![“[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)
Upper school welcomes eight new teachers to the community
September 2, 2020
This year, Harker will be welcoming eight new teachers to the upper school community. Although the year will begin with remote learning, they look forward to getting to know their students and shared their high hopes for the upcoming school year with Harker Journalism.
Bridget Nixon is teaching English 1: The Study of Literary Genres and English 3: Survey of American Literature this year. Before coming to Harker, she taught English in Holland.
Goal for this year: “Making sure to take care of myself and helping my students to take care of themselves too, trying to help my students cope with some of the complicated feelings that everyone is having during the pandemic.”
Hobbies: Spending time with family, reading
Favorite Food: Chocolate
Favorite TV Show: The Office
Favorite Book: American Indian Stories, Legends, & Other Writings by Zitkala-Ša
Fun Facts: Ms. Nixon was born a couple hours before an earthquake, so she didn’t have an official name until she was 10 days old.
Jaco Wong will be co-teaching the Harker upper school orchestra this year, as well as teaching band, string orchestra, jazz band, and full orchestra at the middle school. Previously, he taught at Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles, where he was also a freelance composer and conductor.
Goal for this year: “I think the main thing would be, no matter the situation, to have students continue to make art and that music be an inspiring part of their lives, no matter what the circumstances are.”
Favorite Foods: Sushi, Pasta
Hobbies: Visiting art galleries, cooking
Favorite Book: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Favorite TV Show: Chef’s Table
Favorite Movie: Moonrise Kingdom
Fun Fact: Mr. Wong grew up in Hong Kong.
Sarah Roberts is teaching Introduction to Journalism at the upper school and Speech and Debate at the middle school. Previously, she worked as an assistant debate coach at Harker while a student at University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated in 2020 with a degree in linguistics.
Goal for this year: “I’m really excited to become more of a part of the Harker community and get to know my fellow faculty members and students.… I love the camaraderie and how much everyone cares for one another.”
Favorite Food: Bread
Hobbies: Spending time outside, cooking, baking bread
Favorite Book: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Favorite TV Show: Planet Earth
Michael Wilt is teaching Honors Geometry and Honors Algebra 2 this year. Previously, he taught twice-exceptional students at Bridges Academy in Los Angeles.
Goal for this year: “I’m really looking forward to learning new ways to teach and learn. It seems like Harker students are really open to learning in new ways, and I’m really excited about that. I think that this is such an opportunity to try new things with really great students.”
Favorite Foods: Pizza, sushi, kebabs, Indian food
Hobbies: Photography, music (singing and playing many different instruments)
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite Childhood Movie: Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Fun Fact: Mr. Wilt was on a German talk show once in the 1990s when he was in an exchange program.
Neil Shaw will be teaching Chemistry (Honors and Regular) this year. Before coming to Harker in 2020, he taught chemistry in Virginia.
Goal for this year: “To build a reputation for being a good, fair, honest teacher would be my main aim. And after that, moving on to contribute to chemistry and [the science department] at school, to bring my experience and meld it with everybody else’s.”
Favorite Food: Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
Hobbies: Lego, going to concerts (when it was still possible)
Favorite Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, The Fifth Element
Favorite Books: The Helliconia Trilogy by Brian Aldiss
Fun Fact: Before teaching in the U.S., Dr. Shaw taught science at a school in the U.K., moving on to live in Hong Kong, Turkey, Thailand and Argentina.
Susanne Alissa Salhab will be teaching English 1: The Study of Literary Genres and English 2: Survey of British Literature this year. Previously, she taught English in San Francisco and at the International Baccalaureate program.
Goal for this year: “I think, especially in this difficult time, my number one goal is to support students in any way that I can … [and to] help them achieve their goals.”
Favorite Food: Falafels and hummus
Hobbies: Yoga (virtual), traveling, reading
Favorite Books: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, any poetry by Emily Dickinson
Fun Fact: Ms. Salhab has lived in the United States, Italy, Jerusalem, India, Estonia, Scotland and Portugal.
Chris Gatto is teaching World History 1 and U.S. History this year. Before coming to Harker, he was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, where he finished his Ph.D. in Latin American history.
Goal for this year: “I hope to get to know each of my students as well as I would have if we were in person. That might take additional one-on-one conferencing or office hours sessions, but I look forward to the challenge.”
Favorite Food: Deep dish pizza
Hobbies: Watching sports (especially football)
Favorite Movie: Good Will Hunting
Fun Fact: Dr. Gatto lived in Chicago for 30 years, so San Jose is the second place he’s lived in.
Noriyo Ikeda is teaching Japanese 2 and Japanese 5 classes this year. Previously, she taught Japanese at a middle school in Palo Alto.
Goal for this year: “Especially this year, since we start remotely, … it’s not easy to learn a language, because [students] need to see how the mouth or lips move. I try to make it clear when I say sentences or pronunciation. But sometimes it’s not easy, so I am planning to use a lot of ideas that students can enjoy and also love.”
Favorite Foods: Sushi, ramen
Favorite TV Show: House Hunters International
Hobbies: Hiking, spending time with family, traveling, dancing flamenco, cooking
Fun Fact: When quarantine began, Ms. Ikeda and her family bought a 50 lb bag of bread flour and have since used it all up to bake and cook during quarantine.
