The upper school community gathered at the Zhang Gymnasium on Friday for the 2024 matriculation ceremony, formally kicking off the 2024-25 school year by welcoming the Class of 2028 to its first year at the upper school. The event included music and speeches by Harker students and administrators.
As the ceremony began, grade 9 students entered the gym greeted by applause from the students and faculty. After they had taken their seats, Brian Yager, head of school, greeted the community and delivered his opening remarks, recalling how seeing the world’s nations compete in the Summer Olympic Games gave him hope despite the ongoing tumult both inside and outside the United States. “The election in front of us and the international conflicts and tensions around us have and will continue to stretch our capacity to be and to do good things, and to be good and kind to each other,” he said. Referencing the values of kindness, respect and integrity enshrined in Harker’s mission statement, he continued, “It is our aspiration that these traits will shine brightly in all of us this year, even if they are not always modeled or on display outside of Harker.”
Vocal group Capriccio, directed by music teacher Susan Nace, then gave the first of the event’s performances, offering a raucous rendition of “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang. Upper division head Paul Barsky took the podium next to deliver his address to the students, in which he emphasized the importance of the values Yager mentioned in his speech, and announced that each upper school class would be focusing on the meaning of one of those values throughout the year to demonstrate the importance of pro-social behaviors. He cited the findings of a study conducted last year by Hyo-Sun Jung of Kyung Hee University in Seoul, which observed that witnessing acts of kindness can cause people to perform kind acts themselves. “With all of our values – accountability, respect, integrity and kindness – firmly in place and proudly upheld, we will meet our own personal challenges and those of the world with confidence a heightened sense of pro-social belonging,” he said.
Senior Sam Parupudi, the 2024-25 ASB president, spoke to fellow students regarding the upcoming year. “Stay true to yourself,” they said to the student of the frosh class. “The road ahead, will not always be clear. … But that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s like you have a massive lump of clay sitting in front of you, waiting to be molded and you’re only limited by your imagination.” They then advised the sophomore and junior classes to learn to identify the helpful people and resources around them, calling the teachers and staff “our helping hand. They’re not just passionate about their subjects; they genuinely want to see you thrive.” Addressing the Class of 2025, Parupudi encouraged fellow seniors to make the most of their last year at Harker. “Let’s branch out a little even if it’s outside of our comfort zone. Let’s lean on each other for advice and support when we need it.”
Following the Harker String Quartet’s performances of “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith and “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, ASB Vice President Alicia Ran, grade 12, spoke on the importance of preserving integrity within the community, citing her own experience of taking accountability after falling behind in her responsibilities last year. “We all need to take accountability for the communication of our own thoughts and situations to those around use, because no one here is a mind reader,” she said. “I know we can do so much better than we have in previous years. Hold yourself to the level of accountability you want the people around you to hold themselves to. Together we can keep our community safe, fair and welcoming for everyone.”
Ran then introduced senior Ariana Gauba, president of Harker’s Student Diversity Coalition for the 2024-25 school year. Gauba summarized the goals and activities of SDC and discussed the importance of respect in creating an inclusive, safe and equitable community. “We all know what [respect] means, but one thing to keep in mind is that respect is a habit that takes repetition to build, and a lot of times, we take it for granted and forget how valuable it really is in our day-to-day lives,” she said. Showing respect, she continued, can take many forms, such as “actively listening to your teachers,” holding doors open for others, listening to friends’ stories and being mindful of online behavior. “And you have to remember that respect isn’t just a word we toss around. It’s an action, a conscious choice we make every day.”
As the ceremony neared its end, members of the Honor Council spoke on the importance of maintaining integrity in the community and how it builds trust among students, further encouraging honest and ethical behavior. They also mentioned the dangers of abandoning integrity and how it can result in cycles of unethical behavior with disastrous consequences, such as when a student has to keep earning high marks dishonestly because they have not properly learned the material.
The ceremony closed with the recitation of the Matriculation Oath, followed by the signing of the matriculation book by each member of the Class of 2028.