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Ninth annual shining students

20 profiles of Orange County's best & brightest.

By Craig ReemPublished: June, 2007

Each year, OC Family Magazine editors work through more than 100 high school senior nominees from Orange County's public and private campuses to choose 20 students who particularly stand out. That is no easy chore. Virtually the entire nominee list is ideal. Yet, there is a trait found in the finalists, of people who seem best suited to make a difference. Here is that list, including their own words from personal statements and college application essays. The cumulative result is a snapshot of teens, ready to become young adults, full of vision, already shaped by life experience, and fully capable of changing the world. Our criteria each year: If these selections made up the UN's future Security Council, would there be less strife in the world, new ideas, renewed energy, and more innovation that benefits everyone? We came up with an answer: Yes.

The following profiles were compiled using the students' own words from their college application essays.

Adrienne Baker
St. Margaret's Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano
Adrienne remembers the day her track coach asked her to run a leg of the relay team. She dreaded sprinting, and this time was no different. She broke down crying. But she prevailed, and the team took second place.

"From that race on, my nerves cooled, my confidence built up, and I chose to take every challenge head on, constantly displaying my best effort," she writes.

Amazing what one event can do to change a person's outlook. Now, Adrienne knows this: "My thirst of knowledge is comparable to my sweet tooth; it is never satisfied."

Adrienne has been student body president and a CIF finalist in track and field as well as with the soccer team. She attended Oxford University on a study-abroad mission, examining architecture and creative writing. Last summer, as a volunteer, she taught low-income, middle-school students. "What attracted me to this program (called Breakthrough Collaborative) was the possibility of inspiring awe and wonder in young people.

"A community of people is something I truly value."

While school is considered her second home, she knows that the embrace of family ranks first. That kind of support will be a good starting point.

Alan Priester
La Quinta High School, Westminster
Alan arranges his 4.32 gpa around running, weight lifting, computer graphics, reading, being a filmmaker and club activities. His nomination paper refers to a young man seeking a productive future and looking to contribute in a bigger way.

If only he could combine his interest in science with a best-selling book. Why? "Science makes modern life possible, but the arts make it worth living." His goals include reinventing prosthetic limbs to improving genetically engineered plants. That's quite a range of interests from a young student destined to make whatever he does stick.

"I have always been a runner at heart," he writes. A knee injury hampered his senior season, and the runner who could always run, now barely could help the team.

"Over the years I have learned a lot from cross country - the value of hard work, the meaning of sacrifice, the importance of teamwork - but never did I learn more than during my senior year. Sometimes life isn't fair, and sometimes it takes, indifferently and arbitrarily, what was once taken for granted."

Alan writes that he wouldn't change a thing. Looking as his success to date, why would he?

Amer Handan
Trabuco Hills High School, Mission Viejo
Amer is going to Stanford, and that possibility may have first taken form when his older brother enrolled at Trabuco Hills High School in January 2000. The family had just arrived from Germany, longtime refugees after fleeing Bosnia in 1992. Amer, when he entered the school three years after his brother, was ready for the challenge. English was his third language, but he immediately qualified for honors classes.

He founded the campus's Young Democrats Club and joined the Model United Nations competition, the latter of which he may have more insight than most students. He particularly enjoys TV/Film Production coursework.

"I became a war refugee at the age of 4," he writes, "and was able to escape Bosnia with my mother and brother." It took years before his father, at one point held by Serb forces, could join the family in Germany. "I cannot forget the day he picked me up from school with my mother beside him...I now understand the full impact of how close I was to losing him."

Amer says the family continues to speak Bosnian at home. And he remembers the obliteration of the former Yugoslavia. That disaster has framed his mind. "My belief in the ability for humankind to live in harmony is as strong as my commitment to the ideals of this nation."

Claire Stanley
Mission Viejo High School
If you have a 9-year-old child, you understand that life has just begun. The rose is just starting to open. It was at this age that Claire awoke to find that the majority of her vision was gone. She had a brain tumor. She was left with little vision.

"Since that time, I have had to fight for even the basic necessities in school," she writes.

And a fighter she has become. For instance, few of the AP textbooks are available in Braille.

As she notes, 80% of all information comes visually. By high school, the vision-impair faced a particularly difficult road. She wanted to work side by side with her sighted classmates. "I have had to put in double the energy, and double the time, to complete the assignments."

Claire has come to realize that perceptions are not from her, but about people like herself. "The largest obstacle for an individual with a disability is not the disability itself, but the doubts of society, and the lack of accessibility that arises from such a belief."

So, here for the public record are her goals - major in political science, earn a law degree, and work in Washington, D.C., perhaps in politics.

Christina Zhu
University High School, Irvine
For Christina, academic excellence has been a natural ("I have found her to be an honest, respectful student with exceptional academic skills," one teacher writes). But not so in leadership. In that arena, she has worked exceedingly hard. When she and 28 classmates traveled to Belize to learn about Central America and its jungles, reefs and Mayan culture, Christina was front and center. ("She has a zeal for life that is genuine and infectious.") That sentence from a teacher is an impactful definition of a young woman's maturity.

"Moving from China to the U.S., as my mother told me, meant that I arrived as a bumbling toddler spewing Chinese nursery rhymes and within a month, recited Dr. Seuss to anyone who would listen," Christina writes. "Adaptation has always come naturally to me."

The perceptive senior writes of another student who has inspired her and reminds her: "Let's slow down and enjoy the walk."

"Adaptation wasn't her goal," Christina writes reflectively, "it was her life."

Today, as a team captain and president of Science Club, Christina reflects on her freshman year, when she sat in the back of the class. "I was intimidated."

No more. "I pushed myself to take risks and make my voice heard."

Juan Vargas
San Clemente High School
For many immigrant children, coming to America as only a Spanish speaker is no longer unusual. But Juan quickly adapted, winning a medal in second grade for mastering English. Today, he is among the top 1% of his senior class academically.

Having qualified for an International Baccalaureate diploma, he plans to attend UCLA and major in civil engineering. In the time left at high school, he is offering free tutoring in the IB classroom every morning, keenly aware that others have helped him succeed.

Juan's home life is helped along from the financial assistance of a brother and the support of a single mother. "I have faced numerous barriers that I have had to overcome," he writes. "However, I have not let the limitations that arise from these problems discourage me from doing well academically."

Due to his family's low-income level - his mother is limited by her diabetes - there will be more challenges as college expenses pile up. The easier road would be to work now. "I know that, due to my personal circumstances, my only avenue for success is through my education." So, to college he will go.

Beyang Liu
Northwood High School, Irvine
On a campus that still feels freshly new, Beyang stands out. He is considered by staff to be one of the most academically gifted students they have taught. He also is taking math coursework at Irvine Valley College. No wonder that last year he earned the Exemplary Mathematical Achievement award from the state Department of Education and the California Math Council.

Academically, he ranks in the top 2% of his class.

The gifted violinist also contributed to a book, "AP U.S. History Preparation," designed to help students.

Beyang writes: "Childhood is filled with stories of cunning foxes and lazy grasshoppers." It is the word he learned from a teacher, "metacognition," that caught his attention. It means, "thinking about your thinking."

And he learned that in third grade. He has written that word in every notebook over the course of nine years. "For me, it has come to be synonymous with ingenuity, exploration and discovery."

Using the word as a prompt inside a classroom at Irvine Valley College, Beyang does this: "I look at the problem on the board again, but now I no longer see a fearsome mess of confusion. I see an opportunity..."

Katelyn Koh
Tesoro High School, Las Flores
Katelyn is ranked first academically in her class. And her bio page reads like the template for the well-rounded student: academic excellence, extracurricular activities; proficient in three languages.

But perhaps the wisest of her mentors is her grandmother, who teaches how to make kimchi, a Korean vegetable dish. Katelyn writes how that dish is both the stereotype of Koreans - "a few predictable ingredients: immaculate grades, honors courses, some type of talent in a musical instrument...and math skills that cannot be beat." But as she learns from the lessons of her grandmother, there are "slight nuances" to the making of the dish. In fact, each batch is different.

"All my life, I have rejected my stereotype," Katelyn writes. "Yet through simple kimchi lessons in my grandma's kitchen, I have grown to embrace this mold which has shaped my identity."

She realizes that she is no "generic recipe," but rather a unique person shaped by her own experience. "Deep down, I am spicy pickled cabbage." And that sets her apart.

Morgan Leighton
Fairmont Private Schools Preparatory Academy, Anaheim
Morgan did not take the usual internship. During her sophomore and junior years, she interned at USC's world-renowned Doheny Eye Institute. The work so impressed her adult colleagues that she was asked to join the research team as a high school student. Among the institute's efforts: to create a miniature digital camera to be implanted in the human eye to replace photoreceptors in the retina.

This is the kind of focus that many of this year's 20 Shining Students embrace. Not surprisingly, Morgan is going to USC and we can only guess which department she will quickly walk toward. She is ready to graduate from Fairmont's Medical Magnet program that requires students to complete the highest level of AP/IB (International Baccalaureate) science and math courses.

The captain of the girls soccer team writes: "I have learned more than I hoped or expected to from this project about the human eye...More than all of this, however, I will remember the day that I was lucky enough to eat lunch with Terry."

Terry is a blind man who will undergo an experimental operation as part of USC's ongoing project.

Imagine, this teen may be, in a small way, helping find a way for a blind person to see.

Melissa Bell
Capistrano Valley High School, Mission Viejo
Earlier this school year, Melissa was peering into an Orange County Register camera as part of the newspaper's Student of the Week feature. It began: "Capistrano Valley High recently won a countywide award for school sportsmanship, and few student-athletes demonstrate those ideals as much as Melissa Bell."

"I have treated high school as an opportunity to take part in the things I am passionate about as well as to give back to the community," Melissa writes. "I have balanced a schedule of academics, athletics, music and community service." In terms of leadership, she has been president of the California Scholarship Federation and is current president of the school's chapter of the National Honor Society. One of her charitable organizations is the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" event, of which she serves on a youth advisory board.

From that event, she has met an individual who inspires her - ultra-marathoner Bill Ramsey. "He has challenged me to seek to utilize my personal talents and passions to contribute to my community and to serve a cause."

Melissa admits that she remains a work in progress, but that she will accomplish whatever goals emerge.

Tal Shprecher
Brea Olinda High School
At a campus renowned for many things, including athletic prowess, Tal stands out as one of the school's leaders. He does this through enormous academic achievement as well as volunteer efforts such as the Peer Tutoring program he helps make successful along with his sister.

He also has a sense of humor. Writing about his dizzying first day at a Pizza Hut, he asked himself, "Why is this so difficult for me? Recalling my boss's disbelief when I answered his routine question about my gpa, I felt embarrassed that I could handle differentiable equations but not two-for-one coupons."

Tal believes one of his achievements is his can-do attitude. When his mother couldn't afford a computer science course, Tal bought the 600-page programming book and taught himself. "It became my passion and I took every conceivable programming class in and out of school."

He plans to major in electrical engineering and computer science in college. And we suspect that he has figured out the multitasking needed to work at a Pizza Hut.

Lori Herbold
Rosary High School, Fullerton
Been a busy year for Lori. If for nothing else, she earned the Girl Scout Gold Award during the school year - the equivalent to the boys' Eagle Scout award. Her project: to collect hygiene kits for the less fortunate. When the job was done, she had enough shampoo, soap, toothpaste and other goods for 700 individual kits.

The budding broadcast journalist and writer has turned this passion for Girl Scouts into a mantra for life. "I run camps for younger girls, knit scarves for cancer patients, work cancer walks and run a career day for junior high students."

That may be a matter-of-fact statement, but the imprint goes deeper. She writes: "Doing all these different service projects has given me the chance to look at the world in a different way. Even though I'm only one person, I have noticed that my service has touched the lives of many different people."

Next stop is Cal State Fullerton, where Lori plans to major in broadcast journalism. She will remain involved with the Girls Scouts for the foreseeable future.

"I have not only learned to become a leader, but I have learned to thrive in everything that I do."

Melannie Levine
Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School, Irvine
The school homepage's words could very well be the inspiration of the drive found in Melannie: "Tarbut V'Torah strives to instill in our students a strong sense of Jewish values, ethics, and identity."

The Hebrew tutor describes herself as "The Chronic Flipper." And, yes, think along the lines of the famous dolphin. She is a longtime swimmer, but will always be an avid reader. This is why she considers herself a "world and time traveler."

"Although I was afraid with Anne Frank during the Holocaust, I shared happiness with Claire Randall ("Dragonfly in Amber") when she saw her second husband...again."

Among Melannie's busy life has been a community project to collect 10,000 books to be donated to places such as Children's Hospital of Orange County and the Veteran's Hospital of Long Beach. "I am hoping that my small contribution can help others take flight and see what I have seen through the pages of words," she writes.

She says that books transport her "into anytime and anyplace." It is her wish that others will be able to share the adventures she has only begun to find, in words and in deeds.

Tyler Brady
Mater Dei, Santa Ana
Tyler has done so much in such a short amount of time that perhaps just to list some of the highlights will give a sense of the young man: baseball team captain, campus ministry, Dodge Ball Club, altar server at St. John Vianney on Balboa Island. He hopes to take his baseball talents onto a college field ("I plan to continue playing as long as I can"), and no doubt, he will find his strike zone in life.

And, he loves to surf.

"My greatest asset is my determination and attitude," he writes. "I let nothing stop me and I try to do the best at everything I do." It is a statement that defines who he is.

Tyler will not be the school's valedictorian ("I am in the middle of my classmates, but I am also working hard, striving to get better"), but he may be the class's inspiration.

Incidentally, like a professional baseball player he once met, former Angel pitcher Jim Abbott, Tyler was born with one full arm, and one partial one.

Natalie Chung
Canyon High School, Anaheim Hills
Natalie takes it all at high school, AP and International Baccalaureate coursework, as well as Spanish and French. She has studied dance for six years and performs at community art centers. She has been a part of student council for two years. She volunteers at Kaiser Permanente.

Natalie is the quintessential Shining Student, striving to better herself and the world around her. An achiever.

She recalls the terror she felt in her first ballet class, and how older sister Ashley was there for her. Now, Ashley is away at college and Natalie is soon to follow. The two-year separation has been hard, but the younger sister has blossomed.

"Ashley's absence has made me realize that nobody can succeed solely on one's own, and have come to understand the value of teamwork; that it is through trust and mutualism that one can excel in this competitive world. I have also learned that it is only through conviction, self-motivation, and faith in oneself that one will ultimately succeed."

Kim Tran
Tustin High School
Kim wants to major in chemistry because of the promise of developing new medicine. It is really as simple as that. As she writes: "When I was 5, my younger brother passed away. What could have been easily cured by a few antibiotics caused his death because of a lack of appropriate medicine."

There is no replacing a brother. But there is this drive in his surviving sister, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, to make a difference.

"My goal in life is to make medicine more economical so that families will not have to suffer tragedies that could have easily been prevented," Kim writes.

She also understands that learning is more than the letter grade. "It is very easy for anyone to earn straight A's; all an individual would have to do is devote their focus and time to the work. On the contrary, I receive straight A's because I have a curiosity for learning."

She says she finds joy in the classroom. And she feels responsibility at home. "Now, it is my turn to give something back," Kim writes. "By being the first child in my family to go to college, I will not only set a good example for my siblings, but also make my parents proud."

Kathryn Donovan
Cornelia Connelly High School, Anaheim
Kathryn does not want to be in a comfort zone; she wants to be in a challenged zone. And, this works well inside of school and beyond. The high school senior is a volunteer with Assisteens of Irvine where she and a friend developed "Super Sisters." It is a program for girls with special needs.

The volleyball team captain, known to friends as Kit, led her team to a CIF title this past season. She is ASB president and a motivational leader.

"Throughout my high school career, I have been faced with choices," she writes. "Some were as simple as what to wear on free dress days...others have shaped who I am as a person both personally and academically." One of those decisions was to take honors-level coursework throughout her time at the private school.

"Challenging myself academically has become something that is very important to me. I know that if I ever decide to take the easy road, my achievements will become hollow. Only with hard work and dedication can I accomplish something meaningful."

Next step, college.

Roya Rashtchi
Sage Hill School, Newport Beach
"Roya is a superstar," a counselor writes from a school that is fast becoming known for that kind of student. This particular student is defined by "her self-assurance and demeanor in class." As one teacher writes, "I look forward to seeing Roya in class because she always managed to make my day better."

The daughter of Iranian immigrants, the outstanding academic student has developed a love for learning. She sees the eccentricity in one teacher and the intellectual in another. She hears the Midwestern accent in one voice and the super one - Dr. Adam Webb - who, she writes, "brought a significant transformation to my thought process in a matter of only three weeks."

Where would these students be without this kind of mentorship? "Dr. Webb questioned everything I believed, and in turn made me question the way I think."

This kind of inspiration should carry Roya a long way in her next academic pursuits. Her teachers, she writes, have "expanded my love for knowledge and I have to have similar, positive experiences at college so that I will continue to have that enduring passion to discover the truth."

Robert De Santiago
Santiago High School, Garden Grove
The fact that Robert ranks fourth academically in his senior class probably is no surprise to anyone on campus. The fact that he is involved in National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, baseball and cross country also rings no alarm bells. Neither does the fact that he is Stanford-bound, with plans to be a civil engineer.

Robert does well in everything he touches.

He reflects on his mentor, his father, who was a top student in Mexico, but, as the father figure to his own fatherless family, he had to work. His father told Robert two things: "I didn't have enough money for shoes." More importantly: "You are going to do what I wanted to do as a child."

"When he told me this," Robert writes, "I was at the point of nearly crying. It is not only because I am going to fulfill my father's dream...but also because I see the incredible opportunities I have here in America. As an American citizen, I am given the opportunity to earn one of the greatest educations in the world. I am not going to ignore this."

When he is holding his master's degree in hand, Robert says he will know he has reached his full potential.

Samone Angrum
Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana
Samone's high school is a special place, where imagination, talent and a different perspective share common space.

It is where artists go to bloom.

So, don't act surprised that her essay is entitled, "ME in a Nutshell," and know that "most unpredictable" is how she describes herself. That, along with, "I am humorous, I am determined, I am open-minded."

She is a member of the student leadership team that organizes events and makes certain that new students feel at home. She has been an instructor in an after-school program for underprivileged children. She considers herself a visual artist. No doubt, she will follow through with her pursuit of public speaking, and for becoming a lawyer. In that much-maligned profession, someone like Samone ought to succeed in her goals: "Seeing someone take a stand for something, and believe in something so much to go after it, motivates me. I want to be a voice and achieve justice for people."

We feel sorry for the law professor who tries to chip away at that idealism, for while Samone has much to learn, she also has much to teach.

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