Students and faculty filled the athletic center to capacity on Friday to formally begin the upper school’s 2026-27 academic year at the annual matriculation ceremony. The Class of 2030 were applauded as they took their seats in front of the podium, with music provided by the Harker Chamber Orchestra, directed by Jaco Wong. Head of school Brian Yager stood at the podium once the attendees were all seated.
Yager reminisced about a stirring moment during his family’s annual summer trip to Montana, when they had a close encounter with a bald eagle, a species that was once endangered. The experience gave him hope for the future, he said, and led to a reflection on the idea of beauty. “I realize that there are many definitions of beauty and that our experience of it is a subjective one. I also realize that finding beauty in the world around you is likely not the primary goal with which you enter this school year or on your mind specifically today,” he said. “However, I hope that you might explore this notion in the coming year and beyond as you continue to grow and learn. Where Is beauty In your life? Where can you find it? And what unexpected places might it reside? And how can you add to the beauty of this experience?” Following Yager’s remarks, Jennifer Sandusky led Capriccio in a performance of Daniel Brimsmead’s “This Day.”
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In his address, upper division head Paul Barsky reiterated the importance of the values of accountability, respect, integrity and kindness, which he illustrated with a story he read about something people take for granted every day: the white lines on the right-hand side of the road. In the 1950s, inventor John V. N. Dorr pushed for his home state of Connecticut to add white lines to the rightward side of the road to draw drivers’ attention away from the center. When the number of accidents and fatalities sharply fell, the line became standard on roads and highways across America. “I think there’s an important lesson in the white line for all us as we begin another year,” Barsky said. “Pay attention…. Don’t become so accustomed to your environment that you stop seeing. And when you notice that something could be better, don’t simply walk past it. Care enough to do something.”
Next to speak was ASB president Sophie Zhu, who spoke on the importance of making kindness “an instinct guiding us toward attentiveness over indifference in every part of our day.” She recalled moments from her times at Harker when she felt supported, such as when a peers took extra steps to make sure she understood the points made at meetings and older classmates took the initiative to offer advice. “That’s the type of kindness I believe in, the ability to make space for someone without them needing to ask.” This kindness, she continued, is what the Campus Leadership Coalition would strive to demonstrate over the course of the school year, with efforts that will connect the students through games and other activities. She closed with reminding her fellow students that “our legacy will not be measured only by our achievements, but also by how we made others feel. Let’s lead with warmth and leave behind a community that’s more welcoming because we were a part of it.” After Zhu had concluded, the Harker Chamber Orchestra performed two selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.”
Other speakers included senior and honor council member Anirudh Subramanian, who illustrated the importance of honesty and integrity in a story about how he learned to win at a game by accepting his opponent’s coaching instead of succumbing to the temptation to cheat. “Frustration can produce this false sense of helplessness and make it seem like the only rational decision is to take shortcuts,” he said, “…but chasing that short-term victory by acting dishonestly silently forecloses the possibility of long-term gain, as it almost did for little me playing this game.”
Student Diversity Coalition officer Léa Kandl-Zhang, grade 12, explained the importance of not just showing respect but understanding that to respect people is to “recognize the humanity and inherent worth of others.” SDC, she continued, hopes to “create a space where any member of the community can feel comfortable sharing their opinions on complex issues and topics.” Fellow officer Dhanya Ramanan, grade 12, also took the podium to expand on these principles. “Sometimes respect is just treating other people’s time, effort and voice like they matter as much as yours,” she said, using as an example spending a couple of seconds to pick up a piece of trash to save someone else the time of doing so, and using the same principle in other situations. “A community isn’t built through huge gestures. It’s built in hundreds of little choices we make for each other every single day.”
Senior Nicole Dean then spoke about the tradition of the matriculation oath before leading the students and faculty in a recitation. Zhu then returned to introduce the year’s ASB officers, and students watched a video about the various facilities and resources available to them before Yager dismissed the attendees to close the ceremony.
