do anything because “there are no rules in art,” which gave her permission to try anything. This early lesson has guided Duong around the globe. “I remember I came back to Harker after I graduated and was walking down the hall and seeing flyers for trips to Costa Rica on one side and for the Green Team on the other, and I realized in that moment that I am who I am because of Harker. I’m an international tree hugger because of Harker,” laughed Duong. “I always knew Harker prepared me academically, but I didn’t realize how much it has shaped my passions and goals.”

“Harker has sown so many seeds within me, but I choose which ones I want to water.” – Tiffany Duong ’02 After Duong graduated from Harker, she attended UCLA, where she studied international development and Italian. While she struggled to crystallize her career path, protecting the planet was a priority to her, so decided to go to law school to establish some force behind her passion. And that she did, becoming an associate with law firms specializing in renewable energy. Although this work was intellectually challenging, she didn’t feel like she was making enough of an impact, which led to the scuba trip and a complete change of course. She recently started her own media production company, Ocean Rebels, to help create awareness about how we can move forward together and not plunder the planet. “Harker has sown so many seeds within me, but I choose which ones I want to water,” reflects Duong. “The strongest voice of Harker is, ‘here is the path to make you successful’ but after I left that path to pursue many different trials, failures and experiments, I realized that Harker also prepared me for plan B, C and D. Now, as I’m forging my own path through life, I know that I’m prepared for anything but that I get to choose where I go. It’s been an awesome ride, and I’m excited for what’s next.” Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

Photo by Mark Kocina

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Photo by Tania Chadwick

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he winter and spring seasons were unprecedented for Harker athletics as titles were won and records were broken amid amazing individual and team performances. Here are just a few of the highlights:

• Eagle swimmers Ethan Hu, grade 11, and Matthew Chung, Rhys Edwards and Jason Kwok, all grade 10, took fourth in the state with Hu shattering multiple CCS and state records. • The boys volleyball team brought home the first team CCS title in school history (see our photo essay on page 44). • The lacrosse team earned its second consecutive league title. • Alexa Lowe, grade 9, was the WBAL triple jump champion and finished eighth in the CCS finals. • The boys golf team continued its dominance, winning the league for the sixth consecutive year and finishing sixth in the CCS championships. • Boys soccer picked up its first CCS win in the program’s history. The lower and middle school Eagles also got in on the winning action: • Anjali Yella, grade 7, took home four of the track and field team’s 14 individual WBAL titles. • The Varsity B, Junior Varsity A and Junior Varsity B girls basketball teams each won their leagues with undefeated seasons and, with the addition to the Varsity A team, all four of the lower and middle school girls travel basketball teams made it to the WBAL tournament championship game. • The Varsity A boys volleyball team went 10-0 winning a league title. Go Eagles!

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Giving Heart FROM THE

Partnership with Camp Okizu is A Meaningful Harker Tradition WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA AND THE HARKER ARCHIVES

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very spring semester, two events bring the Harker community together to honor the lives of those afflicted with cancer as well as raise money for an organization working to improve the lives of children living with the disease. The middle school’s annual Cancer Walk and upper school’s Kicks Against Cancer – established in 2007 and 2010, respectively – have raised more than $100,000 for Camp Okizu, an organization that offers free camping activities to Northern California-based families whose children are fighting cancer. All of the funds raised from both events are donated to the organization, currently in its 38th year of operation. “We serve more than 3,000 people each year by providing a place where they can escape the trials of pediatric cancer, find adventure and joy in a camp setting, and meet peers who truly understand what it’s like to be navigating a cancer diagnosis,” said Sarah Uldricks, Camp Okizu’s director of marketing and special events. Located in the Sierra foothills, Camp Okizu’s facility comprises more than 500 acres of picturesque landscapes perfect for outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, archery or simply walking and enjoying the scenery. Harker and Camp Okizu first started collaborating in 2007, when former computer science teacher Michael Schmidt approached the organization after kicking off the Cancer Walk. Schmidt’s mother succumbed to cancer the previous year. “Since then, it has been used as a moment for our entire community to come together and celebrate the lives of those we love and those we’ve lost,” Schmidt told the Harker Quarterly (now Harker Magazine) in 2016. “It is a symbolic walk that is measured not by the miles covered, but by the love and understanding between us all.” The Cancer Walk has since become a staple event for the Harker community, with hundreds of students, parents and faculty from all campuses participating each year by purchasing T-shirts, baked goods and other items before and at the event. With few exceptions, the sunny spring weather has proved very accommodating to the many who arrive to walk the field in honor of loved ones (or loved ones of loved ones) who have succumbed to or are currently battling cancer. When Schmidt departed Harker in 2017, he handed the reins to middle school BEST director Lorena Martinez, who was happy to assume the role. “The

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responsibility is huge, but I love it,” she said. “I’m able to work with the parents, I’m able to work with student council, the teachers and the administration and we’ve all just been able to brainstorm some really cool ideas.” After listening to suggestions from the Harker community, Martinez began adding carnival-like activities, such as games and face-painting, to help generate more funds and contribute more to the event’s festive atmosphere. It also resulted in more people eager to volunteer. “I’ve had parents for the last three years enjoy it so much that they tell me, ‘We’re going help you every year,’” she said. “What’s been really cool is seeing those parents excited to work booths again.” In January 2010, the upper school girls soccer team began a fundraiser of its own, coinciding with a pair of upcoming home games. Students sold T-shirts and wristbands to promote the event, and the very first Kicks Against Cancer generated about $2,500 for the American Red Cross. The following year, organizers decided to donate funds to Camp Okizu. In addition to rooting for the soccer teams, the Kicks Against Cancer event also includes halftime activities such as “Butts Up,” in which participants donate money to kick a soccer

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“There really is something special about when kids are being generous in spirit and in effort for other kids.” – Stu Kaplan, executive director of Camp Okizu ball at a bent-over faculty member. Student groups also have put together pre-game tailgate gatherings and sold baked goods. Prior to the games, the athletes get to know the camp’s children by meeting with them at a special dinner event. Senior Julia Amick, one of the organizers of this year’s Kicks Against Cancer, has been looking forward to being a part of the event since she began watching the games as a lower school student. “I have been going to the annual Kicks Against Cancer game ever since my brother and sister played in the games during their time in high school,” she recalled. “My sister also helped plan the event

Pullquote: “There really is something special about when kids are being generous in spirit and in effort for other kids.”– Stu Kaplan, Executive Director at Camp Okizu Words by Zach Jones Photographs by Mark Kocina

during her junior and senior years.” Co-organizer Ria Gupta, also a senior, played in her first Kicks Against Cancer game in grade 9, and was similarly inspired to help put on the event. “After experiencing my first Kicks Against Cancer game, it became something I looked forward to every soccer season. I loved helping out in any way I could,” she said. The eagerness and enthusiasm shown by Harker students in benefiting Camp Okizu over the years has stood out to its staff. “We have noticed that the Harker students are always curious to learn, enthusiastic to help and are really connected to the importance of giving back,” said Uldricks. “The fact that every group of students continues to go above and beyond to support our campers and families shows that you have a tremendous group of future leaders in your midst.”

such an amazing part of the event because everyone gets to bond with the kids and we get to see for ourselves what a great cause we are raising money for.” Stu Kaplan, who joined Camp Okizu as executive director in early 2019, already has noticed the dedication that sets the Harker community apart. “There really is something special about when kids are being generous in spirit and in effort for other kids,” he said, “and just understanding that there are kids who really benefit from their work and their effort is a super special thing.”

Amick particularly enjoys how her work with Kicks Against Cancer offers the opportunity to interact and bond with the people helped by Camp Okizu. “One part of the event I especially love is planning and attending the dinner. We set the date for the dinner and we ask all the teams (girls varsity, boys varsity and boys junior varsity) to attend and to bring stuff for the kids to play with,” she said. “It’s

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pursuits from theater to illustration, alumnus FINDS meaning in life through creativity WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY HARKER ARCHIVES AND DAV YENDLER ’03

av Yendler ’03 arrived at Harker his sophomore year and quickly found his happy place in the theater department. “From the beginning his choices were always interesting, his performances always memorable,” said Brian Larsen, K-12 production manager. “His dentist in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ was menacing, his grandfather in ‘You Can’t Take it With You’ was warm and engaging, his Oberon in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ commanding and regal.” Yendler, a member of the second graduating class at Harker, remembers that his class felt like a bunch of middle children, but they all loved each other. “Our class got really up on ourselves, and we would put on whole productions to win rallies, complete with dance routines and life-size UFOs,” said Yendler with pride. 56

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Yendler said his passion for all things creative was nurtured at Harker, and performing arts chair Laura Lang-Ree taught him discipline and how to be a responsible artist. “Dav was a wise soul from the time I met him and was able to throw himself fully into whatever the moment or character called for – be it sincere and serious, or wildly physically fun,” said Lang-Ree. “Dav can do it all. His sincerity and interest in others and curiosity about life makes him a wonderful person and artist, and one I’m now proud to call friend.”

offered to take Yendler on a tour of the office. They cruised around and were headed down the stairs when Max Temkin, a company co-founder who had seen Yendler’s work, approached him and said, “We just bought an island and I was wondering if you could draw a map of it.” This was part of Cards Against Humanity’s holiday promotion in 2014. The company started self-described weird holiday promotions in 2012 and has pulled off wildly hilarious stunts every year since. Yendler has drawn three different maps, including “Ten Days or Whatever of Kwanzaa” in 2014, “Eight Sensible Gifts” in 2015 and “Cards Against Humanity Stops the Wall” in 2017.

“dav was a wise soul from the time i met him and was able to throw himself fully into whatever the moment or character called for – be it sincere and serious, or wildly physically fun. dav can do it all.” – Laura Lang-Ree, performing arts chair

Yendler loved theater and attended the University of California, San Diego, where he immersed himself in the global scene, including living in the international dorm his sophomore year and studying in London his junior year. After graduating, he headed to the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Following a yearlong internship, he moved to Chicago to pursue theater. While in Chicago, he started working as an illustrator to pay the rent, and in it he found success. His humor, talent and creativity landed him a job in Groupon’s humor department (which no longer exists). After being laid off from Groupon, he went out on his own as an illustrator and designer, and has since done work for BuzzFeed and Cards Against Humanity. Yendler was in the right place at the right time when the opportunity to do work for Cards Against Humanity presented itself. A fellow graphic designer who worked at the company

In addition to maps, he’s helped design a card game for the incoming freshman class at University of Chicago, done a short animation for the Los Angeles Tourism Bureau, and is now a resident at 72U, which explores the intersection of art, technology and culture.

His group at 72U is working on a program to create awareness around homelessness and dispel myths about shelters. With the support of the city of Los Angeles, the group will create murals in several neighborhoods that will juxtapose letters from homeless people as well as activists who are against shelters in their neighborhoods. This work is important to Yendler, who wants to spend his life doing creative and meaningful things. “My passion right now is illustration, but my bigger passion is anything creative,” said Yendler. “Right now I’m passionate about bridging reality, journalism and news reporting with creativity. Stay tuned for some cool work about Russia in 2019!” Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

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iddle school math teacher Margaret Huntley moved to the U.S. eight years ago from her native Australia, leaving behind her parents and six siblings. Though she cites this as the biggest risk she’s ever taken, she has created a happy life here with her also-Australian husband and their 1-year-old daughter. Passionate about the outdoors, she loves cycling in the hills, going to the beach – “anywhere I can be totally by myself in nature.” Read on for more interesting facts Harker Magazine discovered about Huntley!

Brag about something.

When did you first really feel like an adult? What gives you a reason to smile?

Knowing that even things that seem insurmountable and unachievable are not the end of the world. If something really needs to get done, it will get done; if I don’t get it done, then I guess it wasn’t that important.

The little things: a sunrise walk, a picnic lunch, a blossom tree. There are so many reasons to smile if you look for them.

What does your inner child want?

The first time I filled out a tax return.

I can still do round-off back handsprings!

If you had $100 million in the bank, what would your day look like? Much like it does right now. I’d still be teaching at Harker. I think I’d fly business class when I travel, though!

What helps you persevere when you feel like giving up?

To cuddle up with a teddy bear.

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Photo provided by Debra Nott

Preschool science teacher Robyn Stone has been very busy! In April, she presented at the California Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual conference, where her two workshops – “Engineering and Design Thinking Projects” and “Mathematize This!” – were very well received. She also was featured in the CAAEYC Connections spring 2019 journal, and was invited to present at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Professional Learning Institute in June. In addition, Stone completed her National Geographic Educator certification in April, and was selected to give a workshop titled “Environmental Literacy” in October at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose. She is also slated to complete the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Leadership in Education Administration program in June. Debra Nott, Harker’s director of health services, was awarded the 2019 Excellence in School Nursing Administration Award by the California School Nurses Organization in mid-February. “Debra’s dedication to student health and excellence in school nursing practice is an inspiration to her peers and colleagues throughout the state,” said Sherri Vitali, awards and scholarship chair for the organization. “CSNO is very proud of Debra and her many accomplishments.” The award was presented at the 2019 CSNO conference in Monterey in front of 600 of Nott’s peers.

Photo provided by Dave Hart

Professional accomplishments of our faculty and staff.

staff kudos

WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

In January, upper school music teacher Dave Hart gave a presentation at the Jazz Education Network in Reno, Nev. His presentation, called “From the Ear to the Horn: Inspiring Students Through Creativity,” was sponsored by Harker and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. In it, Hart showed how teachers can improve their students’ overall musicianship through emphasis on improvisation, and how practicing skills such as learning to play by ear, singing and reading music with their fellow students can also encourage them to be more creative. Middle school learning, innovation and design director Abigail Joseph was recognized in February by the city of Seattle’s information technology department, which tweeted from its account @SeattleITDept: In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we recognize @drabigailjoseph - A technology educator, computer scientist, design thinker, STEM enthusiast looking to create, collaborate, innovate and institute meaningful social change.

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class notes

Keep up to date on the lives of your classmates.

Alumni from all classes through 1997 are listed under the years they would have completed grade 8 at The Harker School, Harker Academy, Harker Day School or Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA). For all classes after the Class of 1997, alumni are listed under the class years they would have graduated from high school, regardless of whether they completed high school studies at Harker. For unlisted classes, we invite you to email alumni@harker.org if you are interested in becoming a class agent or would like to nominate a classmate. All photos submitted by the subject unless noted. Calling all Palo Alto Military Academy alumni! Please join fellow alumni on the PAMA Facebook page. Just type “Palo Alto Military Academy” into the Facebook search window.

1988

on creating real change for the wild places she loves most. See the feature on Tiffany on page 48.

2003

Reena Patton earned her master’s degree in communication management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She participated in USC’s 136th commencement on May 10.

2002

Shabnam Aggarwal was interviewed for a Q&A in The Swaddle, a “media platform with a strong feminist lens” from India. Shabnam discusses her book, “Freedom to Fail: Lessons from My Quest for Startup Success.” Some great questions were asked, and some great answers given, about women in technology, first efforts at entrepreneurship and dealing with discrimination in business. Check it out! https:// theswaddle.com/a-chat-with-shabnam-aggarwal-author-of-freedom-tofail-lessons-from-my-quest-for-startupsuccess/

Then, on May 17, Gabby and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were given Harker’s inaugural Life in the Arts award. See the box on page 61 for details.

2005

Kristen (Hulberg) Hunsbedt and husband, Mark, welcomed a second baby boy, Cameron Hunsbedt, on October 18, 2018. He joins big brother Andrew, age 2. Kristen and family reside in the Santa Cruz mountains.

2007

Since leaving big law, Tiffany Tuong Vi Duong, has traveled the world to better understand her true passion: advocating for the oceans. She has honed her policy and advocacy skills, immersed herself in field experience (Amazon rainforest, shark tagging, coral restoration), and now is focused 60

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Gabrielle DeMers married Eric Snyder on the beaches of Mexico on April 27, 2019. The couple met in Baltimore, where Gabby is an opera singer. Guests at the wedding included Julia Gitis ’03, Angela (Pullen) Halusic ’03, and Lisa Schwebke ’04.

Anna Huang married Gergely Svigruha in Budapest, Hungary. Albert Wu ’04 and Siobhan Stevenson ’07 were members of the bridal party, and Natalie Torban ’07 was also in attendance.

class notes

Photo by Mark Kocina

Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were the inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards in May at the annual Senior Showcase. The pair were honored for their commitment to their careers in the arts as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on. Gabby was in the second upper 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 spring 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in fall 2002 and she remains the only Certificate graduate to major in both vocal music and theater. Gabby holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and received her Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park.

2008 Tiffany Liou was awarded the 2019 Radio Television Digital News Foundation Michele Clark Fellowship. This award goes to a young, promising minority professional in television or radio news. Tiffany is currently a news reporter for WFAA in Dallas, Texas.

2009 On May 17, 2019, D.J. Blickenstaff, along with Gabrielle DeMers ’03, was given Harker’s inaugural Life in the Arts award. See the box above for details. In 2016, Barrett Glasauer co-founded WanderJaunt, which partners with property owners to maximize value for

D.J. 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.

and Barrett’s journey at Harker News: https://wp.me/pOeLQ-9G8

After graduating from Harker with a musical theater certificate from the Conservatory, he earned a B.F.A. from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” “Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Laura Lang-Ree, performing arts department chair. “We may come to recognize their names, or we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.” Read the full article and both bios in Harker News: https://wp.me/pOeLQ-a8t.

short-term rentals. While working on his electrical engineering/computer science degree at the University of California, Berkeley, he met friends who would later join him at WanderJaunt. He has worked for Palantir Technologies, and also worked at DoorDash with other Harker alumni, including co-founder Andy Fang ’10, David Kastelman ’09, Rohan Chopra ’10 and Kevin Fu ’10. While there, he met his future partners. The team finds properties to update and rent out by searching Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist and Redfin for properties available for rent. The company is growing rapidly and WanderJaunt, like so many companies, is seeking good workers. “We would love to talk to software engineers and data scientists located in SF,” said Barrett. Read all about the company

Candace Silva-Martin reports, “Over the course of this past year, I have experienced many difficult and amazing life changes. Last May I started a new position as a senior consultant data scientist at Deloitte, specializing in machine learning solutions for government clients. In January, I bought a beautiful home in Northern Virginia, and less than a month ago, I got engaged in Portugal to my longtime boyfriend, Matt Stagg. We look forward to starting this next chapter of our lives together!”

Nicole Woods got engaged to Jon Mattox. Justin Iso won $10,000 for his Christmas cookies on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge! Justin, a softH AR KE R MAG A Z INE l SPR ING/SUM M ER 2019 61

class notes

In Memoriam It is with the deepest sadness that we report on the deaths of two of our young alumni. ware engineer working on computer imaging, beat out professional bakers. He noted he would love to be a fulltime baker, and it looks like he is off to a great start! Justin, who works in New York City, also has been a sculptor and painter, which he said contributes to his cookie designs. In 2017, he won Best Baking Blog in the World awarded by Saveur Magazine. Check out his baking blog at http:// chefiso.com.

2011

Jason Yu ’12 passed away in a traffic accident in Seattle on May 6. Jason was involved in swimming, water polo, robotics and more during his three years at the upper school. A celebration of his life was held in Seattle on May 10.

Sandip Nirmel ’17 passed away on May 23 after an extended illness. At Harker Sandip was involved in student council, Model UN, DECA, research, golf, Challenge Success and more. He was attending Harvard University. A memorial was held at Harker’s upper school campus June 22.

For complete biographies of Jason and Sandip please visit news.harker.org. Cards may be sent to Kristina Alaniz, alumni director, at The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA, 95129.

Adi Parige reports, “I recently released my debut album under the moniker Dothead. The record is a fusion of psychedelic rock with lyrical contemplations on South Asian identity. While some songs are a reflection of my views on Indian politics and history, others tackle more universal themes of mental health and love through the unique lens of the Hindu mythology. If you’d like to listen, the album is available on Spotify and iTunes!” You can keep up to date on Adi’s journey as Dothead by following him on Instagram at @dothead_tunes.

2014 Zina Jawadi visited the upper school campus in April to address students 62

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at Stanford. Zina spoke about Harker’s ongoing quest to promote diversity. Read more about her amazing efforts here: http://www.hearinglossca.org/ zina-jawadi.

2015

at a National Honor Society event. Zina is a former president and member of the board of trustees for the Hearing Loss Association of America. She was diagnosed with a hearing impairment at age 8 and, as a middle school student at Harker, began to advocate for the hearing impaired. She continued her advocacy through high school, college and grad school

Agata Sorotokin was named a 2019 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow for her drive, creativity, intellectual spirit and commitment to the values at the heart of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. The fellowships support outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing a graduate education in the United States. Agata will be using her fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in music at SUNY Stony Brook. Read her bio here: https://www.pdso-

class notes ros.org/meet-the-fellows/agata-sorotokin Hannah Bollar was recently interviewed by Siggraph, a prestigious international computer graphics organization. Hannah worked at both Cesium and Nvidia as a computer graphics software engineering intern in 2018 and is working on a master’s degree in science, engineering, computer graphics and game technology at the University of Pennsylvania. Read all about her unique path! https://www. siggraph.org/discover/inspiration/ member-profiles/hannah-bollar Cindy Liu received the Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award, which is given to the top 5 percent of engineering seniors at Stanford. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in biomedical computation, she will be pursuing a master’s in advanced computer science at Cambridge University as a Churchill scholar.

Nitya Mani was awarded the J. E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement from Stanford University and was also given an honorable mention for the 2019 Alice T. Schafer Prize for excellence in mathematics by an undergraduate woman.

Mishi Vachev was one of 25 students worldwide chosen as a 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists Conviron Scholar. She received her bachelor’s degree this spring and said, “I hope to pursue a Ph.D. in plant breeding and to specifically work on breeding crops for Third World countries or populations in need of improved agriculture.”

Savi Joshi recently led a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $3,000 so she could publish a cookbook, “Keeping it Hot: An Unofficial Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Cookbook.” This epic feat was accomplished from recipes Savi had concocted all in her college dorm kitchenette including classics like mac and cheese, and sugar cookies to more innovative dishes, such as Cheetos bagels and Cheetos-filled macarons.

You can check out more about Mishi and this wonderful honor in an article from Eckerd College at https:// www.eckerd.edu/news/blog/eckerd-senior-accepted-into-plant-biologists-program/

2016 Zarek Drozda recently co-authored an environmental impact report that helped prompt the city of Chicago to pass a resolution committing to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Zarek founded a student-run nonprofit

last year at the University of Chicago that focuses on public policy research, named the Paul Douglas Institute. If you have project ideas or want to support its work, please reach out!

2017

Harker’s college counselors visited a series of colleges in New York City and the surrounding area and met up with a trio of Harker alumni, Divya Rajasekharan, Kshithija (KJ) Mulam and Sanjana Marcé, all currently sophomores at Columbia.

2018 Katherine Zhu has been tearing it up in women’s golf at the University of California, Berkeley. She’s been named to the All-Pac 12 team with an honorable mention as a freshman! https://www. instagram.com/p/BwZ88_YFllT/

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class notes

Photo by Mark Kocina

Photo by Jacqueline Orrell

Reunions

The annual Grand Reunion was held on Oct. 6, 2018. This gathering honored the 5-, 10- and 15-year reunion markers for the classes of ’03, ’08 and ’13 but was open to and attended by multiple years in between and beyond. Alumni enjoyed music, food, a photo booth, epic time-capsule openings and tours of the newest building additions to campus.

The Class of 2008 held an additional celebration in a December gathering at Doppio Zero in Cupertino, where more than 40 alumni caught up over pizza and laughs!

125th Anniversary Alumni Regional Tours

More than 100 Harker alumni from the classes of 1979-2015 attended events held in New York City and Los Angeles. The last leg of the special anniversary tour will be celebrated in August in San Francisco.

While visiting New York City for the “Harker in New York,” event, Joe Rosenthal, Harker’s executive director of strategic initiatives, enjoyed visits with Howard Tsao ’91 and brothers Dennis Wang ’80 and Alexander Wang ’98. Mr. Rosenthal’s travels continued onto Asia where he attended several different receptions with boarding alumni who had attended the Harker English Language Institute.

This year’s final leg of the annual Keller tour took Butch and Jane Keller back to Southern California and then on to Colorado where they visited alumni from both UCLA and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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Visual arts teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparza spent the spring break visiting some of her former students currently attending college arts programs or already working in the field on the East Coast. Alumni included Kelsey Chung ’10, Alisa Su ’18, Matthew Ho ‘15, Matt Gehm ‘09, Alexandra Gross ’17, Jeffrey Hsu ’15 and Juhi Gupta ’15.

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