Remembering the Seniors
May 15, 2015
The second annual Senior Appreciation Assembly will be held on May 22 and will feature performances from the Varsity Dance Troupe, Downbeat and Jazz Band in addition to humorous segments presented by the Upper School’s various clubs, societies and programs, including business and entrepreneurship, debate, journalism and athletics.
The idea of holding a Senior Goodbye Assembly originated with Economics teacher Samuel Lepler, who brought the tradition to the upper school from his previous school, Santa Clara High School.
“We started preparing early this semester; it has been very fervent,” Lepler said. I’ve tried to bring in the senior council; each one of the senior officers is assigned to one of the senior groups and from the reports that I have received, it sounds like things are going to according to plan.”
Ankita Uppugunduri (10) counted last year’s assembly, the first annual Senior Appreciation Assembly, as a mirthful, yet bittersweet experience since it was the year her brother, alumnus Nihal Uppugunduri (‘14) graduated.
It was a fun assembly because we got to see the reactions of the seniors and acknowledge their accomplishments over the past four years. At the same time, it made me realize that there were only a couple of more months. That was the time that it hit me the most, I realized that he was actually going to be leaving.
— Ankita Uppugunduri (10)
Highlights from last year include the National Honor Society (NHS) incumbents passing on the pillars of leadership to the incoming presidential candidates, banter between debate students regarding their seniors, jokes on subjects ranging from HHMS to the IQ of the freshman class and asb’s and student council’s transfer of leadership.
Last year’s assembly also featured performances from the Varsity Dance Troupe, Downbeat and Jazz Band, advice and words of encouragement from senior advisors and students, the screening of a farewell video, one final Eagle Update and a formal farewell and send-off to the seniors to close the event.
Lepler reminisced upon the “hug and cry line,” a tradition observed at his former school. The Upper School’s assembly will instead feature segments and videos from the various clubs and societies on campus, with the intent of recognizing each and every member of the senior class.
“The faculty would line up and seniors would slowly make their way through and stop by at any teacher and say whatever meaningful thing or impact that teacher had on them,” Lepler said. “It was called the hug and cry line because the kids would see one of their teachers, they’d hug and [both] would cry. It was incredibly meaningful. My hope is that we could have something similar to that.”
The assembly will serve as a final farewell to the seniors and precede the Class of 2015 graduation ceremony, which will be held on May 23 at the Mountain Winery.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 13, 2015.
Seniors and Eagle Buddies Celebrate Farewell on May 22
Zoe Woehrmann (12) and Shreya Dixit (12) pose with their Eagles Buddies. This was the last Eagle Buddy event of the year.
The seniors and their Eagle Buddies will celebrate their graduations from the Upper School and Lower School respectively in a farewell ceremony and luncheon in the Quad on May 22.
This farewell ceremony is the final Eagle Buddy event for the seniors and fifth graders.
“It’s pretty symbolic because we’re graduating from high school and they’re graduating from elementary school so it’s nice because they are kind of stepping into the shoes of the older people as we take off,” Jai Ahuja (12) said.
Last year, seniors met their Eagle Buddies on the upper school campus on Rosenthal Field for lunch on May 23 for their farewell ceremony. Attendees listened to a few seniors give speeches during the ceremony, and seniors and their Eagle Buddies were left to eat lunch, enjoy their last day together and reflect on their three-year Eagle Buddy journey together.
Senior advisors commented on the benefits of having a final ceremony to celebrate the Eagle Buddy program right before the seniors graduate.
“I suppose that there’s something sweet about having a final ceremony with younger people and the seniors because seniors are reflecting on their growth,” senior advisor and math teacher Lola Muldrew said.
Certain students commented on the significance of the entire Eagle Buddy experience and its culmination.
“It’s really just about a closure of an era,” John Nicholas Jerney (11) said. “It’s the end of a time in both of their lives in which they both experienced together.”
Although the official Eagle Buddy program ends on May 22 with the farewell ceremony, some Eagle Buddies and seniors keep in contact after graduation through email or other methods.
“I would say that we have really busy lives and schedules, so you have these little kind of connections, these tiny connections that occur. It would be nice if it could be more,” Dr. Muldrew said.
Sophomores and juniors will not have other Eagle Buddies events until next year.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 13, 2015.
Did you know: Samyu Yagati
Samyu Yagati (12) has been announced as this year’s valedictorian. She has the highest GPA in the class of 2015.
Senior class Dean Diana Moss formally announced Samyukta “Samyu” Yagati as the Class of 2015 valedictorian during the senior class meeting on April 28.
“I was very excited and as soon as I found out I called my parents,” Samyu said of her initial reaction when notified by administration. The title of Valedictorian is Harker’s only honor given based solely on GPA; Samyu ended semester one of her senior year carrying the highest cumulative GPA of the Class of 2015.
Samyu has began writing her valedictory address, which she will deliver at the Class of 2015 graduation ceremony on May 23 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga
“It’s about striving to do your best, rather than striving for a particular result,” Samyu said.
A Siemens-recognized student researcher and an officer of the Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (WiSTEM) club, Samyu has found success in her academic pursuits.
“I was fortunate enough to find research opportunities at [University of California at] Santa Cruz and Stanford [through] Harker. My connection with WiSTEM both introduced me to girls who like science and research and gave me a way to share the amazing experiences I’ve had.”
WiSTEM enabled Samyu to perform community service; during her junior year, she served as WiSTEM’s International Advancement Officer. Her duties included coordinating events for the STEM Buddies program, organizing visits to Harker’s Preschool and pairing Upper School WiSTEM members with preschoolers; she acted as a conduit between the two campuses.
This year, Samyu has been conducting outreach with with the non-profit Techbridge, where she is tasked with matching underprivileged girls interested in STEM, many of whom are underrepresented minorities, with mentors.
In 2014, Samyu was selected as a Siemens semifinalist for her research in astrophysics. Additionally, Samyu has won awards debating with the Upper School forensics program and is a Scholastic Art & Writing key recipient. She counts art and writing as the hobbies that make her tick.
“I like drawing [and] I’ve been really into digital art like logo design recently,” Samyu said.
Samyu has attended Harker since the sixth grade; 2015 marks her seventh year as a student here. She intends to major in computer science at MIT in the fall.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 13, 2015.
Remembering the Seniors
Hannah Allam, a foreign affairs correspondent for the McClatchy DC newspaper, will speak at the Class of 2015 Graduation Ceremony on May 16.
After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1999, Allam worked at the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota. In 2003 she was recruited by The McClatchy Company. Between 2003 and 2006, Allam covered the Iraq War and served as Baghdad Bureau chief, directing other reporters.
Allam has received multiple honors including the Journalist of the Year Award from the Association of Black Journalists (2004) and the Journalism Excellence Award (2004) from Knight Ridder, an American media company.
WP: What topics do you plan on covering in your speech at the graduation?
A: Well, a few weeks ago, I got a chance to speak with some of the student leaders at Harker, and I was brainstorming with them about themes, so I plan to incorporate some of the things that we talked about. One of the main things I heard was fear or uncertainty about what comes next because this is such a big moment for everyone who’s graduating. I’ve certainly had to work in roles that required courage that maybe I didn’t think that I had and, you know, learned along the way to take risks and to be prepared for challenges, and so I think I’ll probably incorporate some of those kinds of things. I have the framework – the skeleton – of the speech written but I’m still polishing it and writing new things and even some of the recent events around the country are inspiring me to edit it.
WP: What did you learn in high school regarding your career?
A: Not much, because I went to a high school in Oklahoma — south-side Oklahoma city — which didn’t have a lot of resources, so it didn’t even have a school paper. So, I didn’t get to do journalism until I went to college. I didn’t get to do much, but what I did learn from that high school was how to, I mean it was very racially diverse, so it was about tolerance, coexistence, learning about different religions and cultures, and those were all very valuable lessons to have had when I did go into journalism because that gave me a curiosity about the world.
WP: How did you end up choosing journalism as a career path?
A: Well, I always wanted to write and always enjoyed writing from a very young age, and even specifically, wanted to be a journalist from a very young age because I remember playing newscaster with my little brothers and I definitely was always aware that this profession was out there and that it sounded really exciting to go and meet all these different people and tell their stories, so I guess I just gravitated toward it because it was a way to write, which I wanted to do and make a living.
WP: How did it feel to be recruited by McClatchy to cover events in the Iraq war?
A: It was a huge honor and also the most terrifying moment of my life. I mean I was totally green, and this big company I hadn’t worked for for that long was going to take a huge risk on a 26 year old, so there was a lot of pressure to succeed.
WP: What motivated you to put your life at risk by being in a place that was dangerous at the time?
A: Well, I just was fascinated by Iraq, and it’s such a historical civilization, the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia. I mean, it had created such a huge part in world history, and here’s this event unfolding in its modern day history, and I had the chance to cover it. How could I say no? It was a dream to get to be there. The war was the backdrop, for sure, to every report, but I was able to do stories about Iraqi culture, society, ordinary people, extraordinary people and show Iraq in what I hoped was a multidimensional way and not just through the prism of war and occupation.
Additional reporting by Maya Kumar.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 13, 2015.