Harker Magazine - Fall/Winter 2020

A PUBLICATION OF THE HARKER SCHOOL l FALL/WINTER 2020

M A G A Z I N E

Learning from a

Distance

Our New Normal

TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS

MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPUS

STUDENT ACTIVISM

M A G A Z I N E

FAL L/W I NTER 2020, V O LU ME 12, N U MB E R 1

Pam Dickinson Office of Communication Director Catherine Snider Managing Editor Mark Kocina Photographer Jennifer Maragoni Copy Editor Zach Jones Rebecca McCartney Staff Contributors Blue Heron Design Group Design Diamond Quality Printing Printer 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 30% recycled paper.

On the cover: Middle school students maintain social distance during afternoon remote classes.

On this page: Students enjoy BEST activities at the lower school.

On the back: Transitional kindergarten students let a log help with distancing.

Photos by Mark Kocina.

HAR K E R MAGA Z I N E l FA L L/W I N T E R 2020

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44 CONTENTS Learning from a Distance Community adapts to a new normal.

Leading the Way Student government works to benefit all.

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Tournament of Books Creating communities of readers.

Call to Action Students use their voices to advocate for a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable world.

A Home of Their Own New middle school campus on schedule to welcome students next year.

6 18 26 34 44

Headlines: Head of School Brian Yager on finding comfort

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and creating new paths.

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

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Harker News.

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

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Gallery: Photo highlights from the past semester of fall happenings and visual arts, and a Harker Magazine retrospective.

14, 30, 48 Passion & Impact: Alumni following their dreams and 16, 24, 32, 42 making a difference in the world.

Staff Kudos: Happenings in the professional lives of our faculty and staff.

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Class Notes: Alumni news and photos.

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Photo note: Many photos in this issue were taken before the pandemic. Photos taken since shelter-in-place began observed all protocols required at the time of the shot.

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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 three gold and four platinum MarCom awards.

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

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The Harker School is an independent, coed, college-prep school serving TK through grade 12.

K-Grade 5: 4300 Bucknall Rd., San Jose, CA 95130 Grades 6-8 & TK: 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose, CA 95117 Grades 9-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129

Produced by the Harker Office of Communication 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129 communications@harker.org · 408.345.9273 NEXT ISSUE: SPRING/SUMMER 2021

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Lighting

headlines

About Harker

WORDS BY BRIAN YAGER PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK KOCINA

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very year during the holiday season, my parents would load me and my siblings into our station wagon, and we would explore the Christmas lights on the houses throughout Santa Barbara, where I was born and raised.

One of the harbingers of the season was the display that was placed on the transmission tower of the local television station, which happened to be situated on a hill overlooking the city, and which everyone referred to as “TV Hill.”

The annual lighting of the strings of bulbs that extended from the top of the tower to the roof below was something that all of my friends and I looked forward to each December, for the glow (different colors on different years) was a beacon confirming the arrival of the holiday season.

I was reminded of the lights on TV Hill and the feelings they evoked as I returned recently to the Saratoga campus just after sunset and was greeted by the glow of the overhead lights on Davis Field. I realized then that this was the first time these lights had been on since March. Usually, every afternoon or evening there is some activity on Davis Field, and as the sun sets earlier throughout the fall, the lights come on for the end of practices, and the lower lights stay on as various clubs use our facilities throughout the early evening hours. COVID-19 has curtailed most of this activity. However, over the course of this fall, we have phased in activities on campus for our students, including fitness cohorts at the upper school.

While these have been in place since September, it wasn’t until daylight saving time that the lights became necessary. While their presence did not reflect anything new happening on campus, the fixtures, visible from the other side of the 280 overpass, cast a comforting glow and, for a moment, things felt relatively normal again.

Every day brings new opportunities and new problems to solve, and our focus is much more on the moment than it would be in a typical year.

As we grapple with the challenges of life and learning in the time of COVID-19, as a school staff we spend most of our time and energy on the present. Every day brings new opportunities and new problems to solve, and our focus is much more on the moment than it would be in a typical year. This issue focuses on the ways we have adapted to and met the conditions around us, doing our best to keep the flame of knowledge lit and its output focused even as the winds of COVID-19 constantly shift around us. As is the case in any disruptive situation, good institutions like Harker use challenges to grow and learn, turning struggles into achievements and finding opportunity for growth in every hurdle overcome.

the Way:

The same is true of our efforts as a community to meet our mission’s call to “embrace diversity,” and to prepare our students “to take their place as global citizens.”

In the final weeks of the 2019 school year, the killing of George Floyd precipitated a national discourse on racial struggle and conflict at all levels of our society. We at Harker reflected on every aspect of what we are, have been and strive to be. Town halls and a vigil provided forums for community members to share experiences and assessments of Harker’s efforts. Throughout the summer, staff groups met to share and distill professional development experiences focused on diversity. While our school’s history includes episodes and actions in the arenas of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that we must recognize as counter to our mission, there has also been a concerted effort throughout Harker’s past, and especially since the move to San Jose in 1972, to be a school that welcomes people of all backgrounds and that

Finding Comfort and New Paths

promotes each individual’s potential to contribute to the whole of the world around us. Our introspection last spring continued over the summer and has galvanized our efforts – some of which were already underway and others that have been newly undertaken – to more fully meet the promise of our mission. We will continue to capture and share these in this and future issues of this magazine.

While COVID-19 is likely to remain a presence in our lives for the foreseeable future and the current uptick in cases is a sobering reminder of the virulence of the organism’s impact, there is also hope on the horizon in the recent news of promising vaccines and improved therapies. Similarly, we know that our DEI efforts are long-term and require our best effort and illumination in all the years ahead. The return of lights on Davis Field at night are unrelated to these things, yet in my mind they are somehow connected, perhaps only metaphorically, but comfortingly, nonetheless.

H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020

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top stories

Top Stories

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

Recent stories reprinted from Harker News online.

Harker News publishes stories online about our students and faculty, highlighting accomplishments and celebrating successes. Top Stories reprints the most widely read Harker News stories since the last issue of Harker Magazine (spring/summer 2020) went to press. Visit news.harker.org to see full stories and hundreds more articles noting the truly remarkable efforts of our Harker students and faculty.

Eighth grader reaches top 30 in 2020 Broadcom MASTERS program Sept. 16, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aPe

Senior’s COVID-19 research published in peer-reviewed journal Oct. 1, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aQu Senior Shray Alag had his research published yesterday by PLOS One, an international peer-reviewed scientific journal from the Public Library of Science, an open-access science publisher. Alag’s research, titled “Analysis of COVID-19 clinical trials: A data-driven, ontologybased, and natural language processing approach,” explored how application programming interfaces (APIs) could be used to make data from COVID-19 clinical trials – which have exploded since the start of the pandemic – much more accessible, thereby aiding medical professionals, researchers and the general public.

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Eighth grader Anika Pallapothu was named one of the top 30 finalists in the 2020 Broadcom MASTERS program. Her project, titled “Predict Using AI: Diagnosing of Diabetic Eye Diseases Using Convolutional Neural Networks for Computer Vision,” details how artificial intelligence can be used to detect diabetic retinopathy, the disease that is the leading cause of blindness.

Pallapothu was one of 15 students – a Harker record – who were named Top 300 Broadcom MASTERS scholars in September, along with ninth graders Gautam Bhooma, Zachary Blue, Ramit Goyal, Jordan Labio, Ella Lan, Heidi Lu, Anika Maji, Anika Mantripragada and Ananya Sriram; and seventh graders Hubert Lau, Serena Lau, Brenna Ren, Kallie Wang and Carissa Wu.

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Students recreate upper school campus in Minecraft Aug. 24, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aOK Just before the start of school in August, Harker students were invited to explore a virtual replica of the upper school campus, created in Minecraft by a team of about 40 students. The detailed recreation features nearly every room on campus, including teachers’ classrooms and staff offices.

The project – led by senior Jason Lin and classmates Richard Chang, Arusha Patil and Ethan Steeg, as well as junior Kailash Ranganathan and sophomores Rupert Chen, Kris Estrada, Michelle Jin and Anthony Tong – was staged on a Minecraft server set up toward the end of the 2019-20 school year with the help of upper school learning, innovation and design director Diane Main. “We worked with Mrs. Main to make sure that this server would be a positive, contained environment,” Lin said. “It went pretty well – dozens of people met with classmates, built houses

together and just had fun on these servers amidst shelter-in-place.”

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42 seniors named National Merit semifinalists, 22% of senior class Sept. 14, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aPD Last week, the National Scholarship Corporation named 42 Harker seniors as semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program, representing 22 percent of the senior class. Of the more than 1.5 million high school juniors who entered the program last year by taking the PSAT/NMSQT, only 1 percent were named semifinalists.

Finalists are determined through an application process in which the semifinalist and an official from the semifinalist’s school submit an application detailing criteria such as the semifinalist’s academic record, community participation and awards received.

This year’s semifinalists are: Nilisha Baid, Karanvir Bhasin, Manasa Bhimaraju, Elvin Chen, Matthew Chung, Emma Dionne, Preston Ellis, William Fan, Maya Franz, Alissa Gao, Annesh Dastidar, Pascal Han, Fonda Hu, Vivian Jin, Allison John, Katie Li, Jason Lin, Andrew Lu, Claire Luo, Arya Maheshwari, Akshay Manglik, Krishay Mukhija, Vaishnavi Murari, James Pflaging, Utkarsh Priyam, Michelle Si, Aditya Singhvi, Srinath Somasundaram, Andrew Sun, Aditya Tadimeti, Betsy Tian, Annamma Vazhaeparambil, Daniel Wang, N Wang, Sidra Xu, Russell Yang, Sara Yen, Nichoals Yi, Avery Young, Alex Zhai, Weixuan Zhang and Helen Zhu.

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Efforts to help Harker faculty and staff affected by California fires Sept. 15, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aPE Along with thousands of families throughout California, some of Harker’s faculty and staff also have been impacted by the devastating fires in the state. Many have been evacuated and are still working through the process of returning to their homes. Others have lost their homes. Please continue to look for community updates on fundraising efforts that support our Harker families. Two current efforts, organized by family and friends of impacted staff, are raising funds to help upper school English teacher Beverley Manning and lower school academic counselor Patty Marsette.

Questions or other information on fundraising efforts can be sent to communications@harker.org.

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Sixth grader creates Java course, raising funds for children in poverty Sept. 16, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aPU In August, sixth grader Neel Kumar launched a series of free educational videos called “Effortless Java,” which are designed to help younger students learn how to code. He was partially inspired to create the series after completing an online course only to find out he was too young to receive certification. In addition, the platform he had planned to use to host his course disqualified

him as a teacher on the basis of his age. Kumar hopes his videos will reach children around the world and give them a means to escape poverty. To support this effort further, he launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Children International, a long-running humanitarian organization that works to help impoverished children.

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Three student films selected for All American High School Film Festival July 30, 2020 https://wp.me/pOeLQ-aN4 Three student films were recently selected for the All American High School Film Festival, one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals of its kind. Rising seniors Jason Lin and Ajay Madala created the short film “Duality” for Nicholas Manjoine’s English class, in which students developed creative projects based on the works studied in class.

“Ajay and I had made our own films before, so we decided to partner up to make a short film,” said Lin. “We chose Emerson and Thoreau texts, because we felt that they exposed meaningful relationships between individuals and society.”

Other works selected for the festival included Madala’s own short, “Stay Inside,” and “Cmd-Delete,” a film Lin created with classmates Sara Yen and Amar Karoshi that was named the grand prize winner of C-SPAN’s StudentCam contest in March.

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feature

WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

Learning from a

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Distance

Harker community rises to adapt to a new normal

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pper school math teacher Lola Muldrew misses a lot about teaching in person, but the lack of certain momentary experiences with her students stands out. “Learning my students’ names, and being able to recognize them and say ‘hello’ to them out in the hall, so that it’s not such a two-dimensional relationship,” she said.

“When you get to say ‘hi’ in the lunchroom or something like that, you see each other as more than one persona; not just me as teacher, but me as a person walking on the pathway, me as a someone who holds the door for you, me as someone who helps you or just notices you playing basketball and cheers.”

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LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE

These and other everyday encounters that are typically part and parcel of the school experience have been absent ever since March, when Harker shifted to a remote learning format after Santa Clara County issued a shelter-in-place order to prevent further spread of COVID-19. While the county has been making progress, Harker has pledged to remain in the remote learning mode at least through the fall semester, and even though much improvement has been made in teaching and learning from a distance, many are still feeling the dearth of what they treasured about going to school.

Seventh grade science teacher Raji Swaminathan found replacing hands-on experiments challenging in a virtual environment. “We’re trying to find a lot of simulations to replicate the inperson lab as much as possible,” she said. For example, in an experiment comparing mass and weight, she employed digital representations of triple beam balances and spring balances. Although this is helpful in conducting the 8

HARK E R MAGA Z I N E l FA L L/W I N T E R 2020

experiment, it can’t replace working with the devices themselves.

At the lower school, where teaching young children remotely can be especially challenging, support staff were hired to assist teachers and students. “They help with breakout rooms, check the kids’ Google drives to make sure they’ve turned in their work,” said Kristina Giammona ‘81, elementary division head. Support staff have been greatly helpful in assisting with tasks that can be “hard for younger children: how do you upload something, how do you scan it and make sure the teacher can read it?

That was a big problem in the spring.”

Students were also trained in areas such as Zoom etiquette, locating assignments and submitting homework. “We really focused more on that to set a strong foundation before we jumped into math, English, history and all that stuff,” said Giammona. “We knew it was important to train the kids early on to get them ready, and that’s really paid off.”

Students have been learning to make the most of the remote format thanks in part to school-mandated screen breaks and independent learning days. “To make remote learning more impactful, I turned toward investing more time into my hobbies,” said Kai Due, grade 11. “Without travel time and [with] many afterschool activities getting canceled, I have more time to work on my non-academic passions.” Due delved more into dancing. He also found that in-class breaks

eased the stress of near-constant screen time. “The school giving us breaks in classes really helped with making online learning more manageable from a psychological standpoint,” he said.

Other students have found in the last several months that learning is something that can take place just about anywhere. “Throughout the course of virtual learning, I’ve learned that science is something that you can explore no matter when, where or how,” said seventh grader Ananya Pradhan. “It’s something that is ever-changing and there’s always something that we can learn more about and experiment with, despite outside obstacles.”

However, students are still feeling the absence of experiences they once saw as crucial to their school day. “I miss being able to meet the teachers and [go to] their classrooms, and I also miss talking to my classmates and friends,” said William Kozoman, grade 7. “Although in-person may seem more difficult, I actually think remote learning is difficult since it is very easy to be distracted.” Kozoman also expressed appreciation for the occasional Zoom-free school days but noted, “it is also difficult to independently follow the lesson with no one to guide you or keep watch. It’s a hard lesson of self-control, really.”

The missing social aspects have hit students hard.

“I miss my friends so much,” said seventh grader Natalie Barth. “Even if I meet up with them every once in a while at a park, how can that compare to being in class, eating lunch together and seeing each other every single day?”

Despite the challenges, some celebrated Harker traditions have adapted, such as the annual Cookie Day, held to mark the birthday of former president Howard Nichols (see page 12), and the semesterly performance festival Quadchella, renamed “Zoomchella” and presented as a series of prerecorded videos created by each performer.

Like many students and faculty, Head of School Brian Yager agreed that, despite best efforts, much of the Harker experience is missing with remote learning. “We believe that our kids would learn better and be better students in all regards if we were in our old mode as opposed to our current mode,” he said. “The steps we’re taking are designed to fill some gaps and to perhaps give us information that can help us move forward productively.”

“

The school giving us breaks in classes really helped with making online learning more manageable from a psychological standpoint.

– Kai Due, grade 11

Teachers spent considerable time over the summer preparing for what they knew would be a very different fall semester. Many attended the Global Online Academy’s Design

”

Although frustrated with the missing aspects of her school life (particularly the fact that the annual eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., was canceled), Barth remained appreciative of what teachers are doing to keep their classes engaging. “One of my teachers [middle school English teacher Rebecca Williams] gives us a style to write in and a prompt and lets us choose what exactly our topic will be.

Because we can choose, we will like what we talk about or at least find it interesting.”

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LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE

Muldrew, who called her school-issued iPad a “godsend,” said the school’s flexibility with curriculum has helped teachers ensure they can deliver better classroom experiences. “[The school recognized] that in the past, where you would have done three or four examples, maybe you’re only doing one or two,” she noted. “And the fact that we’re not going to have final exams allows us time to catch up on things that we’ve lost time for.”

Bootcamp, which offered ideas on how to create their virtual classrooms. At the upper school, final exams were canceled, and exam days were instead reserved as teaching days. The school also offered iPads to every teacher who requested one, and they have been used in a variety of ways.

Swaminathan has found her iPad especially useful for note-taking and conducting in-class labs with an app called Notability.

Like many students, Swaminathan also has found the no-Zoom days to be very beneficial as they allow her to focus on other school-related responsibilities. “The no-Zoom day is actually very busy for me because we have advisory, and then tomorrow we could have a big department meeting,” she said. “If we don’t have a department meeting, we meet with our peers like the other seventh grade science teachers.”

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On Sept. 30, about 60 middle school students returned to campus for an hour-long outdoor workout, marking the first time in six months that students had been at all three campuses on the same day. Transitional kindergarten students had returned to campus for outdoor activities the previous week and, three weeks prior, upper school students in the sports performance program also had returned to campus in stable cohorts, but workouts had to be halted due to poor air quality caused by a number of major fires.

Nevertheless, this and other milestones signaled hopeful change from the conditions that Harker found itself in when the school closed midway through the spring 2020 semester.

“We still have to do all the same things we were doing before,” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs. Faculty and staff who had been working on campus since the spring, as well as all visitors, have maintained safety practices to prevent COVID-19 transmission, including wearing masks, frequent hand-washing and practicing social distancing. Contact-free temperature kiosks also have been installed and any staff and visitors are required to fill out a form

with questions to be sure they are not displaying any symptoms of the disease.

On-campus antibody testing with quick results also has been made available in limited numbers, but with promising results so far: The most recent test of 354 staff returned all negative results.

Some of the credit for Harker’s current progress toward reopening goes to Santa Clara County, which issued strict guidelines for months to bring down the rate of new COVID-19 cases, including a document to schools in June detailing steps to be taken for them to reopen, much of which Harker already had been doing. “When I first got that document, I thought, there is nothing here that we can’t do,” said Debra Nott, Harker’s director of health services.

Nott reported that buy-in for on-campus safety procedures has been unanimous, and that faculty and staff are finding it a small price to pay for returning to campus. “People are happy to be back on campus, even if it’s just Zooming from their empty classrooms,” she said. “Those that are directly working with a few children that we have on campus are glad to be here.”

Denoting further progress, more upper school students returned to campus in October for oncampus remote learning. Though limited to groups of 24 and only for a few hours, the limited opening proved popular, signaling that the community is hopeful and eager to return to something resembling the Harker experience they cherish.

In another major move, transitional kindergarten returned to its in-person program full time during the second week of October, following permission from Santa Clara County. “We felt it was important to transition from remote learning to the full program as soon as we could since learning at this age needs to be more hands-on and much of the focus is classroom readiness, fine and gross motor skills, as well as social-emotional development,” said TK teacher Vincy Chan. “These aspects of our program are nearly impossible to teach over Zoom, and it is equally challenging to keep their full attention while in their home settings.”

TK staff have been provided sanitization supplies and a set of protocols to maintain safety while the children are in class.

Communal areas and frequently used items are regularly cleaned and students are required to bring their own set of basic school supplies. Lessons have also been modified for families who have H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020

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LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE

chosen to keep their children at home. Despite these changes, “we feel we are able to provide a comparable program to what we would have delivered in the pre-COVID era,” said Chan. The return to in-person learning also meant that another cherished Harker tradition, the annual Halloween parade, could take place this year.

As the COVID-19 situation evolves, including the move to the purple tier at press time, further reopening remains largely a matter of waiting and seeing, and variances in risk among different departments also is being considered. While holding an English class with a limited number of students in the classroom may be safe, the same might not be said of performing arts, where singing and the use of wind instruments may increase the risk of transmission.

“It feels like there’s eight million variables at all times,” said Yager, who also noted that a hybrid of inperson and online teaching is being discussed: “[We’re asking,] how can we deliver a classroom program when you have some of those students on-site and some off? And maybe in the coming months, we’ll have the opportunity to pilot a couple of classes of volunteers who want to explore those processes, just to get some data on it.”

Virtual C

kie Day

Every year, the Harker community celebrates the life and work of former Harker president Howard Nichols (1940-2008) by enjoying freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on his birthday, Oct. 10. This tradition is a nod to Mr. Nichols’ custom of keeping a jar full of the treats on his desk to encourage staff and students to drop by to say hello. This year, Harker’s kitchen staff provided the recipe so that families could observe Cookie Day by baking cookies at home. Students and faculty sent in pictures of their lovingly crafted confections, which were later posted to Harker’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

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face time

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-5 art department chair Gerry-louise Robinson loves the moment when her students finish a work and “the corners of their mouths turn up in a smile – they are a proud blossoming artist!” She’s passionate about many things, including Bora Bora (“seeing planet Earth in all its glory”), old art books (“any shape, size, era, the smell – wonderful!”) and being Irish (“I’m not English!”). Her family includes parents and sisters still in Ireland, a husband, a 14-year-old son, an old, one-eyed cat named Linus and a bearded dragon named Picasso. Robinson teaches grades 2-5 art, is a member of the Sustainability Committee and is an assistant scout master at a local scout troop. Read on to learn more!

Where in the world are you the happiest?

In the National Gallery in Ireland. It holds my favorite painting of all time, “Meeting on the Turret Stairs” by Frederic W. Burton.

It’s a watercolor and can only be seen during certain hours of the day.

What is your most treasured memory?

Waiting for my baby sister to be born. I was bribed with a bacon sandwich (a “sarnie”) to wait in the car while my dad took my mum into the hospital!

What is something you happily fail at?

Baking cakes. I’m awful at it! They all sink and flop, but I keep on trying! One day, one day …

What is something one of your students’ parents said that you will never forget?

“Thank you for seeing all of my child.”

What is something your own parents said that you will never forget?

Being a girl is not another word for “you can’t” or “you shouldn’t.”

What is your most treasured object and why?

A Malaysian Buddha. It lived in my grandmother’s house for years and, when she passed, I asked for it. It greeted everyone who came to visit her as they entered the house.

It does the same in mine.

Gerry-louise Robinson H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020

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fall happenings Photo provided by Anna Weirich, grade 12

gallery

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

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UNLESS NOTED

A

The upper school Conservatory released its fall play as two movies, while the middle school presented the quirky trio of “Brief Interviews with Internet Cats,”“10 Ways to Survive Life in a Quarantine” and “The Internet is DistractOH LOOK A KITTEN!” The middle school also released its Instrumental Holiday Concert video, and the annual Big Assembly Day holiday tour hit screens on Dec. 11, showcasing upper and middle school orchestras and jazz bands, Cantilena and Downbeat.

Photos provided by David Hart

Photo provided by Jaco Wong

thletes and performing artists didn’t let COVID-19 spoil their fall! Socially distanced workouts were held at the middle and upper school campuses, giving athletes the opportunity to stay in shape.

Anna Weirich, grade 12, traveled to Arizona to compete in the 14th annual Desert Twilight meet. Racing as an unattached competitor, Weirich placed 12th out of 110 national runners.

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impact

Capturing From powering cities to creating groundbreaking fashion shows, alumnus is having a global impact

When Nick Navarro started at Harker in sixth grade, he didn’t realize how influential the next three years would be. The academic rigor, lifelong friendships and feeling of community were all life-changing.

“After my seventh grade year, my parents told me they couldn’t afford to send me for eighth grade and I was devastated!” remembered Navarro, who graduated from the middle school in 2002. “I told my parents ‘no,’ and wrote a letter to the administration begging them to let me stay; they came through with a scholarship that allowed me to finish middle school!”

He was grateful for his time at Harker and was sad when his family moved to El Dorado Hills at the start of high school. But the academic excellence at Harker prepared him well and, after sailing through high school, Navarro attended Harvard University where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in economics in 2010.

WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY NICK NAVARRO MS ’02 UNLESS NOTED

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While at Harvard, he reached beyond the classroom when he became involved in the school’s fashion scene. Navarro directed the annual fashion show, Eleganza, which reached new heights under his leadership, raising the bar for the show’s production quality and inspiring many students to rethink their relationship to fashion. Since then, he’s continued to have a positive impact through both fashion and his role as vice president at a clean power company.

While an undergrad, Navarro met a fellow student and his future boss, Jessica O. Matthews, founder and CEO of Uncharted

Photo provided by the Harker Archives

Power, a power and data technology company on a mission to achieve universal access to low-cost, clean power. Investors of Uncharted Power include Magic Johnson Enterprises, Kapor Capital and BBG Ventures.

“I didn’t know the exact role [Nick] would fill – just that his presence would elevate the organization.”

smart and a truly high achiever, but he is also humble, kind and calm,” said Katiti Kironde, an advisory board member for Melange and the first African woman to appear on the cover of Glamour, in August 1968. “Nick formed Melange as an embodiment of all that he loves and stands for: fashion, inclusivity, positivity and love.

In that sense Melange is unique. It brings all those important values together in one place to bring out the best in models and artists from all walks of life in a nonjudgmental, loving environment.”

“When I asked Nick to join Uncharted Power in 2015, I didn’t know the exact role he would fill – just that his presence would elevate the organization,” said Matthews. “Anyone can have a dream, but – Jessica O. Matthews, a dream is meaningless without resources.

CEO of Uncharted Power Specifically, the people and capital you need to make any vision a reality. Nick has Navarro’s face lights up when he talks been an invaluable asset to Uncharted Power.” Navarro left about Melange, as he understands the impact it’s having on biotech company Biogen, where he had been for four years, the fashion world. Melange has held groundbreaking fashion and started this shows in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro and New York City that next phase. feature LGBTQ, plus-size and disabled models.

Before he joined Uncharted Power, Navarro attended Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was the youngest member of his class. While earning his MBA, he launched Melange in 2011. Melange is an arts movement that celebrates diversity, self-love and human rights through fashion and art.

Whether pioneering changes in the fashion industry or helping to bring clean energy to millions of people around the globe, Navarro is determined to make a positive impact on the world.

Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

2014 in Melange vided by Photo pro

“First, full disclosure, I adore Nick. Over the years, he has won not only my heart but my absolute respect! He is talented,

“Melange having its first show during New York Fashion Week is a significant milestone, as it shows our unstoppable growth and impact in terms of promoting more love in the arts world,” Navarro told NBC News in 2019. Navarro is in the process of transitioning the platform from a for-profit company into a nonprofit to increase its global influence.

SF

Photo by Lucille Khornak Photography

Photo by Chau Le Photography

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Y A e h W t G N I D LEA

benefit all to n o ti a tr is in alongside adm s rk o w , rs e e p nt represents e m rn e v o g t n e Stud

PHOTO

ARAGONI NNIFER M JE Y B S D WO R SS NOTED INA UNLE C O K K R A YM GR APHS B

A

SB president Jason Lin still remembers the speech he gave in seventh grade when he ran for corresponding secretary.

“I tried to stand out by reciting 60-plus digits of pi and beatboxing – or at least trying to,” recalled Lin, grade 12. His creativity paid off; he was elected to the position, which he said shaped the way he viewed Student Council for the years to come.

“The corresponding secretary’s job is to ‘correspond’ with the student body – get messages out to them, receive their ideas and thoughts, etc.,” he explained. “That’s a big part of what Student Council is all about.”

Lin has served on Student Council – or StuCo, for short – every year since fourth grade, when he served as a homeroom representative. “It’s really been a whirlwind of exciting experiences, and I’ve learned so much about leadership and teambuilding,” he said, adding that Student Council gives students “the tools to actively make Harker more awesome.”

“The Student Council is here to make Harker a more inviting place, a campus where everyone feels accepted,” he explained.

“People should have something to look forward to every day.

Equally important is its role as a voice for the student body to the administration and vice versa. In order to fulfill these roles, we need to actively solicit feedback from peers and continuously innovate.”

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A STRONG VOICE

The Student Council serves as a liaison between the student body and the faculty/administration, helping to shape policy on campus.

“They have a strong voice in this regard,” said Kevin Williamson, upper school dean of students and longtime Student Council advisor.

Students concur, offering myriad examples of how the Student Council and administration have worked together to improve the school culture and climate.

“I absolutely thought my voice was heard and there are more examples than I can even recount,” recalled Maheen Kaleem ’03, who was a member of the second class to graduate from the

ided Photo prov

r Archives by the Harke

upper school. She served on the Student Council throughout high school, including as ASB president her senior year. “I felt student government was a way to give students, faculty and administration an avenue to co-create what we wanted the school to be.”

StuCo is able to raise questions and bring concerns to the administration on behalf of students and “the administration was always open to hearing our opinions and new ideas,” agreed Tiphaine Delepine ’13, who served on Student Council at the lower school and later as senior class vice president.

Over the years, the council has been active in making changes to the student handbook, including the dress code and scheduling, among other things. A memorable example is the “jeans rebellion,” which resulted in changes to the school dress code, recalled Kaleem. The upper school had just opened and, at that time, students were not allowed to wear jeans to school.

To protest, students organized to show up to school in jeans.

“In hindsight, the administration was so gracious with us and, instead of being overly punitive, they decided to engage in dialogue with us,” said Kaleem, adding, “don’t get me wrong, there were consequences.”

Kaleem said she learned a lot from the process about democracy and compromise.

“As student government officers, we held forums to give students a chance to voice their opinions and share the changes they wanted to see, and also hear from the administration about the reasons behind the dress code policies. I learned so much from that process about how to take into account competing priorities … and ultimately, how to work collectively toward a common goal.”

In the end, the dress code was adjusted, and has continued to

evolve since with further student input.

StuCo also actively works to make the campus itself more inviting and meet students’ needs. During her junior year, Alycia Cary ’19 worked with fellow council members, along with Harker’s executive chef, Stephen Martin, and assistant Rachel Joslyn, to create a breakfast bar where students could buy inexpensive food and beverages.

“It’s really been a whirlwind of exciting experiences, and I’ve learned so much about leadership and teambuilding.”

This idea has evolved over the years, Williamson said.

– Jason Lin, grade 12 “Last year, we opened up Carley’s Café in the quad to offer mid-morning snacks a few days a week. Egg biscuits were actually given out free by the officers, with the help of Mr. Keller,” he said.

And change isn’t just happening on the upper school campus. At the lower school, for example, “the Student Council saw a need for book racks outside the library, because after school, there is always a big pile-up,” explained Kristin Giammona ’81, elementary division head. “Those racks will be installed this year.”

LEARNING TO LEAD

Student Council is organized differently on each campus, but each aims to give students opportunities to develop leadership skills, improve campus culture and climate, and serve the community.

At the lower school, representatives are elected for each fourth and fifth grade homeroom. These representatives share responsibilities, including gathering suggestions from fellow H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020

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LEADING THE WAY

students, reporting back to their homerooms and assisting with community service projects, such as the annual lower school toy and food drives.

“It helps the students develop leadership and public speaking skills,” Giammona said, explaining that these leaders then guide their peers in making changes on campus.

“I enjoyed being on the Student Council because I thought that it was great that we could make decisions to improve the life of students,” said Avi Gupta, grade 5, who was a homeroom representative in fourth grade and is serving again this year.

Last year, the middle school transitioned from a Student Council to a Leadership Council, to further emphasize the importance of leadership. Rather than elect a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, each class now elects two grade-level representatives. Students also elect a junior representative for each of the four Spirit Houses on campus.

“We wanted the elected representatives to learn various skills,” explained Patricia Lai Burrows, assistant middle school division head and Leadership Council advisor. The Leadership Council works together to oversee the student newsletter and website, plan lunchtime and after-school activities, and organize fundraisers, among other things.

Council members recognize that one of their greatest responsibilities is listening to their peers’ ideas.

“I’ve learned that leadership is more about others than yourself,” said Aaron Bao, grade 8. “Honestly, I think that understanding and connecting with the feelings and ideas of others is more important than any other leadership skill.”

Tanvi Sivakumar, grade 7, added, “It was amazing how students come up with so many ideas and some even advocate different causes.”

In some cases, efforts even reach around the world. In January, for example, middle school students made pouches for Australian wildlife orphaned by the bushfires that were ravaging the country, prompted by a presentation on the crisis by the Leadership Council.

Many students who serve in lower or middle school go on to serve at the upper school.

“The student body seems to love incumbents!” Williamson said.

At the upper school, the Student Council includes an Associated Student Body officer team – president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and spirit coordinator – that oversees the entire student body, as well as a council for each grade level. Each class council traditionally has included a president, VP, secretary and treasurer, but the campus is transitioning to a model in which four elected class officers share equal responsibilities, to encourage the officers to work together rather than by position. Each class council also includes a Student Activities Board, comprising three elected representatives who help build class spirit.

During his 20 years as an advisor, Williamson said he’s seen many meaningful ideas come to fruition through the Student Council. In addition to policy changes, the council has organized many events benefiting the school and greater community, including the annual Hoscars and Quadchella talent shows and countless fundraisers.

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“The most important lesson I learned at Harker was that everyone has a stake in their community; if you don’t like how something is done, you have the power and responsibility to change it.”

– Alycia Cary ’19

Photo prov ided

by the Harke r Archives

In April, for example, students raised more than $11,000 for Silicon Valley Strong, a local initiative to help families and small businesses struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As young leaders with great ideas, I would say the greatest benefit to them personally is to learn how to follow through,” Williamson said. “Good ideas are easy to come by; making them a reality takes a lot of work.”

Cary said her time on StuCo has had a lasting impact, prompting her to become an active member of her community in the years since graduating from Harker.

“The most important lesson I learned at Harker was that everyone has a stake in their community; if you don’t like how something is done, you have the power and responsibility to change it,” she said, adding that she used these principles when she worked on Elizabeth Warren’s campaign in Iowa last winter.

Photo prov ided

by Margare t Huntley

“Freshman and sophomore year, the Class of 2021 felt like a collection of sharply defined friend groups,” she recalled. “I really wanted to change that and make sure people got to know their classmates.” Her favorite part of student government is working with classmates with various talents, such as “tech geniuses or incredible artists,” to improve the school for everyone.

Highlights of Delepine’s time on Student Council included a superhero-themed anti-littering campaign and a Disney-themed spirit week. Another favorite memory, she said, was teaching the senior class – and advisors – a coordinated “High School Musical” routine.

“I learned through Student Council that community spirit often needs Photo provided by Kristin Giammona ‘81 to be fostered and can be done so with impactful leadership,” she said. “I took the lessons I learned BUILDING COMMUNITY, HAVING FUN about community from Student Council to college, where I organized relationship-building events within my dorm, and now to the workplace, where I lead a community-building At Harker, meaningful efforts also tend to inspire a lot of fun network.” on campus. Of the COVID-19 fundraiser, for example, then ASB president Avi Gulati ’20 recalled, “As we reached certain Middle schooler Sivakumar said serving on the Leadership milestones, teachers rapped, students make TikToks, and we all Council also has given her the opportunity to try new things. had a blast sharing silly talents for a good cause.”

“I am sometimes shy to express my ideas in front of other ASB spirit coordinator Calais Poirson, grade 12, joined Student people who I hardly know and who may be in a different grade,” Council last year as junior class spirit coordinator to help foster she explained. “Leadership Council has made me explore a sense of community. outside my comfort zone and pushed me to try new things.”

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LEADING THE WAY

Photo by Ky le Cavallaro Photo prov ided

ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES

by middle sc hool newslet ter

In many ways, 2020 turned life upsidedown. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Harker – and most schools – to move to distance learning. However, the pandemic didn’t stop Harker’s student government from doing its job. Officers on all campuses continued to meet virtually and came up with creative ways to keep students connected.

“Socializing, connection and spirit require a lot more energy in an online environment,” Poirson acknowledged. “Keeping school spirit up is going to be a challenge, but with the new Student Activities Board, Student Council and Spirit Club, there are many creative minds on the job. We’re constantly brainstorming ways to ensure no one feels isolated and everyone feels connected, valued and supported.”

At the lower school, students met over Zoom and published two issues of a student newspaper, which included features on teachers, professional sports updates, a memory page for the fifth graders and original comic strips. Likewise, middle school officers immediately turned their attention to keeping fellow students engaged, planning online social activities, with topics including music, games, Latin Junior Classical League and more. The Leadership Council also recently launched a newsletter, which council members plan to update every two weeks.

Since students are separated physically, it’s vital to offer meaningful opportunities for them to connect, build camaraderie and have fun.

“We must try our best to bring the community together through this time,” Lin said, explaining that before the pandemic, the Student Council would bring food trucks and inflatable slides to campus. “Now, the usual playbook has completely changed.”

Jennifer Maragoni is a freelance writer and editor based in Folsom.

“I am sometimes shy to express my ideas in front of other people who I hardly know and who may be in a different grade. Leadership Council has made me explore outside my comfort zone and pushed me to try new things.”

– Tanvi Sivakumar, grade 7

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face time

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rabelle Aguirre Chow is an English teacher and active presence on the middle school campus; she counts being a house leader, learning, innovation and design council member, mentor program supervisor, Summer Institute coprincipal and more among her extracurricular activities. Chow’s family includes a husband, parents, sisters, a brother and, very importantly, an 85-pound golden retriever whose first name is Puppy – that’s right, Puppy Chow. In fact, when asked what she’s obsessed with and how she likes to fill a block of free time, Chow gives the same two answers: Puppy Chow and “any podcast that teaches me something while also being entertaining.”

Chow says she teaches “because I am inspired by my students and my colleagues to continually grow, learn and improve.” Read on to discover some other inspirations.

What makes you feel like a kid again?

Eating a Fruit by the Foot roll-up snack. And any time I visit my parents, I feel like I’ve never moved out.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?

“No matter what it is, in time, you’ll feel better.” My eighth grade science teacher told me this when he saw that I had been crying.

What do you wish people could understand about you?

I prefer not to not travel to the same place/country/area I’ve already visited because my thought is, “There are so many places in the world I have not experienced, why travel to the same place if I can visit someplace new?”

What helps you persevere when you feel like giving up?

Knowing that tomorrow is a new day, an opportunity to “start over.”

What are you doing when you feel most alive?

I’m checking something off my bucket list, like sky diving or experiencing glow worms in New Zealand!

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

Realistically: speaking, understanding and reading another language. Unrealistically: reading minds!

Arabelle Aguirre Chow H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FA LL/WIN TER 2020

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passion

Finding

in your

passion

Photo by Mark Kocina

Alumna creates balance through varied pursuits

– Shilpa Thakur ‘03 WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY SHILPA THAKUR ’03 UNLESS NOTED

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Her most recent creative project, a music video titled “Hawa,” which was shot in Sri Lanka, was a culmination of all these aspects of her life. At the end of the video, which has had more than 76,000 views in a few short months, she includes a dedication to her aunt Nirmala.

Photo provided by the Harker Archives

“I have learned to honor my passion, cultivate self-love and take my power back.”

hilpa Thakur ’03 is a singer and global technology attorney turned creative leadership coach who empowers women to transform limiting beliefs and take their lives and careers to new heights.

“My aunt was my role model because she was so nurturing and supportive, especially of my musical side,” remembered Thakur with a gentle smile. “She was like a third parent who didn’t place any limits and wanted to help me make my dreams possible.”

Thakur is able to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams because of the breakthroughs she has had on her personal journey. As an attorney and coach, she has been able to help others navigate difficult situations and transition points to create a reality

Photo by Mark Kocina

that reflects who they are and what they want for their lives.

“I honestly don’t think I can say that I’ve met anyone as smart, passionate, driven and confident as Shilpa.

I learned a lot from watching and working alongside her, and also getting to witness her talented artistic side,” said Shalini Haranahalli, co-founder and creative director of Tattva Dance Company, for whom Thakur served as both attorney and creative collaborator. “She has an amazing ability to keep her cool and stay passionate in a way that keeps things moving in the right direction.”

But it took hard work, dedication and an entrepreneurial spirit for Thakur to find the right direction for herself.

After attending Harker’s upper school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a law degree, both at the University of San Francisco. But she didn’t enter college knowing this was her path; she started as pre-med, though she wasn’t passionate about that career track.

completed an artist intensive in Los Angeles, attended a songwriting retreat in Nashville and took music courses in Mumbai, India. Upon returning to San Francisco from India, she formed Sufi Funk, a band blending different musical genres, which was invited to perform around the United States. The exploratory year gave her the tools, confidence and network of creative people that allowed her to integrate music back into her life in a meaningful way.

“Looking back, the entrepreneurs I have worked with have indirectly inspired me to not let my musical inclinations go and to stay true to myself,” said Thakur. “I have learned to honor my passion, cultivate self-love and take my power back.”

Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

“When I asked Shilpa [her senior year], ‘where are you going next year?’ she answered, somewhat sadly, that she was heading down the medical path and explained that this is what her family wanted for her,” recalled Brian Larsen, Harker’s K-12 production manager. “So I was surprised and delighted to reconnect with her over social media some years later and find that her singing and dancing talents had become such a major part of her life. It’s clear how much joy she brings to her performance work, and I couldn’t be happier for her that she’s found outlets for her talents and her passions.”

While Thakur loves working with entrepreneurs, in 2017, she realized that “a piece of her was missing” so she stepped back from her legal career for a year of exploration, during which she H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020 25

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TournamenT OF BotinogkCosmm:unities of Readers Crea

“

Kids just tell me that they think about reading more.

– Ann Smitherman, grades 4-5 language arts teacher

”

ents find themselves very year, lower and middle school stud een various book heavily invested in a competition betw their favorite literary selections, voting for and cheering on lower school and third creations. Now in its sixth year at the of Books has become a at the middle school, the Tournament ers at Harker. favorite annual activity of young read 4-5 language arts teacher “It’s not an original idea,” said grades program in late 2014.

Ann Smitherman, who kicked off the on Twitter and I am a “I have a lot of teachers who I follow about the tournament terrible, terrible sleeper.” She found out crawls and began doing during one of her late night Twitter tournament began and research. In December 2014, the first Smitherman’s grade 4 was almost immediately popular with students. as they could in a very “The students read as many [books] it’s March Madness short period of time, because I decided therman said. “And the and we’re going to vote in March,” Smi votes came rapidly.” resembles that of the The format of the tournament closely with 16 books placed NCAA men’s basketball tournament, books facing off against on either side of a bracket, and two two finalists remain. one another at each stage until only

E

WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

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Students are given a number of weeks to read each book before voting on which book will advance. The winning book is automatically entered into the next year’s tournament.

Since its inception, the tournament has become a great way for students to find books that interest them without impacting their often busy schedules.

“Many of our students are super busy and their parents are even busier,” said Smitherman. “So they want to read but they don’t necessarily have a way of finding really great books.”

Seeing how popular the tournament had become at the lower school, middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey recognized its potential for middle school readers, particularly those who had just arrived after completing grade 5. “We saw how successful it had been at the lower school and what an amazing job Ann Smitherman had done creating that and getting the kids excited about reading,” Morrissey said.

A variety of criteria – including diversity of genre, quality of writing and age appropriateness – are considered when selecting books for the tournament.

Entries also have included collections of short stories, graphic novels and stories composed in verse. One particularly important element is the ways in which literature can be “a window and a mirror,” said Smitherman, “so you can look out a window into another time, another kid’s experience, or you can use a book as a mirror to see yourself. So we’re looking for books that are both of those things.”

Titles such as Rex Ogle’s “Free Lunch,” last year’s middle school Tournament of Books winner, “provide a window into another culture that’s not typically present at our school,” said Morrissey.

Ayden Grover, grade 6, called “Free Lunch” his “new favorite book” and said, “I enjoyed this book because I was able to learn more about poorer people and see from their perspective.”

Authors of tournament books also have made appearances as part of the program to discuss their works, their careers and the writing process. “Free Lunch” author Ogle participated in online chats twice last spring and Kelly

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Yang, author of the 2020 lower school winner “Front Desk,” visited the campus for a special assembly in October of last year.

Students have reported enthusiastically about the amount of reading they’ve done for the tournament. “I really like the books from this year and last year. I’ve read so many of them,” said Samantha Teachworth, grade 5, who found a few new authors she enjoyed in one of this year’s tournament books, “The Creativity Project,” in which more than 40 authors were challenged to provide each other with story starters.

Another lower school student, fifth grader Lila Ozdemir, also expressed excitement for reading the rest of this year’s tournament books. “Last year was a really great tournament of books and I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the books for this year,” she said.

“I think there’s a lot to be said for getting to talk with other friends about a common book and talk about, ‘Did you like this better than this?’” said Morrissey. Books are also made available in a variety of formats, including ebooks and audio books, so that students have a variety of ways to enjoy them.

Despite the many changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the somewhat sudden shift to remote learning, the Tournament of Books at the lower and middle schools went mostly as planned, save for the cancellation of in-person celebrations to reveal the year’s winners. A summer pilot Tournament of Books program for the upper school was scheduled to take place but was postponed until summer 2021.

“We still love TOB and continue to celebrate how powerfully it has affected our lower and middle school readers,” said upper school librarian Meredith Cranston. “We believe that how we launch such a program is really important and we want to do it in circumstances that give it the best chance for success.”

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TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS

For all of the Tournament of Books’ benefits, one stands out to Smitherman: its role in further creating a community of readers. “Kids just tell me that they think about reading more,” she said, “and parents tell me this as well - that reading is an activity that [their kids] consider to fill their leisure time.”

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gallery

PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY THE ARTISTS

visual arts

UNLESS NOTED

Venice Staats

Photo by Mark Kocina

TK “Wise Owl”

Adam Shimelfarb Grade 3 “Sewing Autumn Trees”

Brayden Ching Grade 2 “Monet Garden”

Aileen Jang

Grade 5 “Keith Haring Meets Piet Mondrian”

Kaleb Goldin Grade 8 “Gargoyle”

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Laura Bastos

Grade 7 “Common Corn-Flag Flower”

Shaina Cohen Grade 7 “Girl in Red”

Maria Teplova

Grade 12 “man-robot”

Farah Hosseini

Grade 12 “Tread Softly for you Tread on my Dreams”

Elliot Kampmeier Grade 12 “Eggeyes”

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impact

WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED

BY NITHYA VEMIREDDY ’14 UNLESS NOTED

From hoops to helping

Photo by Stefan Armijo

Alumna learned valuable lessons on the court that she’s using to impact women in India

hen Nithya Vemireddy ’14 played varsity basketball for Harker for four years, including three years as captain, she didn’t realize all the important life lessons she was learning on the court. From teamwork and time management to dedication and deep friendships, Vemireddy now appreciates the impact it made on her life.

“Nithya was a joy to be around; you could always count on her to lighten up the room as she’s such a goofball – in a good way,” said Alfredo Alves, assistant to the upper school athletic director and Vemireddy’s coach all four years. “On the court, teams knew if they played us that they needed to look out for number 35. Off the court, Nithya matured and by her senior year, she set ambitious goals that she went onto achieve. Overall, someone like Nithya doesn’t come along very often.”

After Harker, Vemireddy attended Santa Clara University, where she planned to study medicine. But after taking many liberal arts courses and being awarded the Global Social Benefit Fellowship at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, her worldview broadened.

“The GSBF changed my life and I think it’s the best fellowship opportunity that a college student can participate in,” said Vemireddy, who explained that students are trained to provide consultant-level research and advice to socially minded organizations across the globe. “It is really rare to get this type of experience, working as a consultant for an organization with an amazing network of support.”

GSBF combines a fully funded six- to eight-week summer field experience in the developing world with two quarters of academically rigorous research.

Vemireddy and her partner conducted a research project in India to assess the social impact of Awaaz.De, a Gujarat-based social enterprise that created a mobile 32

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communication platform for organizations. While traveling to more than 20 rural communities, Vemireddy developed a love for baby goats, which became an inside joke with her GSBF friends, because every selfie she shared included a goat.

After returning from India, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology and public health. But her road to helping others was just beginning.

Thanks to encouragement from her mentor at the Miller Center, Keith Douglass Warner, she decided to apply for the William J. Clinton Fellowship at the American India Foundation. This immersive, 10-month volunteer program matches young professionals with development organizations.

Vemireddy worked with Prajwala Sangham, a project within a larger organization called Chindu that uses theater and art to empower women – from police constables, prisoners and women in the community – through topics such as identity, leadership, gender, safety and health.

“Before study abroad, I firmly identified as an American.

However, upon my return, it felt wrong to say, ‘I’m an American.’

I felt a new connection to India, but not strong enough for me to identify as an Indian-American,” Vemireddy wrote in “Best of Both Worlds: My Journey to the AIF Clinton Fellowship”

in October 2018. “Even so, my time with Awaaz.De allowed me to witness a group of passionate individuals working to right the social wrongs in India. My conversations with people, from those up high in the corporate world to the farmers in rural Assam, played an integral role in me embracing and celebrating my identity. Now, I proudly identify as an Indian-American.”

Both of these fellowships confirmed what Vemireddy was coming to realize – she wanted to make an impact on the world through social entrepreneurship.

After the AIF fellowship ended, she returned to California to catch her breath and consider her next steps. She realized she wanted to return to India and secured a job that was supposed to start in June 2020. The global pandemic changed her plans, so Vemireddy has stopped to reflect on her next move; but she is driven to continue to make an impact on the world.

“I keep asking myself, how do I see myself contributing to India?” asked Vemireddy, who definitely plans to work in India again. “I recently joined Chindu’s board of directors, which will help me stay connected, and I’m open to all possibilities, so I feel optimistic about the future.”

Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

Photo provided by the Harker Archives

“ I’m open

to all possibilities, so I feel optimistic about the future.”

– Nithya Vemireddy ’14

Photo by Stefan Armijo

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tudent activists have long been at the heart of social progress and Harker students are no exception.

They’re learning to raise their voices to fight for causes that they’re passionate about, from slowing climate change to supporting gender equality to participating in the political process. They’ve proven to be advocates for change, both at school and in the broader community. They call out injustice and inequality and – with the full support of the faculty and administration – work to implement their ideas to create better and more inclusive communities.

S

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WORDS BY MARLA HOLT PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA UNLESS NOTED

Students use their voices to advocate for a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable world

For seniors Natasha Yen and Brian Pinkston and junior Uma Iyer, that meant starting the Student Diversity Coalition, a new organization begun this year for those interested in and affected by diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Yen, Pinkston, Iyer and senior Dylan Williams serve as student board members who will host events and roundtable discussions for the Harker community.

“We’re prepared to teach our members to recognize and act upon instances of injustice they may encounter,” said Pinkston, adding that members will take on the role of restorative justice moderators.

The trio also helped draft and present a 10-page diversity proposal to the administration and board of trustees.

The proposal outlined several diversity initiatives that students asked Harker to undertake, such as the creation of affinity groups for those who claim a particular identity, more diverse curricular offerings and the hiring of more faculty of color. The proposal also asked that Harker recognize the geographic history of its campuses by honoring the Native Americans who originally inhabited the land on which Harker is built.

“Harker has provided us with the tools and skills to make a difference,” Yen said. “It’s up to students to use those skills and our voices to make our community better. It’s been fulfilling to have the administration really listen to us and respond in such a positive way.”

Yen also is co-president of Harker’s Green Team and cofounder of its Youth Activism Club, which hosts political awareness roundtable discussions on topics such as the rising discrimination Asian Americans have faced over the coronavirus and how climate change is affecting California. The group also has hosted presentations by legislators and held a voter registration drive in partnership with the League of Women Voters.

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CALL TO ACTION

Team, Interact, WiSTEM and Youth Activism Club, among others.

“The ideas for activities, programs and conversations overwhelmingly come from the students,” said Eric Kallbrier, the director of student organizations, who oversees and supports upper school student clubs, programs and societies.

Butch Keller, upper school

e 12 division head, agreed that students Yen, grad y Natasha b ed d vi ro p to o h take the lead on activism at Harker, P

“The Youth Activism Club is fairly lively with amazing students,” said advisor Mark Janda, upper school history department chair. “Their discussions tend to be a combination of political and media analysis.”

Participating in student activism fosters many skills, including public speaking, persuasion, critical thinking and negotiation. Those involved in political activism stay engaged with the political process, even before they’re eligible to vote. Many become devoted to standing up for and positively impacting their communities, setting the stage for a lifetime of civic engagement that often leads to creating a better world for themselves and others.

“Our student activists are learning to work in positive ways to change cultures, encourage communities to be more inclusive, build awareness of injustice and inequality and ensure everyone feels welcome at the table,” said Donna Gilbert, an upper school history teacher who advises FEM, the feminism and female empowerment club.

Advocates and Allies Of the more than 70 student organizations and clubs at the upper school, several offer the opportunity to create awareness and change around important issues.

Clubs that focus on activism include FEM, Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Green 36

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supported by adults who are themselves activists and excellent role models. “Our student activists are intelligent and compassionate and dive deeply into issues they’re committed to. They continually push to make our community better,” he said.

The Green Team, which models and encourages sustainable environmental practices, is just one example of a club making a positive impact.

“We hope to influence every single person in realizing how impactful their environmental footprint is and how environmental issues cannot be taken lightly, especially since our future is on the line,” noted senior Sachi Bajaj.

The Green Team is very visible on campus, known for organizing Meatless Mondays in the cafeteria, a schoolwide climate strike, clothing swaps and environment-related guest speaker events. They’ve worked toward eliminating single-use plastics with initiatives like “Buy Better Boba,” for which the club designed, produced and sold more than 350 reusable boba jars, donating the profits to Save the Bay, a local anti-plastic organization. Members also cleaned and sterilized hundreds of lost and found bottles for the “Use Me, Reuse Me” campaign.

Outside of Harker, Green Team members have participated in the Student Climate March and attended and presented at local and national conferences focused on climate change and environmental issues.

Young people hold immense power in creating a future that we want to live in.

– Gary Ding, grade 10

They’ve spoken at public hearings with elected officials, pushing for such changes as the city of San Jose using community choice energy.

Bajaj was so inspired by Green Team’s work that she started the Me2U Foundation, an international youth organization that reduces waste by redistributing household items and food to those in need.

“Green Team taught me that any person, regardless of age or experience, can make

significant strides in changing the world,” Bajaj said.

Her fellow Green Team member, sophomore Gary Ding, agreed. “I’ve realized that young people hold immense power in creating a future that we want to live in,” he said.

Both FEM and Women in Science,

Technology, Engineering and Math (WiSTEM) focus on female empowerment and women’s rights. FEM leads FemForums, discussion-based meetings centered on themes of gender inequality, sexuality and political rights. Recent topics have included feminism and voting, selflove and approval culture, women in the workplace and the #MeToo movement.

The group partners with Ignite, a national nonprofit that addresses the paucity of women in elected office by building a pipeline of next-generation leaders.

Members use Ignite’s curriculum and training to host guest speaker events and informational workshops that emphasize the importance of young women’s participation in the political process.

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CALL TO ACTION

Learning about the ideals of feminism has helped junior Simone Merani examine her own privilege and prejudices. “I’ve learned a lot more about the many injustices women and other minorities endure,” she said. “I’ve learned when I should use my voice and when I should listen more.”

WiSTEM’s mandate is to create awareness of gender disparities and increase female participation in STEM fields. Older members act as mentors (“WiSTERs”) to younger club members. They also serve as STEM buddies by conducting engaging scientific activities for students at the lower school and formerly at the preschool. The club also is responsible for organizing and moderating the sessions at the annual Harker Research Symposium. WiSTEM is involved internationally, raising funds to pay four years’ tuition for a young Kenyan girl studying physics and working with the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research, a nonprofit building Kenya’s first girls boarding school and research center.

“We are a voice and a presence for the entire school, creating a culture where students can feel safe and embraced,” Olivas said.

Budding Activists Student activism isn’t just for Harker’s upper school students. As a TK-12 institution, Harker can encourage students in the middle and lower grades to learn about and engage in activism in age-appropriate ways.

Patricia Lai Burrows, assistant head of the middle school, said there are multiple ways younger students can get involved in activism, such as participating in sustainability efforts, community service and student-driven advisory group projects.

“WiSTEM is a wonderful platform to change the world and make a difference,” Shah said.

“We encourage activism, but because the students are younger, faculty members drive the opportunities a bit more than at the upper school,” Burrows said. “Our hope is to create intentional experiences of service learning and activism, so that students realize they can be empowered to make change.”

Harker’s caring community fosters trust between GSA members and others.

“There’s a mutual respect in the club and everyone truly cares for one another,”

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“We’re visible, talking about our lives and combating the shame of being public about who we are,” said advisor Abel Olivas, upper school modern and classical languages chair. The group’s activities include sharing coming out stories at an all-school meeting on National Coming Out Day, hosting panel discussions on LGBTQ+ issues during Club Week and hosting guest speakers for LGBTQ+ themed assemblies. One particularly memorable assembly featured the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

Participating in WiSTEM led senior Saloni Shah to start Girls Programming League, a nonprofit that emphasizes the importance of girls in computer science by providing free coding classes, workshops and helpdesk services at local libraries.

A safe space is at the heart of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, which holds weekly gatherings of LGBTQ+ students and allies, designs programs to educate the broader Harker community about the LGBTQ+ experience and is a resource for when issues surrounding LGBTQ+ youth arise at Harker. Club members also serve as “equal buddies” to lower school children and fundraise for local LGBTQ+ youth support groups.

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senior Evan Bourke said.

To get students thinking about causes they might want to support while also teaching persuasive writing, English teachers Marjorie Hazeltine and Rebecca Williams conduct a Shark Tank activity in their grade 7 expository writing courses. Each student writes a compelling persuasive pitch for a charity they care about to convince others to donate to that charity. A “shark” panel of teachers, administrators and librarians allocates

“ Our student activists … continually push to make our community better.” money, which has been donated by parents, for three winning pitches to give to those organizations.

“The exercise helps students be compassionate, empathetic global citizens and problem solvers,” Hazeltine said.

“They think beyond what writing can do on the page to how it can actually move people.” One student who didn’t win the competition went on to raise $2,000 on GoFundMe for a Russian organization helping children with cancer.

Eighth grade students are introduced to the idea of activism through the extracurricular Discovery X program, a guided yearlong learning journey. Some students conduct artistic explorations while others pursue social good. For example, students have learned a new language, explored urban planning and founded nonprofits. One student created a documentary about the lives of essential workers.

“Our focus is on the journey, not an end product,” said Abigail Joseph, middle school director of learning, innovation and design, who created and leads the program. “We emphasize that interests can be supported by a community of people and that learning can happen outside the traditional school structure.”

Some Discovery X projects live on beyond eighth grade. Senior Krishay Mukhija founded Suits 2 Empower four years ago after noticing that economically disadvantaged students in other school districts weren’t able to participate in activities that required formal clothing for tournaments, like speech and debate and DECA. He worked with the Harker community and local boutiques to collect and distribute donated clothing.

“Through Discovery X, I learned how to run a social marketing campaign and

reach out to mentors and nonprofits for advice,” Mukhija said. Suits 2 Empower is now a 501(c) organization that has helped more than 3,000 students gain access to formal clothing. The group has expanded its mission to partner with Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), an organization that works to prevent juvenile crime and incarceration through legal education, leadership training and one-on-one mentoring. With FLY, Suits 2 Empower hosts workshops and training programs that foster young people’s interest in fields like computer science, medicine and business.

Photo provided by Diana Moss

– Butch Keller, upper school head

“We now have two goals: provide formal clothing to students in need and inspire young people to pursue education or careers they previously thought were inaccessible to them,” Mukhija said.

Taking the Lead Harker has some of the nation’s brightest, most active and engaged students, and the school supports opportunities for students to choose the direction in which their education should go.

“By taking on initiatives and projects that are focused on their passions and interests, students gain a better understanding of what their education needs to mean to them both now and as they move beyond Harker,” Kallbrier said.

Upper school Spanish teacher Diana Moss, the Green Team advisor, believes that Harker’s focus on developing leadership is at the heart of student activism. “We really have created an environment where students are looking for opportunities to try on leadership,” she said. “They know to ask, ‘If we don’t take the lead, who will?’”

Marla Holt is a Minnesota-based freelance journalist who specializes in writing about

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staff kudos

staff kudos

Professional accomplishments of our faculty and staff.

Abigail Joseph, middle school learning, innovation and design director, was in late October named a member of the Computer Science Teachers Association’s board of directors. Joseph, who has previously worked with organizations including Black Girls Code and Girls Incorporated, adds this appointment to her long career as a computer science educator, particularly with programs aimed at young students. Her appointment is in addition to Joseph’s work on CSTA’s inaugural Equity Fellowship, one part of CSTA’s continuing plan to address systemic racism and inequities in computer science education.

In addition to the keynote, which was prerecorded, Shuttleworth also took part in a live Q&A session. This year’s Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival – which usually takes place in Kerouac’s birthplace of Lowell, Mass. – was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October, upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth, a noted expert on the life and works of Beat generation author Jack Kerouac, delivered a keynote lecture at the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival.

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WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA

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In August, speech and debate department chair Jenny Achten became an accredited academic life coach, offering coaching in academic skills to students, particularly ninth graders.

In this role, Achten hopes to help students build their study and time management skills and encourage greater communication between students and teachers. “It is always important for students to feel that they have a voice and are in charge of their learning experiences, but especially important in remote mode,” she said.

Over the summer, middle school science teacher Raji Swaminathan and middle school English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine collaborated on a free ebook about the properties of the elements, titled “Hydrogen and the Alkali Metals - Exciting and Explosive!” Swaminathan has also authored a picture book called “My Basketball Game” that uses basketball to illustrate the concepts of accuracy and precision. Both titles are available through Apple Books.

When did you first really feel like an adult?

As part of Navy flight training there was a student-only flight – no instructors. The two of you are in charge of a $125 million aircraft for a night flight around the Seattle area. I distinctly recall a moment when I looked around and thought, “Are we allowed to be here?” I realized then I was an adult.

What helps you persevere when you feel like giving up?

In those moments when I am frustrated or overwhelmed, a long, peaceful walk or hike clears my mind and allows me to imagine possibilities that seemed impossible when stuck in a room.

face time

U

pper school teacher Anthony Silk’s interests are about as diverse as can be. He teaches engineering and advanced math courses, chairs the Honor Council, spearheads the senior trip, served in the Navy, acts in community theater and loves Disneyland (“On one level, I am impressed with the engineering, the details and the storytelling. On another, I can really, for an instant, believe I am seeing Mickey Mouse, and it makes me happy.”). It’s no surprise that sense of joy comes through in his conversation with Harker Magazine.

What one piece of advice would you offer anyone who asks?

Be open to possibilities, even if you don’t know what the choices are. Life is too expansive to be focused on any one thing.

What do you love most about your life?

I look forward to almost every single day. I like coming to work, being with my colleagues, and seeing the students learn and grow.

I enjoy the weekends and break when I can do my own thing. But practically every day there is something that brings me joy, which is not something I think most people get to experience.

Brag about something.

I was on the cover of Teacher magazine in 2003.

What gives you a reason to smile?

Making students laugh.

Anthony Silk

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passion

Alumnus’ passion for research makes internet safer

Photo provided by the Harker Archives

F

rank Wang ’08 is passionate about cybersecurity. Whether you talk to him about his work as a venture capitalist, read his websites or follow him on Twitter, Medium or LinkedIn, his technical skills and security savvy are obvious.

Wang fell into computer science while he was an undergrad at Stanford University, but once he realized that online security consisted of a series of intellectually challenging problems and that while working on them, he would be surrounded by some of the brightest people in the world, he was hooked.

WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA UNLESS NOTED

After graduating from Stanford, Wang pursued a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He viewed that degree as a tool to learn proper research techniques, because he understood that research does more than just teach you how to find solutions – it also trains you to recognize innovation solutions.

“One of the reasons for doing a Ph.D. was to work with very smart people on interesting ideas,” said Wang, whose research focused on protecting user data in large-scale, distributed web services. “At MIT, I was challenged and inspired every day and learned a lot as a result!”

While at MIT, Wang and a team developed Veil, a tool that builds practical and secure web platforms.

“Veil was motivated by all this research that was done previously in the security community that said, ‘Private-browsing modes are leaky; here are 10 different ways that they leak,’” said

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When Wang started at MIT, he thought he would become a professor or a research scientist, but many of his close friends told him that he had “startup DNA.” In fact, while he was at MIT, he joined Rough Draft Ventures and started Cybersecurity Factory, his own cybersecurity summer program for early-stage startups.

When he graduated from MIT, he landed a job with Dell Technologies Capital, where he works today. “[The team members at DTC] have strong technical backgrounds and care very deeply about technology behind the companies we back,” said Wang, who will always be a technical person at heart. “It’s awesome to work with a team that spends so much time nerding out about technology!”

In fact, one of his websites, Frankly Speaking, says “most tech content is now flashy and oversimplifies the exciting technical details. I think that’s not cool.”

Photo by Mark Tantrum

Wang, who was the first author on the paper. “We asked, ‘What is the fundamental problem?’ And the fundamental problem is that [the browser] collects this information, and then the browser does its best effort to fix it. But at the end of the day, no matter what the browser’s best effort is, it still collects it. We might as well not collect that information in the first place.”

Frankly Speaking, a biweekly(-ish) newsletter, is an extension of his passion for online security. “[In Frankly Speaking] I share random thoughts that interest me as both a VC and a recovering academic.

My writing tends to have a good amount of technical substance that most VCs avoid,” said Wang. “This is free, and I won’t share your email with third parties.

After all, I did do a Ph.D. in security and privacy.”

Wang’s interest in research was nurtured when he was a student at Harker, which he attended from grades 9-12. He was an Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist, participated in speech and debate and also worked on a research project with a Stanford professor.

“Frank was someone who was, and still is, mindfully driven,” said math teacher Bradley Stoll, who was his advisor for four years. “Frank has always been able to approach situations in a mature manner and make well-informed decisions that are in his best interests.

I think he’s carried that on into his adult/work life.”

Photo provided by Frank Wang ‘08

Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

“It’s awesome to work with a team that spends so much time nerding out about technology!”

– Frank Wang ‘08

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feature

A

HomeOwn

In August 2021, sixth, seventh and eighth graders

will make history as the first students to attend classes at Harker’s brand-new middle school campus. Designed specifically with middle school-age students in mind, the campus completion will bring to fruition the school’s longheld dream to own each of its campuses to further ensure Harker’s future.

“This new campus has allowed us to be intentional and design spaces that create more community and allow students, teachers and administrators to feel more connected,” said Evan Barth, middle school head. “I’m excited about the big aspects of the new campus such

of Their

as the new buildings but also grateful for all the small touches, from cool little nooks near the front entrance to comfortable chairs in the new Wellness Center.”

Harker acquired the Union property in 2012, which marked a major milestone in the school’s master plan to own all three campuses. Harker Preschool enjoyed several years on the site until the preschool was phased out in August 2020, with the remaining class of transitional kindergartners moving to the Blackford campus this year. The middle school students will be on their new campus in August 2021.

“With this move, all of our students will be on Harker-owned property, fulfilling the vision and dreams of the school’s leadership when the upper school opened in 1997,” said Brian Yager, head of school. “It is a milestone worth celebrating, and this accomplishment reflects the passion, dedication and hard work of countless community members and supporters. In addition to being extremely grateful to all involved, we are eager to enjoy the enhanced learning opportunities that this unique middle school setting will provide our remarkable students.”

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New middle school campus on schedule to welcome students next year

On Sept. 17, middle school teachers were invited to come to campus and, properly distanced, sign their names on a beam. The following week, a small group of administrators and middle school staff signed the beams on behalf of the seed funders to the 125th Anniversary Gift Initiative. The beam was then placed with great fanfare by the crew, capturing forever the signatures and short messages left by the community.

The renovated campus will have two new buildings: 1. A two-story classroom building with 39,000 square feet of flexible learning space and 37 classrooms.

WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA AND ERIC MARTEN CADS PROVIDED BY KEVIN HART ARCHITECTURE

2. A theater and gymnasium, two distinct spaces housed under one roof. The theater will have 3,600 square feet of audience space to accommodate 260 seats. The new gymnasium and locker room complex will be 11,200 square feet and contain one regulation high school basketball court, one competitive volleyball court, two practice basketball courts and two practice volleyball courts.

The campus will be centered on a sports field, another aspect of creating community as an open space to gather and a center stage for sports, which will encourage students and teachers to watch games and cheer on Harker athletes.

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A HOME OF THEIR OWN

The existing cottage structures will be used for administration offices, a robust library and a new wellness center.

The library will include loads of books, movable desks and chairs and hopefully a separate classroom space.

“Having a nice building with X number of books is great, but if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that the Harker library program is not tied to a physical space,” said Bernie Morrissey, middle school librarian. “We teach information literacy skills, sometimes using print materials in person, sometimes using digital materials in person or remotely, but in either case, students learn how to evaluate information and use it for a given purpose.”

Information evaluation is essential with the amount of fake news shared on social media and other platforms, and Harker’s new library will provide a safe and nurturing environment to build these important skills in students.

Another exciting addition to the campus is a Wellness Center. The Blackford campus has a counseling center with a conference table but the new Wellness Center will take students’ emotional well-being to the next level.

It will be an open, calming space for students – combination study hall, homework center and peaceful oasis. Counselors hope to incorporate calm zones where students can use a meditation app, a breathing app and/or mindfulness app preloaded on devices.

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The number of classrooms in the new two-story building

260

Seating available for guests attending a performance in the new theater

“THIS NEW CAMPUS HAS ALLOWED US TO BE INTENTIONAL AND DESIGN SPACES THAT CREATE MORE COMMUNITY AND ALLOW STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS TO FEEL MORE CONNECTED.” - Evan Barth, middle school head

600

The number of students the new campus can accommodate

2012

The year Harker acquired the Union property, marking a major milestone in the school’s master plan to own all three campuses

2021

The first year the new campus will be open for middle school students

3,600 6,500 10,000 39,000 1 MILLION The number of square feet of audience space

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The number of square feet of space in the new gymnasium containing three basketball and three volleyball courts

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The number of volumes in the new library

The number of square feet of interior space in the new classroom building

The pounds of steel used in building the new campus

“The goal is to support the community as a whole – support academic needs, support mental health, and also promote positive emotional and physical well-being,” said Melinda Gonzales, licensed clinical psychologist and middle school counselor. “We want it to be a calm and supportive place where students can feel comfortable coming in for anything. Not just to talk to a counselor but also a place where students can work and relax and find some quiet and calm while on campus.”

And, of course, the new campus will incorporate LID (learning, innovation and design) and have a newly imagined makerspace.

“I am looking forward to rebranding what a makerspace has to offer our school community. Moving to a new campus is the perfect opportunity to make that happen and the hub will become a center for learning, innovation and design,”

said Abigail Joseph, middle school LID director. “It will be a makerspace with designing for social good at the heart. I am most excited about connecting our faculty and students with opportunities to do good for themselves, the school community and potentially partnering with our neighboring communities to do good in the world.”

At the core of the new campus is community, from designing spaces that encourage collaboration to creating a hub of intellectual curiosity, athletic success and emotional well-being.

Vikki Bowes-Mok is also the executive director of the community nonprofit Compass Collective.

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gallery

Harker Quarterly Harker Magazine

H

arker’s magazine launched in 2009 and has become an essential part of the way the school archives and celebrates its history. The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, which receives about 6,000 print and digital entries annually for its awards for industry excellence, has given Harker Quarterly/Magazine three gold and four platinum awards,

the latest of which were for our two most recent issues – platinum for spring/summer 2020 and gold for fall/winter 2019. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which generally receives submissions from colleges, has given Harker a bronze and a silver award for the magazine. We thought it would be interesting to look back at all of our covers. Have fun reminiscing!

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Retrospective

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class notes

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.

1995

2005

Prerna Sethi married Tyler Thompson in October. The wedding took place in the backyard of her sister Pratima Sethi ’90 and brother-in-law Amaury Belleman. It was an intimate wedding with the weather perfect for an outdoor affair. “Even the birds sang along during the ceremony. In such crazy times, it was refreshing with an even deeper meaning to be able to celebrate such a special occasion with close family and friends,” said Pratima. The couple was thoughtful in every way, making sure guests felt safe and comfortable. Custom masks matching the floral theme were provided to all, along with welcome bags containing hand sanitizers and disposable cameras to capture the moments. Harker alums Janet (Chawla) Kacker ’94, Alka Tandan ’90 and Surbhi Sarna ’03 were all in attendance. Congratulations to Prerna and Tyler and best wishes on this new adventure.

Roberta Wolfson writes, “On Sept.

1, I began a new position as a career-track lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University, which has an inspiring mission to support the development of all Stanford undergraduate students into ethically minded and critically thoughtful writers and speakers. After spending the last 15 years outside of the Bay Area, I am thrilled to be continuing my career in the place where I grew up. This academic year, I’m kicking off my journey at Stanford by teaching a course called Writing for Liberation: The Rhetoric of Antiracism, where I’m using my expertise as a scholar of English studies and critical race studies to empower my students to use their writing to advocate for a more just and equitable society.”

2003

2004

2009

Photo by Mark Tantrum

Chris Davis was inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 16. See more on page 52. Congratulations, Chris!

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A.J. Reid was inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 16. See more on page 52. Congratulations, A.J.!

Beckie Yanovsky married Adam Dufner on Sept. 6. She writes, “After several COVID-related changes of plan, I married my partner of six years in an intimate ceremony in my parents’ backyard in Los Altos. Thanks to our friends and family, we had the

2013 Photo provided by Harker Journalism

most fun, magical and memorable wedding celebration and a great story to tell. Since June, I’ve been working in Boston as a medical resident before starting dermatology residency at Tufts Medical Center next year and trying to convince myself I have enough time to adopt a puppy.”

Isabelle Connell was inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 16.

See more on page 52. Congratulations, Isabelle!

Photo by Shawn Gao

2018

Aliesa Bahri was elected student body president of Yale University. You can read more at https://yaledailynews. com/blog/2020/09/21/aliesa-bahri22-and-reilly-johnson-22-elected-yccpresident-and-vice-president/

Candance Silva-Martin was inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 16. See more on page 52. Congratulations, Candace!

2010

Alison Axelrad married Kevin Ung on Oct. 10 on Alison’s parents’ front deck.

Alison and Kevin have a Samoyed named Tofu. The photo is from their housewarming party.

2011 Jacob Chappell and Michelle Holt married on July 18 at a family home in Florida. The newlyweds reside in the Bay Area.

Anika Banga is the musical director of D Flat Singers, Carnegie Mellon University’s all-university choir. Despite being unable to sing together in person, the group was able to continue engaging in music together through their virtual performance of Ysaye Barnwell’s “Spiritual.” Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vYOApQMXWwc

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class notes MULTIYEAR

Alumni Give Back as Guest Speakers

Also returning as an alumni guest speaker was Michael Sikand ’18, who discussed his time at Harker, college and his new podcast, “Our Future,” which provides business content aimed at young people.

Michael’s podcast recently welcomed cohost and fellow Harker alumna Devanshi Mehta ’19. You can read more about Michael’s visit at https://news.harker.org/ be-alumnus-guest-lecturer-discusses-personal-journey-and-ventures/

CareerConnect featured an all alumni panel, including Vignesh Panchanatham ’18, Haley Tran ’17, and Lucas Wang ’17, where they offered their respective wisdom and gave general advice about their time at Harker as well as in college. The workshop was titled “3 Things You Need to Know Before Graduating High School.” You can read more about the panel discussion at https:// news.harker.org/alumni-panel-helpsstudents-get-the-most-out-of-upperschool-experience/

Former members of Charles Shuttleworth’s Kerouac and the Beats class were invited to participate in a recorded video lecture featured in this year’s annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival. The lecture, titled “Kerouac: The Buddhist Years,” focused on his experience on Desolation Peak, the climax of “The Dharma Bums,” shedding new light on his experience up there, and included excerpts of unpublished writing. The video highlighted more than 150 photographs as well as

30 video clips of current students, alumni (Ayush Pancholy ’19, Andrew Rule ‘17, Arnav Tandon ‘17 and Alexander Sikand ‘16) and faculty members reading excerpts. See more about the lecture in the Staff Kudos on page 40.

Newest Hall of Fame Inductees!

On Oct. 16, the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame welcomed its four newest inductees: Chris Davis ’03, A.J. Reid ’04, Candace Silva-Martin ’09 and Isabelle Connell ’13. During the virtual event, upper school athletic director Dan Molin and middle and lower school athletic director Theresa “Smitty” Smith shared some warm words about each of this year’s inductees, who were honored not just for their athletic prowess but also for their commitment to Harker’s goal of creating well-rounded global citizens. Read the full story at https://news.harker.org/four-more-alumni-inducted-into-athletic-hall-offame

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HAR K E R MAGA Z I NE l FA L L/W I N T E R 2020

We look forward to resuming all alumni activities, both local and regional, and will keep alumni posted as soon as those dates become available.

Hang in there, Eagles!

125th Gift Initiative 2018 - 2023

Public Phase Launched!

Our generous “Seed Funders” have been busy behind the scenes, having given and pledged more than $25 million to date toward our $50 million goal. We now invite the entire Harker family to support this historic initiative.

Harker’s Strategic Plan Harker’s Strategic Plan secures Harker’s future of continuing to offer a world class education. Building upon 125 years of experience educating students for success in college and beyond, Harker completed an extensive self-study and created a strategic plan for the next five years to: 1. prioritize ongoing program excellence; 2. provide a safe, nurturing and inspiring environment;

The 125th Anniversary Gift Initiative combines all gifts to the following funds to support Harker’s Strategic Plan: • The Annual Fund • The Capital Fund • The Endowment Fund

3. build a new middle school campus; and 4. grow the school’s endowment and inspire philanthropy to fund the Strategic Plan.

Be a part of history – join our seed funders today in supporting this historic initiative.

Contact us at advancement@harker.org for more information.

Go Eagles!

H AR KE R MAG A Z INE l FALL/WIN TER 2020

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Preschool

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Summer Programs

Thewww.harker.org Harker School 500 Saratoga Ave. San Jose , CA 95129

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HA R K E R MAGA Z I NE l S PRI N G/S UM M E R 2018

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN JOSE, CA PERMIT 2296

O of C: 11/20 (BHDG) 6,479