In a collective beat, students lunge to the side, voices rising in a chaotic, goofy chorus of winter break vacation ideas. Bursts of laughter echo through the halls of the RPAC as as Nelson Gou (’25) exaggeratedly mimes skiing, points to the sky and even executes a flawless Oompa Loompa dance, grinning as he turns in a circle.

Nelson fondly recalls the exaggerated, comedic dance moves he performed while singing “I Can’t Wait for Winter Break” with Harker’s choir group, Rhapsody, during the school’s last big assembly day. For him, it was a moment of joyful creative release. Although Nelson began singing in kindergarten as a casual weekend hobby, he didn’t join any of Harker’s choir groups until junior year, when he signed up for Rhapsody with a group of friends. What began as a spontaneous decision has since grown into a meaningful pursuit: he now sings in Harker’s more advanced Capriccio choir and values the creative expression that singing allows.

“In singing, I feel empowered,” Nelson said. “There are things that can’t really be said by word sometimes, but it can be easy to communicate over a song. The ability to do that, it speaks to me.”

Close friend and Capriccio singer Harrison Chen (’25) enjoys practicing choir parts with Nelson. They joined Rhapsody together in junior year and currently collaborate heavily in Capriccio. He appreciates how singing strengthens their bond.

“We could be working on homework or doing whatever, but one of us will start humming and then eventually it will just devolve into singing or practicing,” Harrison said. “We both really like singing and we don’t really have shame singing anywhere. Even in the lunch line, there’s times where we’re just lining up together and we start singing.”

Through the freedom of expression he finds in singing, Nelson became more outgoing. As one of the few bass singers in the choir, he needed to project his voice confidently and master his part independently. That responsibility pushed him to overcome stage nerves and assert himself in front of an audience.

“The general environment of choir is very welcoming,” Nelson said. “We have a lot of input into what we actually sing and what we actually do. It’s helped to make me more bold and willing to try new things.”

Close friend Marcus Blennemann (’25), who has known him since frosh year, noticed a shift in Nelson’s personality over time. He praised Nelson’s growing confidence and willingness to step outside his comfort zone, recalling a memorable moment from ninth grade when they circled all of Disneyland during SCDC.

“Over time he has become a lot more outgoing and a lot louder in a good way,” Marcus said. “But he’s always been very hard-working and willing to take on a challenge, and he’s very insightful and witty. In freshman year, we ran all around Disney. It was very strange in a memorable way.”

Nelson developed his love for challenging himself through coding. He joined HarkerDev in his sophomore year and currently serves as co-president. He designed the graphic layout for the Harker activities website. Nelson also enjoys working through complex problems and the analytical workout that HarkerDev often gives him. 

“I like making things, and tech is an easy way to do it,” Nelson said. “I can make a project or make an app that does something. I like being able to solve the problem itself, being able to take that problem or feedback and say, ‘Ok, wait, why is it confusing?’ and break that down into even smaller steps. HarkerDev’s helped me enjoy the process of doing things.”

Computer science teacher Anu Datar taught Nelson during his frosh and junior years, and recognizes his passion for problem-solving early on and praises his strong analytical skills.

“He’s extremely sharp,” Datar said. “It’s almost as though I could see the wheels turning in his head. You give him a problem, he immediately has a solution to it. Given any task, he is breaking it down, analyzing it, figuring out what the end result is, figuring out what he has. In his case, it happens so fast that there’s no process that you see, and you only see the outcome or the result.”

Through his work with HarkerDev, Nelson developed a perseverance that now informs how he tackles challenges in all areas of life. Whether he’s performing in front of the entire school or wrestling with a particularly stubborn piece of code, he’s learned to find enjoyment in the process. That mindset makes reaching the final goal all the more rewarding.

“I enjoy the satisfaction that comes out of it,” Nelson said. “Seeing the end result makes me really enjoy the process I went through even though it was kind of painful. It’s helped me not be too worried about the results or if something is not going my way. If it’s not working, I still can’t give up.”