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Each year, as OC Family Magazine editors work through more than 100 nominees from private and public schools to create the annual Shining Students cover story, two themes merge: The nomination lists grow each year and the quality of student improves. What is a shining student? We purposely leave that answer blank when we approach the county’s high schools because there is no one answer. This is not simply a list of valedictorians any more than it is a list of sports stars. What helps us in our unscientific grading is that dreams somehow be reachable. If you are going to go to Mars, tell us why you have the skills; if you write that you will save the world, explain how you have the heart. So it is with our 7th Annual Shining Students cover story. The profiles that follow give us hope for the future. If, indeed, we’ll be moved one way or the other in the next 20-30 years by this group, that should be solace enough that we are in good hands. And they may already sense that they are part of an important dynamic: Many of them got to meet each other recently during a photo shoot at Irvine Spectrum Center. It was a meeting of equals, and high aspirations. Every year, we point out that these students all high school seniors represent a future generation that will have to try, with its own devices and ingenuity, to solve many of the world’s problems population, environment, disease, war, instability, hatred, moral questions as well as focus on the challenges of multicultural unity, political courage and religious discourse. The older generation is not leaving behind a garden of Eden; it presents few role models. Here are 20 students, in their own voices. The names may not immediately ring a bell, but they will within this Cover Story. Our Shining Students for 2005 are: | Tiffany Hicks, Fairmont Private Schools | | Eric LaMotte, Sage Hill | | Sara Rasoulian, Santa Margarita Catholic High School | | Mark Sanchez, Mission Viejo High | | Rhae Lynn Barnes, Orange County High School of the Arts| | Mallorie Croal, Mater Dei | | Paul Dolby Zaich, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School | | Elizabeth Lazzari, Cornelia Connelly School | | Briana Pero, Foothill High | | Liliana Escobedo, Century High | | Anna Bet-Lachin, University High | | Mayra Ramirez, Buena Park High | | Aja Vo, Rancho Alamitos High | | Daniel Yu, Dana Hills High | | Brandy Bandaruk, San Clemente High | | James Holcombe Tesoro High | | Jean Lee, Tesoro High | | Roni Yadlin, Woodbridge High | | Jacqueline So, Capistrano Valley High | | Irene Oberman, Los Alamitos High | EXPERIENCES INSIDE AND OUT Tiffany Hicks of Fairmont Private Schools believes she is blessed by a household that encourages “individual growth, accompanied by collective purpose.” She finds that growing up in a biracial household, with an African-American father and white mother, is a definition of who she is. Athletic and giving, the senior has served as president of the Anaheim campus’s Red Cross Club, played varsity soccer for the past three seasons, and played on the varsity tennis team this past season. She has trained for her first half-marathon this year and volunteers at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. She writes: “The knowledge I have gained in high school has been of great use, but it is not nearly as invaluable as the concepts I was taught through experiences outside the classroom.” BOX INFORMATION Tiffany Hicks, 17, of Villa Park Fairmont Private Schools, Anaheim She was accepted to Stanford University last December and has already, in the form of an essay, written a note to her future college roommate, whoever that may be. She writes of a congenital defect that prevented her left hand from fully developing, but notes: “I have never considered myself disabled, but by definition, I am…It is a surprise for many, but my hand is something that, far from being a physical impairment, has become one of the most central aspects of my identity, not because I have allowed it to define me, but rather because I have, in responding to the obstacles that arise, learned to define myself.” Academically, she was named a National Merit Scholar and a National Achievement Scholarship Finalist, among other honors. A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO AN “A” Eric LaMotte of Sage Hill School in Newport Beach is the first one to chuckle at his personal drive. He gets to school by 7:15 a.m., long before the first bell, and sees a trend between his striving for excellence and his ability to step off the gas pedal. “Like Sage Hill,” he writes, “I am a paradox: I take my studies very seriously, but I have the perspective to never take MYSELF too seriously.” He understands his eccentricities as well as the “fine line (between) being ‘energetic’ (and) ‘annoying.’” He remembers arriving at student orientation as a “short, scrawny, nervous geek who didn’t know a soul,” and now sees himself as a “taller, less scrawny, less nervous geek who knows half the school and doesn’t fret about their judgments.” Perhaps it is most instructive to reflect on his take about school. He skips through hallways en route to near-perfect grades “because I want others to see that they, too, can let themselves be free at school, and I know that this freedom is a truly remarkable thing BOX INFORMATION Eric LaMotte, 18, of Huntington Beach Sage Hill School, Newport Coast He has the private school’s highest grade point average and, according to his senior-class adviser, “has devoured our curriculum with curiosity, passion and sophistication…He’s a young man that brings it ALL to the table.” One of his strengths is coming up with ideas, and this includes founding the campus’s Honor Committee. He will attend Wesleyan this fall. AROUND THE WORLD IN 17 YEARS Sara Rasoulian of Santa Margarita Catholic High School has been there, done that. Born in Iran and an immigrant from Canada, she has excelled here in the states and hopes to turn her passion for art into a lifelong pursuit. As a 12-year-old struggling to fit into an American way of life, she writes: “The frustration motivated me to work harder, and be a more active participant in class. My ability to overcome cultural and social roadblocks gives me the assurance that I can make it anywhere.” She didn’t let the language barrier hold her back and, as a result of hard work, has taken both honors and Advanced Placement courses. “I am grateful for the opportunity to live in a country where my success is limited only by my will to achieve it.” BOX INFORMATION Sara Rasoulian, 18, of Newport Coast Santa Margarita Catholic High School She has been around the world, and not as a summer traveler. She and her family moved from Iran to Canada when Sara was in sixth grade. After finishing eighth grade, the family moved to the United States; she has attended six schools in three countries, but has overcome those obstacles with a sterling academic record and a flair for art. She is a volunteer at Paragon Garden, a senior center. A QUARTERBACK EXTRAORDINAIRE Mission Viejo High School’s remarkable football team probably the nation’s best this past season won the CIF-Southern Section Division II football championship game, 49-21, against Valencia this past December. Quarterback Mark Sanchez, one of the nation’s most sought-after seniors, was at the helm. Earlier in the year, he had committed to play college football at USC, where the current returning starter, Matt Leinert, won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best player. The Trojans, national champions, are a team that draws some of the best prep stars found anywhere. One of them is Sanchez, who has attended several Trojan spring workouts, standing near the huddle, getting a sense of place. He has won several honors CIF-Southern Section quarterback of the year, the Gatorade California Football Player of the Year as well as the top selection for the Orange County Register’s Fab 15 team that recognizes the best prospects in the western United States. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder with the golden arm has a long way to go, and much to prove, before his high school credentials become a benefit at USC. But he is the best thing Orange County has seen in this leadership position since Carson Palmer reigned at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. And Palmer now is a starting quarterback in the NFL. BOX INFORMATION Mark Sanchez, 18, of Mission Viejo Mission Viejo High School USC’s football team has been on the minds of everyone who has followed college football in the past two years. They are two-time repeat national champions. Rarely do preseason news reports about the team’s future exclude this senior high schooler’s name. It happened, for instance, in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, as the magazine reported on the wealth of talent at quarterback. That is Sanchez’s position. And while he is expected to redshirt his freshman year, he is a name that may become part of college football lore when his number is called in a few years. HOPING TO “CHANGE THE WORLD IN A POSITIVE WAY” Rhae Lynn Barnes of the Orange County High School of the Arts is clearly impressed that her mother carried her to term while mom was obtaining an English degree. It is the anecdote this senior chose to begin an essay about herself. Her family’s hours and hours at the local library paid off as Rhae was accepted into her charter school’s Creative Writing Conservatory. “My decision was no surprise to my supportive family who endures years of vacationing with my nose in a book,” she writes. She has taken up screenwriting, composing song lyrics, poetry and essays while following her aspiration “to be the Dorothy Parker of the 21st century…I studied writing for four years, slaving over syntax, grappling with grammar, and trying to preserve the inspiration inside of me to keep pushing towards my ultimate goal of being a politically motivated author who provokes thought on both a personal and international level.” There has been at least one setback. A car accident a year ago left Rhae with a concussion and memory loss. This senior year, though, she has achieved her highest gpa to date, 4.67, and, very importantly, regained her ability to write. She has been accepted into the Knowledge and Social Responsibility summer program through UC Irvine’s Social Sciences department and is enrolled in Chapman University’s International Relations program. BOX INFORMATION Rhae Lynn Barnes, 18, of Anaheim Orange County High School of the Arts She is considered a leader among leaders at the county’s most prestigious public charter school. For example, she is co-founder of the Students for Political Action club, which examines the challenges in today’s world; vice president of the Interdepartmental Delegation group that promotes arts in the local community; editor of the school newspaper, Inkblot, as well as the school’s literary magazine; and an active member of the Students Understanding Diversity club. Her volunteer work includes the Women’s Action for New Directions and Women in the Legislation Lobby; she tutors younger girls at an after-school YMCA program. A PAINFUL LOSS Mater Dei High School’s volleyball team turned to Mallorie Croal when she lost a very close friend and teammate, Andi Collins, to cancer last year. It helped that she already was the student body’s commissioner of campus ministry, as she needed her faith to help cope with the loss. She writes: “I’ll never forget the way she looked the day I said goodbye. With her bald head and swollen shut eyes, she was beautiful. Holding back the tears, I told her I loved her and that I would see her again someday…It engraved in my heart Nelson Mandela’s belief that ‘courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.’” Mallorie considers her strengths to be dedication and commitment. Her plan to become a doctor is rooted in her interest in biology, anatomy “and just human life in general.” BOX INFORMATION Mallorie Croal, 17, of Villa Park Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana She has maintained a 4.0 gpa since her sophomore year, enrolled in honors and Advanced Placement courses, while starring on the volleyball team for the past four years, where the 6-foot-1 senior was a CIF-Southern Section most valuable player. However, the school reports, it is her integrity, grace and character that make this senior stand out. She has earned an athletic scholarship to Notre Dame, where she will compete in volleyball and study pre-med. She has given time to the Mater Dei Special Olympics, St. Francis home, and Casa Teresa. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_c_0605.html - top THE SWIMMER Paul Dolby Zaich of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School trains nearly 24 hours each week in a pool. But that is only part of the senior’s regimen. There is school, piano, astronomy and rocketry. So it took some juggling in one instance to swim at a national-level meet in Santa Clara his event is the 200-meter breaststroke the same weekend as his school’s Team America Rocketry Challenge in Virginia. He made them both. “I have always been proud to say that I am successful in more than one activity,” he writes, “whether it is in school, swimming, astronomy, rocketry or community service. I think that this is a characteristic that makes me unique.” As his school reports: “We admire his maturity and gentleness and will miss his kind presence when he leaves.” BOX INFORMATION Paul Dolby Zaich, 18, of Irvine St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano While homeschooled until the seventh grade, he learned to excel at his own pace and develop a love of learning. He became a critical independent thinker. With roots in Armenia, Turkey, Croatia, Germany and Norway, he and his family have comfortably reached across cultures, being involved for years now at World Impact’s Watts Christian School in Los Angeles. He is at the top of his class academically, followed his interest in astronomy and astrophysics by co-founding the campus Rocketry Club, and is an avid swimmer, with the nickname “Aqua god.” He will attend Stanford this fall. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_c_0605.html - top A LEADER HEADED TO WEST POINT Little wonder that Elizabeth Lazzari has titled her college essay, “Why Army?” The Cornelia Connelly School senior is going to West Point. Humbly, she notes, “I am simply an average middle-class American citizen. Regardless of what I do not have, I do have outstanding leadership ability. I am motivated, driven, and determined…” She hopes to use the rigor and direction of West Point to become a future congresswoman or senator. “I want to be a voice for the average American,” she writes. “A leader people can respect and feel confidence in.” It is instructive how she turns a phrase onto itself: “While ‘Leadership in War’ is a very real part of the West Point experience, of equal and more long-lasting effect is ‘Leadership in Peace,’ where I hope to make a greater contribution.” BOX INFORMATION Elizabeth Lazzari, 18, of Seal Beach Cornelia Connelly High School, Anaheim She is going to West Point, one of the nation’s military academies, a school that only takes in the best and the brightest, the leaders of classes and the future leaders of the country. The senior has challenged herself with honors and Advanced Placement courses, holds a 4.11 gpa, and is a member of the National Honor Society. The campus’s student body vice president is a standout volleyball player and a member of the Disney Volunteers, a community service program. A ‘MIGHTY MITE’ Even the casual observer of girls’ sports can see that height and weight are now the name of the high school game. So it is extraordinary that Briana Pero of Foothill High School in North Tustin is a starter, at 4-feet-11, on the water polo team. Foothill has won the CIF-Southern Section Division I title three of the last four seasons. Her nickname? “Mighty Mite.” “The inequality of opportunities for those who do not fit the social norm is an issue that I have been aware of from a young age,” she writes. “I am not discouraged when faced with these odds and instead am eager to confront them.” She tells the story of her first attempt in the pool, and with humor explains how she thought that the rule to swim “a hundred” in under two minutes to make a team meant 100 laps. It actually meant four, “but they remain the longest in my life.” This past season, she was team co-captain. “I strongly believe that if one believes in herself, has determination and support from others, she can surmount any restrictions placed her by society.” BOX INFORMATION Briana Pero, 18, of Tustin Foothill High School, Tustin There is nothing easy about the senior’s class schedule: physics, civics, Spanish 5, statistics, and English literature/composition. Then again, why would it be? Briana takes honors and Advanced Placement courses because it is part of her priorities, which include church, family and friends. As a member of the high school’s famous water polo team, she understands what it takes to win. She has a 4.15 gpa and has earned AP honors in European history, U.S. history, calculus and biology. She has been a member of the California Scholarship Federation since freshman year and helped found a campus debate club, Modern Opinions of Tomorrow. This school year, she was on the board of the Linking Education and Diversity club to help unite students from different ethnic backgrounds with a goal to tutor underprivileged children. KNOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL Liliana Escobedo of Century High School in Santa Ana has never shirked from a challenge, from participation in a Saturday Math Academy the subject is not her forte to a gathering of students in a Model United Nations program, in which she served as assistant secretary general. “My friends and I have a joke, that we have no home we live at school,” she writes. “From my first days of timidly wandering the halls, my schedule clutched tightly in my hand, to my now-confident strides into familiar classrooms, I see how much high school has changed me…To say I was meek in the ninth grade would be an understatement.” Yet, as little time as she can devote to home life, she knows her priorities: “I hear my mother’s voice, telling me to go to bed. I remember my father, urging me to do my best. I see my sisters, smiling proudly at all my achievements.” Both of her parents are disabled, but she is ready to carry the burden of making it through college. “I rise with firm step, confidence as my guide. I know I have learned much; I know I have much to learn. I know I will succeed.” BOX INFORMATION Liliana Escobedo, 18, of Santa Ana Century High School, Santa Ana She had dreams of attending Stanford University and will settle for UC Berkeley, which is about as good as it gets. She plans to major in either history or politics, with hopes of becoming an attorney. As a member of the school’s Mock Trial team, which gets to present a real case in front of a real judge, Liliana has received a taste of the legal world. She has been assistant secretary of the Model United Nations and a four-year member of the Academic Decathlon Team. “My future is not set in stone,” she muses, “but I know where I want to go and what I need to do to get there.” http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_d_0605.html - top POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE Anna Bet-Lachin of University High in Irvine expects to major in philosophy, in part, her counselor suggests, “because it makes her think.” Philosophical is how her college essay reads, as she talks about a world of “black and white” turning into “a brilliant Technicolor” when she took an Advanced Placement U.S. history class. She remembers that the teacher prompted the students to react in debates and in papers. “What mattered, Mr. Kessler told us, was that we were affected.” It is a lesson Anna seems to have grasped since that sophomore year class. What she wants from a university is similar to her need to touch a piece of art: “hands-on participation. I want to work in a lab if I am a scientist, to visit the sites if I am an archeologist, to study abroad if I am a student of languages.” BOX INFORMATION Anna Bet-Lachin, 18, of Irvine University High School, Irvine Truly exceptional” is how a counselor defines this senior. Her well-roundedness allows her to converse about virtually every subject as she finds interest in politics, literature and the arts. She holds a 4.5 gpa and is a National Merit Finalist and Presidential Scholar Nominee. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_d_0605.html - top DAUGHTER OF A SINGLE PARENT Mayra Ramirez considers her mother as her first teacher. “I was brought up in a single-parent household,” she writes. “Hardships were as common as sunny days in California. On top of that, my mother did not speak any English and was constantly working in low-wage jobs. Sometimes the money was not enough to keep the roof over our heads and we moved up and down the so-called ‘barrio.’ Living this for now close to 18 years has made me the ambitious and hardworking person that I am.” The observant senior notes that whether she and her mother moved, the educated people “always seemed to have the upper hand. From a young age, I saw that education was the way to gain the freedom so many wish to achieve.” Her struggles, she says, have pinpointed the importance of education. They have made college a dream come true. BOX INFORMATION Mayra Ramirez, 18, of Buena Park Buena Park High School She asked the question of a counselor at the beginning, as a 14-year-old freshman: “How do I find out about scholarships and which schools are good for becoming a lawyer?” Mayra has been persistent from the get-go, exploring college opportunities through the Early Academic Outreach Program, being a tutor, and serving on the Principal’s Advisory Board. She is a member of the California Scholarship Federation and National Honor Society. She plans to have her own law firm and organize a charitable organization. She will attend Columbia University this fall. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_d_0605.html - top FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP The early life of Aja Vo of Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove is not a pretty picture, but one she hopes will be instructive as college admittance people read her essay. It is about an event that changed her life’s focus, a New Year’s Eve where, at age 14, she “drank myself into a stupor and passed out.” It was, she writes, “a life of a child with no real goals, no future…In that moment, I realized I had become a person I hated.” She sought redemption through “good deeds and better grades.” She knew, as she reached high school, that she had intelligence, but her past didn’t allow anyone else to see the potential. “I had to beg my high school counselor to allow me a chance to prove myself in honors courses, but the great thing about high school was that it was a new slate.” As a senior, Aja took four Advanced Placement courses. “College is next, and I can’t wait.” BOX INFORMATION Aja Vo, 18, of Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos High School, Garden Grove Aja Vo reached high school with a new goal in mind to be admitted into the upper echelon of the academic world at her high school. It was a goal that was achievable, but one she had not considered earlier in life. Taking honors and Advanced Placement courses, she became junior class president, California Scholarship Federation vice president, and a student journalist. She holds a better than 4.0 gpa and, she says, “a pretty great life.” A VERY PERSONAL STATEMENT Daniel Yu of Dana Hills High believes a picture is worth a thousand words, and so he included one of an adorable baby with a cleft lip when he sent his essay off to Stanford. The baby? Himself. “Although my birth defect is a small part of who I am,” he writes, “it has forged the person I am today, has taught me about life, and has inspired me to make an impact on the world…I could not control how I was born but I can control what I did.” More corrective surgery is in the senior’s future, but no matter. He sees the opportunity knocking as college arrives. “This (baby) picture captures a single moment but represents what I could have been, what I am now, and what I can be.” BOX INFORMATION Daniel Yu, 18, of Laguna Niguel Dana Hills High School, Dana Point He is ranked among the very top of his senior class, and that is a reflection of his family’s ethic. With two older brothers and attentive parents, dinnertime has long been a place of discussion, from current events to politics, from business to moral/ethical issues, his counselor reports. One of his strengths is the ability to think outside the box. THE COMPLETE STUDENT Brandy Bandaruk of San Clemente High is a scholar athlete in every sense of the word. A top student and International Baccaleaurate diploma holder, she has a long list of accomplishments from student of the month awards to a member of the California Scholarship Federation to a varsity swimmer. She was president of the school’s National Honor Society. The daughter of a longtime teacher, the campus was a familiar one when she enrolled as a student. Now she owns a piece of distinction through her own successes. “With the awesome experiences I had had, I am scared to leave a place in which I feel safe a place in which I feel at home,” she writes. “However, throughout high school, I have gained confidence and I am ready to go out and share my experiences with the world.” BOX INFORMATION Brandy Bandaruk, 18, of San Clemente San Clemente High School She is ranked third in her senior class, is an acknowledged student body leader, and part of the International Baccalaureate program at the high school. Moreover, she is a mentor to freshmen and helps the assistant principal in a program to provide services to struggling families and those building four-year plans. “Upon graduation,” a school official says, “she will be remembered as one of the finest students to have walked our halls.” http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_e_0605.html - top THE READER James Holcombe’s early memories include curling up in a chair and holding a book. The Tesoro High School senior has been reading since age 3 or 4. “I never tire of diving into a world with no boundaries or rules, a world with hidden castles behind every corner and monsters waiting to be battled at every turn,” he writes. He really enjoyed being called to the front of the class to read to other students. At the time, he was a kindergartener. He has been able to match his passion with his giving. He founded the Best Buddies Read Aloud Program for the pediatric ward at UCI Medical Center’s Chao Family Cancer Center. He showed up loaded down with favorite books. While he duly notes that he has followed the academic path of his straight-A fellow students, he sees this “as a springboard for what I truly feel is important: community service.” He also is involved with the campus Ignite Mentoring Programs, helping out freshmen, and volunteers at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where he supervises a playroom. BOX INFORMATION James Holcombe, 18, of Coto de Caza Tesoro High School, Las Flores He is a reader, a voracious reader. But nothing has affected him more than a first reading of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” He understood the connection between hope and friendship. The lesson has spurred him on in both his high school pursuits as well as in giving back to his community. TURNING INJUSTICE INTO JUSTICE Jean Lee of Tesoro High remembers looking at a picture of her great-grandfather at a moment of terror in Korea more than 70 years ago. She didn’t know how to react. She writes, “Today, too many Americans view global injustice just as I viewed by great-grandfather. They feel nothing.” She worries about fleeting newscasts of women and children being slaughtered, and yet feels the irony of the overriding coverage of less-important things like the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. “Injustice tests the soul of America,” Jean suggests. “I want to dedicate my life to the fight against injustice by pursing a career with the United Nations.” BOX INFORMATION Jean Lee, 18, of Ladera Ranch Tesoro High School, Las Flores She has been busy on campus since she arrived, serving as editor of the student newspaper and founding Tesoro’s French Honors Society. She was elected president of the campus Rotary Interact Service Club and a member of the school’s first Associated Student Body Council. Off-campus, she has taken other students to Guatemala to work as missionaries at an orphanage, leading Bible study lessons and teaching English and math. And there is more. She has been president and secretary general of the campus Model United Nations and led a blanket drive for women and children persecuted in Sudan. As a senior, she was named “Miss Teen Capistrano Valley” and wants to take earnings from her piano teaching to start a music program in Santa Ana for students who can’t otherwise afford music lessons. She plans to work as a lawyer for the United Nations’ International Justice Mission. A LESSON FROM SPACE Roni Yadlin of Woodbridge High School in Irvine remembers watching the space shuttle Columbia blast off from Kennedy Space Center. She and her father were there to witness history as a close friend, Israel’s Ilan Ramon, was on board. The shuttle never made it back. “Because of Ilan’s life, I better understand self-sacrifice,” she writes. “The crew of the Columbia has also taught me the benefits and rewards that come from diversity and tolerance of others. This crew was made up of three American men, one American woman, an African-American man, an Indian woman, and an Israeli man…If these men and women were able to accomplish what they did despite their differences, no boundary can ever prevent me from accomplishing my goals as well.” BOX INFORMATION Roni Yadlin, 17, of Irvine Woodbridge High School, Irvine She has a gpa and SAT scores that are off the chart and a killer soccer pedigree, including making second team, All-Sea View League. The National Merit semifinalist has committed to the Air Force Academy. She could run there, having finished 18th in the CIF state cross country meet this past season. She is a member of the Orange County Human Relations Associates program. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_f_0605.html - top OUT OF THE KILLING FIELDS Jacqueline So’s father lost a sister to the killing fields of Cambodia. The Capistrano Valley High School senior understands her father’s sense of thankfulness for second chances and for education. These values have rubbed off on his daughter. “My dad understood that hard work in America would be valued and rewarded, and that is why I harbor so much respect for him,” she writes. “I could never take advantage of everything my dad had to struggle for on his own. He came here not knowing the language and I grew up speaking it. I vowed to my dad that I would always succeed and that I would work hard to get there, because he did not work hard for nothing.” BOX INFORMATION Jacqueline So, 18, of Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley High School, Mission Viejo A counselor reports that Jacqueline “was born to make an impact on the world; (she) is one of the most memorable, positive, optimistic, determined, preserving, motivational, inspirational, spirited, hard-working, active, lovable, modest and friendly people anyone will ever meet.” It may be a number, however, that really explains this senior’s drive. It is 3,000, the number of community service hours she has devoted over her short lifetime for school, community and the state. She is a student senior class vice president and is active in a total of 14 clubs on campus. She was homecoming queen and voted Senior Class Most Spirited. She plans to study pre-med and business in college. http://www.ocfamily.com/archives/ocfamily_2005/ocfamily0605/cover_f_0605.html - top DEDICATED TO A CURE Irene Oberman would like to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease, because it is her way to dedicating herself to her father, afflicted since 2000. For a young student who could be anything she wants, doing the research may be where she very well ends up. “My father’s disease has really impacted the way I look at life,” writes the Los Alamitos High School senior. “I really admire him as a person and sometimes when I reflect on the fact that he may never get to see me get married or graduate college, I begin to cry.” She is a first-generation American (he father is Russian, her mother Japanese) as well as the first in her family to attend college. “I am not daunted in the face of adversity. I am still a happy, normal teenager who has achieved tremendous success in academics, athletics, and social life, and I intend to keep it that way.” BOX INFORMATION Irene Oberman, 18, of Seal Beach Los Alamitos High School Her counselor’s ears perked up because she kept hearing Irene’s name called on campus for student of the year, for art, for computer class, for biology, for French. But the calls to attention didn’t come from Irene. Her modesty is a trait, and her academic excellence is, as well. She had dreamed of being enrolled in an Ivy League school, and some would argue that she’s done even better than that. She has been accepted to Stanford. END |
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