Two recent Harker graduates attending local schools were recently recognized for their hard work. Alisha Tolani ’06, now at Stanford University,  and Tanya Schmidt ’08, now at Santa Clara University, were featured in their schools’ online news publications for their contributions to quality of life and athletics, respectively.

Tolani received the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for distinctive contributions to undergraduate education. This award is given to students who do impressive work with the goal of improving the quality of life for undergraduate students. She earned this accolade in part because of the many activities she is involved in. These include “serving as the ASSU executive co-chair of undergraduate health and wellness, resident assistant at West Florence Moore Hall, research assistant at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and peer counselor at the Bridge,” according to the award. She was also cited for her role in founding Stanford’s coalition to end violence against women. The award thanked Tolani “for making Stanford a safer and more comfortable home for all students.”

Schmidt, a junior, was lauded for her excellent play on the Santa Clara women’s volleyball team. In a recent game the Broncos, 11-7 on the season at press time, defeated Idaho 3-1 and Schmidt was the star player. She posted a season-high 17 kills with an over-500 average. Head coach Jon Wallace had this to say of her performance: “Tanya had a great night. She was unbelievable tonight. She was quick, moving the ball around and competing extremely well.” Currently she is fourth on the team in kills with an impressive 129 and continues to play a big role in the Broncos’ success.