🏫 The Harker School News – July 2026
🎓 Class of 2026 Celebrates Graduation at The Mountain Winery — On May 21, the Class of 2026 graduated at The Mountain Winery, reflecting on their journeys at Harker. The ceremony included a keynote address by alumna Humsa Venkatesh ’04, senior Elie Ahluwalia’s Senior Mission Award speech, and head of school Brian Yager’s farewell before diplomas were awarded and doves released.
🏆 Historic Weekend for Harker Track and Field and Tennis — Recent graduate Brady Tse made Harker history by winning two individual Central Coast Section titles, clocking 13.73 in the 110-meter high hurdles and a school record of 36.62 in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Additionally, Samaara Patil became the first Harker athlete to reach a CCS final in the 800 meters, while the boys tennis team advanced to the Nor Cal Regional Championship final for the first time.
💼 Harker Hosts Startup World Cup for Young Entrepreneurs — On April 17, Harker’s upper school campus hosted the Startup World Cup’s Harker National Youth Qualifier, featuring student entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley leaders. SchoolAce won 1st place and $2,000, while Harker juniors Nicole Dean and Stellan Lindh’s Fika Matcha secured 3rd place and a spot in the global finale in San Francisco, competing for a $1,000,000 investment.
🏆 Harker Middle School Latin Team Wins State Convention — At the State Latin Convention from March 27-28, Harker Middle School placed 1st in the state. Students received numerous individual and sweepstakes awards, including multiple first-place finishes in academics, athletics, and arts, with contributions from Claire Alpha, Jason Huo, Hannah Liu, Terence Heng, and others.
🏆 Harker Aquila Wins Third NSPA Pacemaker Award — At the April 16-18 National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis, Harker Aquila won its third Pacemaker award from the National Scholastic Press Association in the Online category. This achievement is part of 16 Pacemaker honors awarded from 40 finalists, raising Harker journalism's total to eight Pacemakers since 2008.
🎭 Harker Conservatory Earns Nominations for Rita Moreno Awards — The Harker Conservatory received three nominations for the 2026 Rita Moreno Awards, which celebrate excellence in high school theater in California. The musical "Something Rotten!" is nominated for Overall Production, while seniors Simon Kirjner and Omar Khan are recognized as Lead Actor and Supporting Performer, respectively. The cast will perform at the awards ceremony on May 18 in San Jose.
🎶 Harker Choirs Shine at NYC Heritage Festival — At the Worldstrides Heritage Festival in New York City, Harker choral groups earned Gold ratings and top-two finishes in their divisions, with Capriccio winning an Outstanding Choir award and an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall. Senior Wendy Liu received the Maestro award, while International Thespian Society students participated in workshops and visited NBC Studios.
🏆 Harker Celebrates 14 National Merit Winners for 2026 — On June 3, Harker announced that 14 students from the Class of 2026 have been named National Merit Scholarship winners, up from 11 previously announced on May 28. Additional winner announcements are expected throughout June and July, highlighting Harker’s continued academic excellence.
🏆 Harker Teams Shine at Stanford Math Tournament — At the Stanford Math Tournament, Harker’s Omega team placed 2nd overall, finishing 1st in the Team Round and achieving 4th in the Power Round and 3rd in the Guts Round. Multiple students earned individual honors across various categories, with top-10 finishes for Shamik Khowala and Vihaan Gupta in algebra, geometry, and more.
For more The Harker School news, visit https://news.harker.org