![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Matriculation kicks off academic year
Upper School Head Butch Keller delivers a speech to the students assembled in the Quad for Matriculation, a ceremony which welcomed freshmen and introduced them to the Upper School. The class of 2020 will submit its high school applications this week to join the upper school this fall.
The day of Matriculation began with a ceremony, which involved all upper school students assembled in the Quad Friday of Aug. 21 at 9 a.m.
Matriculation welcomed back all the sophomores, juniors and seniors but also brought in the new freshman class. Before introducing the freshmen, all upper school faculty, dressed in black robes, walk into the Quad before taking their seats on the stage.
For seniors like Ankur Karwal, president of the class of 2016, this year’s Matriculation was their last.
“I think Matriculation is a really great way to start off the school year, because the first day of school you don’t go directly into classes,” he said. “We sort of relax, meet up with your friends, and I really like that part of Matriculation, and it’s always great meeting new people. As a senior, I’ll definitely miss being able to meet new people. It’s definitely one of my favorite ceremonies.”
Head of School Christopher Nikoloff started the day off with a speech and an introduction of Upper School Division Head Butch Keller. Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, performed “Run Children Run” after he made his speech.
Afterwards, the string sextet, made up of May Gao (11), Jason Lee (12), Cuebeom Choi (11), Luke Wu (12), Edward Oh (11) and Kevin Kim (12) played “Where the Streets Have No Name.” May, Jason and Cuebeom play the violin, Luke the viola and Edward and Kevin the cello.
This year, the skit, has become much more concise and direct.
President of the class of 2018 student council Jimmy Lin (10) explained its significance.
“I think it’s a really great way to tie everyone at the Upper School campus together and to really welcome in all the upcoming freshmen,” Jimmy said. “It’s a really great reminder of all the values that Harker has.”
The skit covers topics such as the dress code, wet and dry system, branching out and exploring options at Harker and microaggressions and diversity.
ASB President Michael Zhao (12) explained the new changes.
“This year, we’re taking a different approach than most of the different years, as in previous years there has always been a theme, and usually the skits tended to be a fun way of getting across the message to the freshman to let them know what they need to be ready for high school,” Michael said. “This year, however, Mr. Williamson had concerns that it started to become more and more of comedy than getting the freshman to actually learn.”
Upper School Dean of Students Kevin Williamson oversees and coaches the student councils’ skit rehearsals.
“There are a few role playing skits but we’ve changed the format somewhat so that there will be more individual speeches or monologues given to the freshmen class by individual students,” Williamson said. “[It’s] a little bit of a different feel this year.”
The student councils of each grade have been working on these skits throughout the summer.
“[For] the [meetings] in summer, we’re preparing for the Matriculation skit; [we’re] rehearsing, blocking and we already had to have the lines memorized,” junior class secretary Alexander Lam said.
To finish the ceremony, the teachers immediately regressed and each class split to follow their assigned schedules.
With orientation and matriculation finished, the freshman now prepare to start their first day of high school classes on Monday, Aug. 24.
“Matriculation was cool because I got to hear all the other people’s experiences and watch the skits,” Freshman Kobe Howard said. “I’m really excited for the upcoming school year.”
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on August 31, 2015.
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