![“[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)
Conservatory honored performing arts students and Certificate seniors in the annual Hammies and Senior Showcase on May 17 in the Patil Theater.
Hammies, Harker’s Conservatory awards ceremony, kicked off the night by recognizing students who were chosen by faculty for excelling in performing arts. All members of the Conservatory attended as instructors for each area — dance, technical theater, theater, musical theater, instrumental music and vocal music — handed out the Hammies awards.
Instrumental teacher David Hart presented the Top Subject glass plaques for instrumental music to seniors Yinan Zhou and Elena Wang.
“In my over 20 years of teaching, I have never had two students who stand out as such remarkable students, especially considering that they both had no jazz experience in freshman year,” Hart said. “Yinan not only learned multiple instruments, arranged for the big band, but also has spent time to teach and help everyone else. He is a natural teacher, natural musician. Elena has done more outside of Harker than anyone else in our history of the jazz program: SF Jazz, YoungArts and now NYO Jazz.”
Theater teacher Brandi Griffith and Director of Performing Arts Laura Lang-Ree announced the 2025-26 fall play, Clue and spring musical, Something Rotten.
After Hammies, the 22 Certificate seniors presented their Senior Showcase performances to students, family and faculty. For underclassmen interested in performing arts, the Certificate Program allows students to pursue considerable study of performing arts in their high school career through various productions and classes.
Dance Certificate senior Arthur Wu choreographed his dance to include a wide range of hip hop sounds, from the groovy rhythm “DNA” by Kendrick Lamar to sentimental notes of “Too Good to Say Goodbye” by Bruno Mars. He cherishes the dance community for the friendships and their encouragement during his performance.
“Right before my routine, I was more nervous than I’ve ever felt for any other dance performance,” Arthur said. “But as soon as I heard the cheers, I had a huge sigh of relief. I’m going to miss these dancers and the people. It’s having that community where you see them in the hallway, you say ‘Hi,’ you dab them up, and they support you in whatever you do. These relationships go beyond high school, so I’m happy to have made very long-term friends.”
Musical Theater Certificate senior Ananya Das performed the song “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from the musical Grease. She delivered the song with a wooden bench prop and senior Sam Parupudi’s lighting design.
“The performance happens so quickly, especially being on stage,” Ananya said. “There’s so much anticipation going into it, and then it’s over in three minutes, so it’s bittersweet. I’ve had so many amazing memories on this stage. There’s so much that goes into one song, so much acting that goes into it too.”
Friends and family of seniors gathered in the theaters, presenting posters and bouquets. Yingjie Hu, mother of senior Kyle Li, believes that his final performance in highschool holds a special place in her heart, since he could perform with his friends. Kyle played a rendition on his saxophone of “Specialist” by Shoji Maguro with classmates on the trumpet, bass and piano.
“I feel a bit sad knowing he’s going off to college soon, but I’m mostly proud,” Hu said. “He’s made so much progress in his instrument, and it’s great seeing the person that he has become and how much he has grown. I’m happy that he has friends who joined him on stage. It makes me relieved that going forward he will support others and be supported too.”
For each performance, the technical theater Certificate seniors Vedant Balachandran, Hannah Levanon, Sam Parupudi, Zachary Soraire and Cindy Yu designed the lighting and cued the music. Production manager for performing arts Brian Larsen recognized their hard work behind the scenes, valuing how the seniors displayed their leadership by venturing into new positions like managing stage equipment and props.
“The seniors’ capacity, responsibility and understanding of how the pieces go together was amazing to watch, with both Sam and Hannah working on their lighting for this show,” Larsen said. “It was wonderful to see the maturity and the growth of understanding of how to make something that looked good on stage and why different colors work together. The seniors were amazing, and to see them grow across four years is a remarkable culmination of their work.”
