2005 October Harker Alumni

OCTOBEr 2005 (VOL. 12, NO. 1)

A

S P E C I A L

A L U M N I

est. 1893 • K-12 college prep

R E P O R T

F R O M

T H E

H A R K E R

S C H O O L

Harker Alumni Class Year Notes Pelagia A. Valdez retired on disability from the U.S. Army and is currently a performing & studio keyboard musician working for the U.S. Army and various music business entities.

He said, “The old Palo Alto Military Academy (PAMA) campus, teachers, sports programs and the band will always have a special place in my heart.”

’73

It’s here - the new user-friendly Harker Alumni Online Community!

We are delighted to bring you this new forum to share your news, view photos, find other alumni in the directory by class year, college, industry, job function and metro area, read about upcoming events, update your profile and much more!

Most of the site is password protected to ensure privacy. Alumni can find their initial user name and password on the mailing label of this publication directly below your name, or you can e-mail me to get this information.

Once you do the initial login you can then personalize your user name and password and update your personal profile.

’73

Major Nichols, Captain Torcellini, Col. Tuttle and Mr. Callahan were always No. 1 in my book. The original staff from PAMA taught us strict discipline, and I was able to utilize this to become a U.S. Army airborne ranger serving our country proudly.” Valdez would like to see a class list from 1973 and added, “I would love to contact any one of them to see how our lives have changed over the years.”

This site has been built for YOU, so please share your thoughts and spread the news about this great new benefit for our alumni.

Lee Ann Sartor (now Alex Ryan Yamamura) attended Harker Day School through 5th grade. She is currently a motion picture producer and actress. She writes, “My classmates, all of them, grades 1 - 5, taught me kindness, and those people are still considered some of the best friends I have had in this lifetime. Mrs. Dale taught me to live and Mrs. Williams with her warm heart and beautiful smile gave me hope. The training at Harker prepared me for living the rest of my life.” She would love to hear from former classmates Doreen Can, Jeff Loomis, Suzie Dolton, Ted Marcopulos, Rand Bacon and Sara Bingham. The alumni office (and Mrs. Carley) is thrilled to have received a box full of Harker Day School memorabilia from Yamamura. The box included class pictures, medals from award ceremonies, citizenship pins, school IDs, and even her report cards!

Terry Walsh Alumni Programs Director 408.345.9205 terryw@harker.org www.harkeralumni.org

Kamyar Shadan attended Harker as an ESL student in Gr. 6. He wrote, “I came to Harker as my first experience in the United States and attended the school and dormitory. I believe it gave me one of the greatest starts

The new site features Yellow Pages, which will be in a trial stage as we decide the best format for this type of advertisement for alumni.

(The service is free at this time but there may be a minimal fee for this later).

I hope you will check out the new Harker Alumni Online Community today by logging on to www.harkeralumni.org or via The Harker School Web site at www.harker. org and click on Alumni.

’76

’78

I could have imagined. I was a Cadet, on the basketball team and took music classes. My Harker experience taught me to think on my own and learn how to analyze and deal with situations.” Shadan is currently a technology entrepreneur with Financial Reporting Solutions.

Mona Harris received her degree in accounting from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and now lives in San Jose.

’79

Louisito (Louis) Lai sent in his updated address so he will receive alumni news.

David Rosendin received his BA from Loyola Marymount University and is currently a global account manager for NTT.

’80

Dave Higaki was sorry to miss the class reunion but sent a note to Mr. Walsh with an update on his life since Harker. Higaki is the executive director of a nonprofit academic/tennis program at Stanford University called East Palo Alto Tennis Program. He also coaches tennis tournament players at Alpine Hills Club (where he runs into Celia DeBenedetti) and, when time permits, helps to coach the Stanford men’s team. In his other free time, he races go-karts. Through the years, he coached several college players and a few lower ranked professional players traveling 32 weeks out of the year, coaching on the pro tour. He is married and lives in Palo Alto. His wife Jennifer is a co-founder of several startups and is currently working at a company called SuccessFactors in San Mateo. In addition, she is a retiring soon - competitive kickboxer and won the silver medal at the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. He is very interested in getting in contact with Mrs. Carley.

(The alumni office will be happy to connect him!)

Paul W. Primrose is currently a staff support engineer for Qualcomm and living in Temecula, CA. He has

’82

4 children: Jedi (2 yrs.), Jordan (7 yrs.), Kaylyn (15 yrs.) and Travis (17 yrs.) Primrose was recently awarded with two patents working with Qualcomm. Congratulations, Paul!

Paul Hondorp has received graduate degrees from Temple University and Michigan State University. He is currently an assistant professor in the music department at Western Kentucky University.

Chuck Long attended Harker through Gr. 5. He received his BS from Cal State Monterey Bay and is currently a software developer for Defense Manpower Data Center. He remembers Miss Killarny (Lynch), Dane Williamson and the rifle range and is still in contact with Jeff Lease.

Aurelio Martinez (Gr. 7) lives in Mexico and received his administration degree from ITESM. He is currently a businessman, working with car dealerships (Peugeot, Chrysler, Mercedes). He writes, “I have a lot of good memories from Harker. I was in the ESL program with a lot of good friends that I would like to get in touch with like William Ma, David Koo, Sun-Hyup Kim, David Wang, Jim Hait, Marta Maraccini, etc.”

’83

Alison Newrock Dipilla lives in Kentucky after receiving her BA from the University of Cincinnati. She is Director, Service Operations - Midwestern Region for Humana Insurance Co.

’84

Sheryl Fenton Scheinberg received her BA from San Diego State and is currently a program manager at Hewlett-Packard. She is in contact with classmates Kelly Hodges and Laura Delizonna and would like to hear from Johanna de Wit. Michael Olsen received his BS in chemistry from UC Davis and his MS in Chemistry from the University of Illinois.

He is a Major in the US Air Force, an F-15E instructor pilot for the 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom. He writes, “The best memories I have of Harker

’85

ALUMNI Continued from pg. 1 are of the sports programs—we were always playing sports! I also remember Mr. Near’s class with all the Sports Illustrated covers on the walls. Mr. Saltzmann was a favorite teacher.” He would like to know the whereabouts of John Owens.

Stephen Chu lives in New York City.

He received his degree in architecture from UC Berkeley and is currently a licensed architect working for Polshek Partnership Architects.

He would like to know what Josh Ishimatsu and Eddie Wright are doing.

Leanne Lin Galang is a licensed esthetician working for the Burke Williams Day Spa. Connie Mah received her BA from Amherst College, MS from Harvard School of Public Health and PhD from Harvard University. She is currently a health policy research fellow at Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

’86

’87

Murphy Sabatino reconnected with Mr. Walsh at a graduation party in honor

update being left in a strange place for the first time. Good thing I met David Owens; 1st - Miss Buttars turning my messy desk upside down and making me clean it up; 2nd & 3rd - repressed memories; 4th - Mr. Saltzman, always the coolest teacher on campus; 5th - Mr. Walsh and Mr. Saltzman performing a duet of Feliz Navidad! (Don’t ask why I remember such random things!); 6th - Mr. Ippolito was tough but fair, and no more green cords and white buttonups. Khaki shorts and white pullover shirts were the new dress code! 7th & 8th - WHOA...we get to dissect a fetal pig and Mr. Z always rewarded students with Coke. I have very fond memories but too many to list.” Joe would like to hear from any and all classmates including David Owens, Michael Warren, Chris Hitchcock, Daniel Fockler, Issac Ichiki, Katie Spearing, David Kwan, Elizabeth Locke, Lindsay Takamoto, Dorna Robinson and Varish Goyal.

Stephen Tomesello did not send in an update. This information comes from his mom and former Harker teacher, Merry Tomesello! She said, “Stephen married Ellen Marcellana in May of 2004 and Harker friends Mike Chew and Rob Erickson were in the wedding!” Stephen is currently a product marketing manager for Philips Semiconductor and studying for his MBA degree. (Alumni parents are encouraged to send in updates on their children).

’90

Sehba Zhumkhawala is the principal at KIPP Heartwood Academy in San Jose. She recently sent a note to the alumni office about her summer news. She wrote, “With of Kevin Moul ’97 (Sabatino’s cousin) who graduated from Santa Clara University in June.

’89

2

Chris Yamashita left Harker in January and has been pursuing a career in the restaurant business.

You can now find him at Kyoto Palace at the Pruneyard in Campbell.

Chris would love to see anyone from Harker.

Vina Patel received her BA in liberal studies and teaching credential from Santa Clara University.

She currently lives in Georgia and is a kindergarten teacher.

Michael Ku received his BS in electrical engineering from San Jose State University and is currently a firefighter paramedic with the San Bruno Fire Department. He writes, “Todd Bowers is one of my good friends and was my best man at my wedding, I saw Kristie Welch at Pasta Pomodoro and at the hospital and I recently reconnected with Chris Yamashita. My favorite teachers were Mr. Walsh, Mr. Saltzman and Mr. Rosenthal, and I just found out one of my battalion chiefs is Terry Walsh’s brother!

Harker gave me an edge up on the rest of the students in high school and throughout life.” Ku would like to hear from Alex Larson.

Julie Amerian Johnson checks in from Burlingame and works for Ernst & Young, San Francisco.

’92

Norah Jones singing in the air, the Ottawa River underneath and the Parliament buildings as a backdrop, Shehz (Shehzaad) on one knee, Sehba says YES!” She is very excited

currently works in public relations for Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix. She said, “I will never forget Monica Pataye, Tala Banatao, Allison Kuhn and Joy Patterson who made school fun. Those slumber parties were the best! Ms. Harp is still my favorite teacher because she taught me discipline (yes!), diagramming and to actually appreciate reading and writing and use it to communicate and express myself. Also, I remember Alex Young Anglim was a pretty classy kid. I seriously do not believe I would be who I am today without Harker. The teachers were amazing and showed me how to be a critical thinker, an invaluable tool in a world of sound bites, myth-information and assumptions.” She is in contact with Anisha Kumra (who hosted her bridal shower).

Young Bae Lee returned to Korea after graduating from UCLA to complete his military service.

Young sent a note recently to give us an update. “I finally finished my military service in July ‘04, and then moved to Hyundai Corporation to work in the energy business, specifically LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). I had a lot to learn about the new and exciting industry, and so far I am absolutely fascinated with the energy industry. I think this is

Daniel J. Nevis received his BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his JD from Hastings College of the Law. He is currently an attorney. He wrote, “Mr. Walsh and Mr. Bither were, and remain, my favorite teachers of all time.”

Heather Yang lives in Singapore.

She received her BA from Princeton University and is now a consultant for Carmichael Consulting. She writes, “My favorite teacher was my English teacher, Mrs. Harp. In every way Harker was the turning point of my academic career.”

Gerardo Vildosola attended Harker in 7th grade. He received his civil engineering degree from Universidad Iberoamericana and his MBA from IPADE Business School. He is currently an ITS Manager for Semex. His memories include Mrs. Skapinsky and he would like to hear from Ricardo Tejeda.

Ryan Joe received his BA in psychology from the University of Puget Sound and his MBA from San Francisco State. He is currently a client services manager for Everdream Corporation. He writes, “My memories include kindergarten - so scary

to announce her engagement to Shehz! Congratulations Sehba!

Heather Taher received her MD and masters in public health this past May from Tulane University School of Medicine. Her parents, Fathi & Patricia Taher, shared the news of this wonderful achievement of their daughter. Congratulations to Heather!

Risha Zertuche Brown received her degree in English literature from Northern Arizona University and

’93

what I will be doing for a long time,” said Lee. This past June, Young started a new job overseeing the Asia Pacific market for Shell Pacific Enterprise, a sub company of Royal Dutch Shell. He added, “And even bigger news is...I met the girl of my dream, Jiehyeong. She is just wonderful.” They were married in June ’05 and they plan to travel to California early in Oct. Contact the alumni office if you would like to work out a time to visit with him.

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

ALUMNI HARKER HISTORICAL LEGEND MN Manzanita Hall 1893-1919

update of the youngest child. The play chronicles their cultural, political and religious conflicts living in post 9/11 America.

MH Miss Harker School 1904-1959 PA

HD Harker Day School 1959-1972 HA Harker Academy 1973-1992 HS The Harker School 1993-Present

Neil Malhotra received his BA from Yale University and is currently working on his MA/ PhD at Stanford University as a graduate student in political science. He writes that his memories include “Mr. Zetterquist and Mr. Near who instilled the love of social science that I now study as a career. The academic rigor at an early age gave me a big leg up in high school.” He is in contact with classmate Sujay Jaswa.

’94

Wajahat Ali has written a two act play about Muslim-Pakistani Americans, titled “The Domestic Crusaders.” The play was not something Ali had planned to write until he took a short story course at Berkeley from Pulitzer Prize nominee Ishmael Reed. “He said I was a terrible short story writer, but I was great at dialogue,” Ali says. “He said, ‘You’re a natural playwright. Why don’t you try it out?” Coached by Reed and his wife, Carla Blank, Ali’s assignment grew into the original play with performances at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in July and at San Jose State University Theater in Sept.

“The Domestic Crusaders” focuses on one day in the life of a modern Muslim Pakistani-American family of six eclectic, unique members, who convene at the family house to celebrate the twenty-first birthday

Lori Kwon is a graduate student and lives in Texas. She received her BA in psychology from Southern Methodist University. She said, “My fondest memories include Mrs. Skapinsky and Mr. Holden from the ESL program and Joe Rosenthal, Pam Dickinson, Elise Tremba Schwartz and Lani Potts from the boarding program. Harker was a great experience both academically and socially.” She is still in contact with Min Kang, Eun Jin Choi, Jiwon Choi, Tina Hyun, Kyu Won Kang, Kyung Park, Sung Kim, Peter Choi, Sylvia Na and Jean Lee. Kwon would like to hear from Danielle Lawrence and Franca Lee.

’95

Palo Alto Military Academy 1919-1972

Sujay Jaswa lives in Santa Monica.

He received his BA in economics from Princeton University and is currently director, business development for CinemaNow. He is still in contact with Ashis Roy, Matt Sampson, Ramesh Srinivasan and James Huang and would like to hear about Brian Lee, Max Goodheart or anyone living in Southern California.

instilling in me a sense of discipline and a strong work ethic that has served me extremely well in my nascent military career. I’d love to hear from as many people as possible from the class of ’94.”

The press release for the San Jose production stated the following: “Wajahat Ali is a major new voice in American literature. His play is to Muslim American theatre what “A Raisin in the Sun” is to African American theatre,” said Mitch Berman, head of the Center for Literary Arts. “Our mission at CKA is not only to bring literary starts to San Jose, but to bring attention to emerging writers who have something new to say.“ Ali is working on a sequel and a prequel to “Crusaders,” so plan to see more of his work in the future.

For more information check out his Web site: www.domesticcrusaders.com Rachel Bendis Shekhtman now lives in Israel. She is a mother of two and an investor relations advisor, freelance worker for b2i Technologies. She received her BS in economics from the University of Oregon. She said, “Everyone remembers Mrs. Harp! I must have really liked English because I also have fond memories of Mr. Reynolds and I really liked the French teacher in the elementary school, Madame Gaton.” She would love to hear from any Harker alumni.

Ravi Balu was recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force after graduating from Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He is now attending navigator training at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Balu received his BA from UC Berkeley in 2002. He writes, “I must thank Harker for

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Kalista Green recently returned from the peace corps and called her former housemother (and current Harker teacher) Elise Tremba Schwartz ’84 to invite her to lunch.

The two reminisced about Green’s Harker days as a boarding student and then stopped by campus for a tour and to re-connect with some staff that was on campus. “We talked for hours and it was so much fun,” said Schwartz.

Lisa Hall received her BA in acting from San Francisco State University, her MA in playwriting from Boston University and is currently working on her PhD in dramatic literature, theory and criticism at Colorado University at Boulder. She said, “I am still best friends with Andrea Nott.”

’96

Sheila Collins received her BA from Stanford University and is currently working on her JD at Boston University School of Law. Her memories include favorite teachers Mr. Ippolito and Mr. Muller, as well as Mrs. Mittlestet. Collins is in contact with classmates Marlen Alcaraz and Irine Vodkin.

Eiko Furukawa checked in with the alumni office while working at Harker this summer for the English Language Institute. She got a chance to look through yearbooks and photos and visit with some former staff and teachers during her stay. She is in contact with several classmates, Amy Wu, Samantha Chow, Chala

’97

Akar, Rachel Parker, Sheetal Modi and Ashley Skipwith, and passed on their current e-mail addresses to the alumni office.

Ashley Skipwith graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA in June.

This information came via a phone call from her proud dad! Congratulations, Ashley!

Kevin Moul has taken to the stage in his free time from studying at Santa Clara University as part of the band The Otters. He plays bass and drums and sings when performing good old rock and roll at small local venues in the area.

Steven Stanek recently wrote a very impressive essay that won the 2005 San Francisco Chronicle/UC Berkeley op-ed writing contest 1st place award. The contestants, all undergraduates heading for careers in law, science, art, medicine, business, education or engineering, wrote essays that explored topics of interest today that are shaping our tomorrow. Stanek’s essay, titled “Big and Dumb,” explored the subject of the cost of space flight, weighing heavily on abandoning the current program for a smaller and cheaper program. The essay ran in the May 10 edition of the SF Chronicle. Stanek graduated from UC Berkeley in May and began the Stanford engineering/computer science masters program this fall. continued on pg. 6

3

ALUMNI

update

Alumni, Alumni Parents & Former Faculty & Staff Pay Tribute to the Nichols The alumni tent was the place to be at the evening Tribute to the Nichols held last June! Alumni, alumni parents and former faculty and staff from as far back as 1965 gathered together to reminisce, catch up on their days since Harker, look through yearbooks and view the many photos displayed. Those in attendance had the rare opportunity to see not only classmates from their graduation year, but alumni who attended at the same time and were a grade ahead or behind them in school. Some alumni had even met each other out in the business world and didn’t know they had attended the same elementary school until seeing each other at this event! It truly was an amazing evening and the alumni program will focus on more of these types of events in the future. (See the enclosed “Tribute Recap” supplement for more details of this event).

ALUMNI Keil Albert ’82 Marlen Alcaraz ’96 Mike Archer ’76 Janene Argendeli ’81 Tania Bassoni ’92 Donia Bencke ’93 Piyush Bhatia ’87 Brenden Boland ’03 Lisa Bowman ’95 Eric Bringhurst ’77 Margo Bringhurst ’79 Eric Butler 81 Tyler Chapman ’99 Benjamin Chen ’88 Lisa Christopher Liddle ’77 Allan Chu ’99 Rajiv Das ’78 Celia DeBenedetti ’80 Debbie Delizonna ’82 Laura Delizonna ’84 David Dubbs ’66 David Evans ’91 Michelle Floyd ’95 Jennie Fong ’95 Dan Gelineau ’65 Dave Gelineau ’97 Steven Golod ’98 Leslie Hernandez ’02 Michael Joe ’86 Ryan Joe ’89 Courtney Johnson ’04

Tina Johnson Murray ’82 Betty Kamas Simone ’80 Ravi Kapur ’92 Laena Keyashian ’04 Stacey Kofman ’82 Jeff Lease ’82 Ben Lee ’94 Kathryn Lee ’04 Jonathan Lee ’88 Michael Lin ’00 Alan Liu ’02 Charles Long ’82 Sean MacKay ’91 Henrik Mann ’77 Amanda Mathias ’92 Anita Mazloon ’03 Thomas McMahon ’04 Rachel Meltzer ’04 Steven Meyer ’74 Lance Miraco ’78 Shalini Mohan ’02 Shaun Mohan ’05 Jeffrey Niederauer ’93 Louis Orlando ’80 Shelly Orlando Hicks ’78 Jason Panchal ’97 Shyam Panchal ’89 Reena Patton ’88 Quan Pham Howard ’78 Paul Picazo ’02 Justin Pogue ’89

Nicolette Pogue ’95 Thomas Polzin ’04 Christiana Rattazzi ’03 Elizabeth Robertson ’82 Grace Sabeh ’95 Joe Sabeh ’93 Kristin Scarpace Giammona ’81 Alfred See ’04 Suneet Shah ’03 Genia Shaw Curren ’92 Lars Shah ’95 Kelle Sloan ’93 Emily Stapleton ’93 Sam Stapleton ’89 Eric Sum ’04 Akhil Suri ’92 Brent Torcellini ’97 Robert Torcellini ’66 Elise Tremba Schwartz ’84 Prithi Trivedi ’04 Riaz Valani ’90 Evor Vattuone ’87 Demetrios Vorgias ’89 Danny Walsh ’99 Kevin Walsh ’01 Matt Walsh ’97 Sophia Wang ’03 Sean Weinstock ’04 Albert Zecher ’79

Mohammed & Ghizala Kaleem Daniel & Shirley Kanada Janie Kelly Amalia & John Keyashian Megan Kha Leon Khaimovich Ellen & David Kim Jeff & Susan Lee Albert & Jenny Leung Steve Lin Eugene Louie Pei Hua Lu Dinesh Maheshwari Chandler & Vimla Malkani Sharon & Harris Meyers Jon & Linda Michaelson Rebecca & Tony Morici Isabel Orlando

David & Stella Pogue Joe & Linda Sabeh Marty & Dorothy Scarpace Patrick See Debbie & Lars Shaw Bessie Smith Carol Sosnowski Lynette Stapleton Patti Stevenson David Takamoto KK & Annie Tam Patricia & Ted Vucurevich Cheng Yi Wang Henry & Marina Weinstock Earl & Rae Williams Yvonne Wu Yang Zhang

ALUMNI PARENTS Lon & Mary Allen Alok & Sumita Bhattacharyya Suzann Bowman Mary & Curtis Cage Kenneth Chan Emily Chen Chi & Ken Chu Marie Delizonna Xu Dong Jan & John Eurich Stephen & Beverly Floyd Dennis Fong & Polly Kam Judy Golod Karenina Grun-Louie Amar & Padmini Gupta Eric & Ilene Janofsky Ken & Sandra Joe Anne & Fred Johnson

FORMER FACULTY & STAFF Mel Cozby Sylvia Harp Jeff Haugaard Evelyn Kamas

4

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Mena Killarney Lynch Rosie Mann Mark Muller Myra Murphy Flag

Cindy Rodenbaugh Jody Senter Debbie Shaw

5

ALUMNI

update

Alumni, Alumni Parents & Former Faculty & Staff Pay Tribute to the Nichols The alumni tent was the place to be at the evening Tribute to the Nichols held last June! Alumni, alumni parents and former faculty and staff from as far back as 1965 gathered together to reminisce, catch up on their days since Harker, look through yearbooks and view the many photos displayed. Those in attendance had the rare opportunity to see not only classmates from their graduation year, but alumni who attended at the same time and were a grade ahead or behind them in school. Some alumni had even met each other out in the business world and didn’t know they had attended the same elementary school until seeing each other at this event! It truly was an amazing evening and the alumni program will focus on more of these types of events in the future. (See the enclosed “Tribute Recap” supplement for more details of this event).

ALUMNI Keil Albert ’82 Marlen Alcaraz ’96 Mike Archer ’76 Janene Argendeli ’81 Tania Bassoni ’92 Donia Bencke ’93 Piyush Bhatia ’87 Brenden Boland ’03 Lisa Bowman ’95 Eric Bringhurst ’77 Margo Bringhurst ’79 Eric Butler 81 Tyler Chapman ’99 Benjamin Chen ’88 Lisa Christopher Liddle ’77 Allan Chu ’99 Rajiv Das ’78 Celia DeBenedetti ’80 Debbie Delizonna ’82 Laura Delizonna ’84 David Dubbs ’66 David Evans ’91 Michelle Floyd ’95 Jennie Fong ’95 Dan Gelineau ’65 Dave Gelineau ’97 Steven Golod ’98 Leslie Hernandez ’02 Michael Joe ’86 Ryan Joe ’89 Courtney Johnson ’04

Tina Johnson Murray ’82 Betty Kamas Simone ’80 Ravi Kapur ’92 Laena Keyashian ’04 Stacey Kofman ’82 Jeff Lease ’82 Ben Lee ’94 Kathryn Lee ’04 Jonathan Lee ’88 Michael Lin ’00 Alan Liu ’02 Charles Long ’82 Sean MacKay ’91 Henrik Mann ’77 Amanda Mathias ’92 Anita Mazloon ’03 Thomas McMahon ’04 Rachel Meltzer ’04 Steven Meyer ’74 Lance Miraco ’78 Shalini Mohan ’02 Shaun Mohan ’05 Jeffrey Niederauer ’93 Louis Orlando ’80 Shelly Orlando Hicks ’78 Jason Panchal ’97 Shyam Panchal ’89 Reena Patton ’88 Quan Pham Howard ’78 Paul Picazo ’02 Justin Pogue ’89

Nicolette Pogue ’95 Thomas Polzin ’04 Christiana Rattazzi ’03 Elizabeth Robertson ’82 Grace Sabeh ’95 Joe Sabeh ’93 Kristin Scarpace Giammona ’81 Alfred See ’04 Suneet Shah ’03 Genia Shaw Curren ’92 Lars Shah ’95 Kelle Sloan ’93 Emily Stapleton ’93 Sam Stapleton ’89 Eric Sum ’04 Akhil Suri ’92 Brent Torcellini ’97 Robert Torcellini ’66 Elise Tremba Schwartz ’84 Prithi Trivedi ’04 Riaz Valani ’90 Evor Vattuone ’87 Demetrios Vorgias ’89 Danny Walsh ’99 Kevin Walsh ’01 Matt Walsh ’97 Sophia Wang ’03 Sean Weinstock ’04 Albert Zecher ’79

Mohammed & Ghizala Kaleem Daniel & Shirley Kanada Janie Kelly Amalia & John Keyashian Megan Kha Leon Khaimovich Ellen & David Kim Jeff & Susan Lee Albert & Jenny Leung Steve Lin Eugene Louie Pei Hua Lu Dinesh Maheshwari Chandler & Vimla Malkani Sharon & Harris Meyers Jon & Linda Michaelson Rebecca & Tony Morici Isabel Orlando

David & Stella Pogue Joe & Linda Sabeh Marty & Dorothy Scarpace Patrick See Debbie & Lars Shaw Bessie Smith Carol Sosnowski Lynette Stapleton Patti Stevenson David Takamoto KK & Annie Tam Patricia & Ted Vucurevich Cheng Yi Wang Henry & Marina Weinstock Earl & Rae Williams Yvonne Wu Yang Zhang

ALUMNI PARENTS Lon & Mary Allen Alok & Sumita Bhattacharyya Suzann Bowman Mary & Curtis Cage Kenneth Chan Emily Chen Chi & Ken Chu Marie Delizonna Xu Dong Jan & John Eurich Stephen & Beverly Floyd Dennis Fong & Polly Kam Judy Golod Karenina Grun-Louie Amar & Padmini Gupta Eric & Ilene Janofsky Ken & Sandra Joe Anne & Fred Johnson

FORMER FACULTY & STAFF Mel Cozby Sylvia Harp Jeff Haugaard Evelyn Kamas

4

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Mena Killarney Lynch Rosie Mann Mark Muller Myra Murphy Flag

Cindy Rodenbaugh Jody Senter Debbie Shaw

5

ALUMNI ’99

Daniel Han (now Seung Hee Han) is currently a student at Tufts University.

Hiromi Chimura is currently a student at Colorado College. She said, “I made life-long friends at Harker.

The Harker experience has taught me to become confident, independent and a kind person. I am in touch with Hellen Chiao, Andy Onishi, Preston Lin, Jennifer Wang, Tammy and Jackie Chang and Iris Yu.” She would love to get in touch with Peggy Chang.

’00

Mimi (Shalini) Mohan ’02 - US math teacher Joanne Mason met Mimi for lunch in June and sent an update on the academic accomplishments of her former student. Mason learned that Mohan attended USC for a year and then transferred to a 6-year undergraduate and medical school program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She has successfully completed the undergraduate portion of the program and in August received her white coat, the symbol of the formal beginning of her four years of medical school.

Congratulations, Mimi!

Akhsar Kharebov is currently a student at UC Santa Barbara studying computer engineering as well as being an entrepreneur working for J & H Digital Media Inc. He writes, “My memories are of hanging out in Dobbins Hall during break and after lunch. My favorite teachers were Rob Korin, Jack Bither, John Hawley, John Near, Sharron Mittlestet and Jaap Bongers.

Harker taught me to set the bar for personal achievement and to give back to the world. I think the Harker mentor program was great.

My group visited management executives, and I learned a great deal. I am currently in the process of building my own venture.”

’02

Ariana Joll attended Harker for 3 years and currently lives in Desoto, Texas. She writes, “I remember Mr. Bither...for being my advisor as well as constantly nagging me about how softball should be the top of my priorities along with Ms. Mittlestet and Mr. Navangul, for writing great recommendations that helped with my acceptance to Southern Methodist University in Texas!” She is in contact with Rachael Warecki, Cosme Fagundo and Cathleen Chuang.

’03

6

update Jessica Cu - The Dean of Northwestern University announced that Jessica was placed on the Dean’s List for the spring quarter of the ’04-‘05 academic year. Each quarter the School of Communication identifies undergraduate students with the very best records of academic performance to put on the list.

Congratulations to Jessica for her continued effort and hard work in her studies as she is honored with this important accomplishment.

Class of 1980 Reunion

Nicole Gaknoki is a student at Trinity University.

Catherine Kim is currently a junior at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Last spring, she was awarded a $4000 stipend by the Classics Department to study this summer in Rome with the worldrenowned Latinist, Father Reginald Foster. “Father Foster is the Pope’s Latinist and writes in collaboration with other priests all the encyclicals issued by the Vatican. He is thought by many to be the most competent speaker of Latin in the world. To study with him is a great honor and privilege,” said John Hawley, US Latin teacher. In addition, Kim was awarded the Samuel Henry Galpin Prize for the sophomore standing highest in a competitive examination in Latin at Yale University. This outstanding award included a prize of $3400! Gratulamur tibi Caterinae de his maximis rebus. (We congratulate you, Catherine, for these great things.)

Allison Kwong is currently a sophomore at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Last spring, Brown University awarded Kwong 2nd place in the Wayland prize. The award included $250 for her effort. The prize is named after a former president of the university, and the fund for it was established in 1843, making it one of the oldest prizes offered at Brown. It’s awarded annually to the freshmen who, upon examination, are found to excel in preparatory Latin. She also earned 4th place last fall in a similar competition in mathematics.

’04

Contact Us! The alumni office truly enjoys hearing about all alumni connections and memories.

Contact us when you have things to share! terryw@harker.org 408.345.9205

Members of the Class of 1980 gathered in July for their 25 year reunion and enjoyed an afternoon (and some enjoyed late into the evening) of reminiscing about their days at Harker Academy. The event was hosted by Celia DeBenedetti at her beautiful home in Los Altos Hills. Celia’s backyard was the perfect setting for alumni to visit while many alumni children put the swimming pool to use.

There were screams of delight and lots of hugging as each alumnus arrived and names were remembered.

Memorabilia were on display – lots of photos, a girl’s uniform, the application from 1980 and other items that sparked lots of stories.

Louis Orlando and Paul Aliason had Mr. Walsh laughing about a story of a trip to the rifle range – a story Walsh was glad he hadn’t heard about in 1980!

Updates were given on classmates who could not make the event but had been in recent contact with someone and questions were asked about those alumni who have lost touch with Harker. The arrival of Howard Nichols (Captain Nichols in 1980) and Diana Nichols

(their former science teacher) brought Paul Aliason to attention, but he was quickly put “at ease” as he realized his relationship had changed with the Harker staff since he was no longer a student and could visit with them as a grown-up!

Alumni in attendance along with DeBenedetti, Orlando and Aliason were Edrice Angry Wright, Laura Basin Behrens, Chris Campisi, Jennifer James, Betty Kamas Taylor Simone, John Marlow, Melany Miners, and Victor Pekarcik. Staff attending, along with the Nichols and Walsh, were Mr. Near, Miss Kelly, Mrs. Carley and Terry Walsh.

Miners summed up a prevalent feeling when she said, “It was so great to see everyone last weekend at the reunion—it was so worth coming up for.”

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

ALUMNI

update Our newest alumni were welcomed into the alumni program in May at the annual Senior Alumni Day. This is a day set aside for seniors to view their time capsule, finish writing in each other’s yearbooks, write notes and fill out senior questionnaires, enjoy a BBQ lunch and visit with classmates and teachers. The class of ’05 had the honor of being the first class to have an event at the home of our Head of School, Chris Nikoloff. The weather prediction of rain didn’t come true and the trial run of having 117 teenagers take over the Nikoloff home went off without a hitch.

Peer Advice for Seniors In late May, several college-aged alumni returned to Harker to give the current seniors the “real” story about college life. The program titled “What I Wish I Knew BEFORE I Went to College” was put together

by Maya Hey ’04 and consisted of a panel of college students who fielded questions about academics, social life, homesickness, health issues, and counseling resources in a session that went overtime in the FDR. “The feedback from seniors was outstanding, and it looks like the panel will probably become a tradition; seniors and alums are already asking to be on it next year,” said Sandy Padgett, college counselor. Thanks to the alumni who gave up a day of their summer vacation to be on

the panel - Class of ’03: Maheen Kaleem, Jessica Travis, Christiana Ratazzi and Gabby DeMers.

Class of ’04: Jennifer Lin, Courtney Johnson, Kathryn Lee, Matt Jones, Nikhil Deshmukh, Julia Gitis, Meghan Desale and Hey.

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement

Class of 1985 Reunion

A potluck picnic at Vasona Park was the setting for the 20 year Class of ’85 reunion. “Although there was a smaller turnout than expected, it was a good mixture of people and it was fun to talk to those who were there,” said Miyeko Yoneda Kohlmann. The group was pleased to see their former teachers, Miss Killarney (Lynch) and Mr. Walsh, who both attended the event. The alumni especially enjoyed the photos on display that included some personal photos from Steve Moorman’s family album of basketball

games and the graduation par ty at Gaillyn Worsham’s home. Alumni in attendance along with Yoneda Kohlman were Randi Ratra Melo, Josh Oshinsky, Ed Wang, Steve Moorman, Lissa Yuen Ong and Evelyn Chang.

The summer timing of this event made it difficult for many to attend – so be sure to tr y and re-connect on Oct. 15 at the Alumni Gym Event or on Oct. 16 at the Family & Alumni Picnic.

7

ALUMNI

update

Shelly Orlando Hicks, Now a Harker Parent Shelly Orlando Hicks ’78 returned to Harker this summer as a Harker parent – bringing her son Zachary to attend a 2 week summer session.

Orlando Hicks worked at Harker summer camp as a counselor, coach and houseparent for several years in the late 70s and early 80s while she attended high school and college. She has fond memories of camp and wanted her son to be a part of the Harker summer program. She lives in Ukiah, so special arrangements were made to stay with her husband’s parents here in San Jose so Zachary could go to camp. It was a real pleasure for some of the “old timer staff” who were here in Shelly’s days to see her

Shannon Self Teaches Dance at Harker’s Summer Program Shannon Self ’91 returned to Harker this summer as an instructor for The Master Conservatory, a summer program offered through the Children’s Music Theater of San Jose (CMTSJ), using classrooms on the Saratoga campus. Self graduated from Santa Clara University and has been a full-time Artist-inResidence (director, choreographer, teacher, administrator) for the CMT since 2003.

Between graduation and starting her position at CMT, Self worked as a performer and choreographer all around the United States.

This summer she taught dance classes to an elite group of dedicated performers that included current Harker students Debanshi Bheda and Siobhan Stevenson and alumnae Hayley Steele MS’04.

arrive with her son. “Shelly looked the same as she did 25 years ago and I was tempted to hand her a volleyball and ask her to get a game star ted,” said Kelly Espinosa, summer camp director and LS dean. Zachar y had a wonder ful time at camp. Orlando wrote, “On his first day when you took photos of him checking in he looked a little apprehensive, but he was full of smiles after day one and was ver y sad to leave on the last day.”

Harker Alumni back in the Classroom!

Last spring, alumnus Shyam Panchal ’89 spent some time back in the classroom, not as a student, but as a guest speaker. Panchal has given lectures in cardiovascular sciences and offered to do a presentation to our Gr. 8 science students who had just finished studying the cardiovascular system - a perfect time for him to visit. Panchal spoke to classes about heart disease and the development of tiny mesh tubes called stents that aid in the treatment of coronary artery disease. He also stressed the importance of science classes by explaining how he uses bits from all of the science classes he took through the years. Panchal received

his BS in microbiological sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and masters in clinical investigation from Boston University School of Medicine, completing his master’s degree clinical thesis with the Stanford Cardiovascular Medicine Group, Heart Transplant Medicine. He is currently a clinical data architect at Guidant Vascular Interventions. It is truly rewarding to teachers when their former students return to the classroom to share some of their knowledge with our current students. Thank you, Shyam!

The Harker News is published nine times per year by the Harker Office of Communications. Harker Alumni supplements are published three times per year. Current and archived issues are available on our Web site at www.harker.org.

Contact Pam Dickinson, Director, Office of Communications: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129, pamd@harker.org, 408.345.9273 Harker Alumni Editions Reporter: Terry Walsh

8

The Harker School is a K-12 independent, co-ed, college-prep school.

Grades K-5: 4600 Bucknall Rd., San Jose CA 95130 Grades 6-8: 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose 95117 Grades 9-12: 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose CA 95129

Harker believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against its employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age (over 40), marital status, political affiliations, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by state or federal laws, local law or ordinance.

Harker News — October 05, Alumni Supplement