Aasha Abbott of Da Vinci Charter Academy in Davis says, “I love to travel and try new things. I’m very friendly and love meeting new people.”
She has been involved with the Yolo County SPCA for seven years and loves animals. She has helped with the Youth Group at her church by volunteering and cooking to help the homeless. She was also a leader of a group at school WEB (where everyone belongs) which helps the younger seventh graders make their transition to her school.
She plans to attend college and plans to become a vet or a child psychologist.
“I do not just settle for the minimum, I persevere until I know I have given my all and my best to school,” says Darian Alonso of Sonora High School. She volunteers at the La Habra Library Tutoring Program, which assists children between the grades of kindergarten to fifth grade. One of the lessons she has taken from this experience is she has learned to be patient with people.
She plans to go to college and then become a veterinarian. She hopes to intern at a good animal clinic to gain experience and eventually open up her own animal clinic and hospital. She also enjoys travel and plans to visit Argentina, Mexico, France, New York and many other places she has yet to see. She is even open to moving abroad to open her animal clinic.
“I am a hard working student that always strives to succeed,” says Kyra Gmoser-Daskalakis, a junior at Davis Senior High School. She has a stellar GPA and is challenging herself this year by taking two AP and two honors courses.
She is a news reporter for the local KDVS radio station who composes weekly news briefs about current events to be aired on the station. She is also involved in many school activities including serving as president of the Environmental Club and treasurer of the Key Club. She enjoys tap dancing and volunteering at the local Animal Shelter. Her plans are to pursue college after high school and to continue being involved in her community and helping others in the future.
“I have unique qualities that allow me to stand out from my fellow peers,” says Grace (Ho) Hwang of West Torrance High School. She is involved in many school activities, including serving as Community Service Coordinator for the Interact Club, a leader of Student Council, a writer for the yearbook, a state qualifying competitor for Speech & Debate and a leader of Amnesty International in her school.
She is also the program and events coordinator for her Youth Group, W.P.C.A. She plans to pursue a career in health and medicine and hopes to eventually travel abroad to help people in parts of the world who don’t have great health care get the best care they can get.
Alex Lee of Roseville High School studies multiple languages including: German, French and Spanish. She has taken 10 AP classes and strives to do her best in every class. She led a fundraising/supply drive for a local children’s center and co-founded a literacy/arts program for disadvantaged children in the same center.
She plans to major in international relations with a minor in art history. She hopes to get an internship with a global non-profit or a museum. After graduating from college she hopes to be accepted into the Peace Corps and travel to a country where she can learn a new language.
Victoria Luce of Hesperia High School has a true passion for helping out in her community and experiencing life to the fullest. “I believe that true leaders arise from the love and support of the community around them,” Luce says.
She is one of the few high school students who volunteers at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Witnessing some of the experiences people go through helped her develop a great deal of respect for the staff of the hospital. She is also president of the German Club at school. She plans to earn a master’s in biochemistry after high school and then become a medical researcher. Her goal is to develop new and groundbreaking medicines.
Melody Schmidt, a senior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School organized a prom dress collection for girls who couldn’t afford to buy a prom dress. She has collected more than 500 dresses and shoes to date. She has helped hundreds of girls go to the prom and also collects clothes for kids in foster care. “Other girls go to the mall, I collect prom dresses!” Schmidt says.
She has been involved with Teen Court since her freshman year and has been involved in Girl Scouts for 10 years. She would like to study psychology and then law. Her goal is to work with abused and neglected children and help them learn to stand up for their rights.
“My most distinguished qualities are my determination, and desire to learn,” says Analisa Skeen of Woodlake Union High School. She is involved in many activities including Career Day Chairperson, Mock Trial, Swimming, Academic Decathlon and Student Government. She also volunteered last summer at Sequoia National Park for four weeks. In 2010 her mock trial team was the Tulare County Champions.
She plans to get her bachelor’s degree in chemical and biological engineering. She would then like to go to law school or some other form of graduate school afterward. Her ultimate goal is to have a profession in the distribution or creation of new, green energies.
Christy Wang of American High School says her dedication helps her stand out from her peers. She has completed all levels of the Music Teachers’ Association of California’s theory and playing tests for piano and has performed in the California Convention Recital as well as the East Bay Music Festival. She has been instrumental in getting involved with her debate team, which has grown from 40 members to 150 members in one year.
In the future she hopes to major in either political science or financial economics and then go on to study corporate law. “I’d like to continue my work in creating equal opportunity for education for children everywhere. I hope to be able to travel and move frequently so that I get the opportunity to learn about various cultures and customs,” she says.
Kelsea Williams of Whitney High School says that one experience that definitely changed her life was when she signed up for broadcast journalism class. This class has influenced her to strive to become a reporter. At her school she is vice president of a club called PAK4 Dance Crew. She is also the producer for her broadcast journalism class. In that role she makes shows for her high school and a local cable station and helps to produce the morning announcements at her school.
After studying journalism in college she plans to get her name out to local news stations to begin pursuing her dream of becoming a reporter. Eventually she would like to get on a national program as a reporter.
Stephany Yong of Walnut High School is involved in many activities outside of her schoolwork in addition to being a top student with a 4.0 GPA. She is a senior writer at LA Youth, the largest independent teen newspaper in the U.S., was a Top 10 finalist for UNICEF’s J8 World Summit Contest, and has been honored twice by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
She also started Civic Bridge, an Internet community forum where students can connect with their local school district and city council. She plans to enter into the business world after college to further her interests in microeconomics to invest in young people in less-privileged parts of the world.