Over 3,000 members of the Harker community gathered for the third Harker Day at the upper school on Saturday, with food, performances, sporting events and activities for all ages.

The day commenced at 11:30 a.m. with booths run by Harker clubs and organizations stationed in the Quad and Nichols Hall. Student representatives hosted interactive activities to promote their initiatives and raise money. Visitors engaged in science experiments organized by Women in STEM (WiSTEM), created origami and Japanese calligraphy with National Japanese Honor Society (NJHS), learned about volunteering with the Girls Give Back foundation (GGB) and discussed real-world issues with Future Problem Solvers (FPS), among many other student-led activities. 

Upper school English teacher and WiSTEM volunteer Susanne Salhab helped WiSTEM raise money by selling popcorn and chicken. She reflected on her contribution to the program’s cause. 

“I really enjoy [volunteering with WiSTEM],” Salhab said. “I like that I can work with very driven students, as well as Ms. Chetty and Dr. Paskali, and pave the way towards supporting education for female-identifying people, [which are] things that I am passionate about.”

From 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, Harker day attendees in numerous activities catered to the wide age range of visitors. The Auxiliary Gym and Quad hosted an assortment of inflatable obstacle courses, ping pong tables, bouncy houses and interactive games. Harker Day also offered entertainment geared towards younger students such as face painting, giant bubbles, a juggler and a caricature artist. Additionally, the library displayed Harker’s digital archives and allowed visitors to explore newspapers, yearbooks and magazines spanning Harker’s history. Next to Dobbins hall, visitors gathered at the Furry Friends Forest to play with, walk or even adopt puppies.

“I decided to take one of the dogs on a walk because I can tell he’s really active, and I felt bad when he was sitting there,” middle schooler Lila Ozdemir (8) said. “The dogs are my favorite part of Harker Day, and I love playing with them every year.”

Hundreds of singers, dancers and actors from performing arts groups of all grades performed in the Patil Theater in two shows at 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. The theme of the shows was traveling around the world, and performances featured different countries such as Brazil, Australia, Japan and Mexico. 

“Our performance went really well today,” middle school vocal ensemble Concert Choir singer Resham Lamva (7) said. “Harker Day is really fun because after the performance I can spend time with my friends and have fun.”

Following the performing arts shows, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center (WERC) hosted a wildlife rescue presentation in Nichols Auditorium at 3 p.m. The talk educated Harker families about careful regulation and rehabilitation of animals, tied together with a live display of owls, snakes, hawks and other creatures. WERC volunteer Kendall Lore explained the purpose of their presentation. 

“I think it’s important to introduce people to animals [that] have been misunderstood, like snakes or big hawks and eagles, and tell them why these animals are important to our ecosystem and explain what we’re doing,” Lore said. “It’s super fun… and I get to come out and show people cool things.”

From 12 to 6 p.m, frosh advisories sold pizza and drinks in front of the Athletic Center (AC) as a fundraising activity to bring the new class together early in the school year. Isabelle Niu, who volunteered to sell food with her advisory, (9) remarked on what she enjoyed about the experience.

“[The fundraising activity] is really fun because you get to spend time with your friends and get to know other people in your class,” Isabelle said. “You also get to have a real-life experience of selling things, and it’s fun to try to make up marketing strategies.”

Athletics began in the morning with tennis and water polo clinics for younger students not part of the respective programs, followed by junior varsity girls volleyball, junior varsity boys water polo, varsity girls volleyball, varsity girls water polo and varsity boys water polo games throughout the day. The annual Athletics Hall of Fame Induction ceremony recognized alumni athletes Vivian Wang (’18), Rebecca Kaloudis (’03), Chris McCallaCreary (’11), Ryan Cali (’10) and Joelle Anderson (’17) in the AC at 5 p.m.

The day concluded with the varsity football homecoming game against Crystal Springs Uplands School at 6:30 p.m. Prior to the game’s start, Harker celebrated senior players Ryan Barth, Kevin Bettencourt, Jack Ledford, Jerry Li and Daniel Lin, as well as team manager Daphne Avkarogullari. The players, accompanied by their parents, walked onto the field one by one, holding flowers and hand-made posters. Following the ceremony, members of both schools gathered on the bleachers for the football game, cheering their respective teams on and waving banners. 

Harker Day serves as an event where members of all four campuses can reunite and share exciting memories. Janice Cheng, parent of fourth grader Aleecia Hui and seventh grader Randy Hui, believes that Harker Day is a valuable opportunity for people of all ages to gather as a whole.

“[Harker Day] is a great way to bring everyone together, especially from different grades,” Janice said. “Kids can meet their friends, parents can see parents from different grades [and lower schoolers] might also meet their Eagle Buddies and other high schoolers. [Aleecia and Randy] are excited to see people they don’t usually see on regular days.”