|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
 |
2004 AEA Scholarship Recipients
Front Row (left to right): Commissioner Darlene Ayers-Johnson, Commissioner Frank Kiang, Anna Lau, Allison Yee, Jeffery Lee, Samuel Becerra, Tiffany Louie, Helen Pho, Aditi Shastri, Executive Director Tay Yoshitani, Carrie Cai, Deputy Executive Director Joe Wong, Ashley Chambers and AEA President Sandra Yee. Back Row: AEA Scholarship Committee Member Aileen Evans, Jue Wang and Baongoc Tran. Missing: Heather Schrader.
An excerpt from the Letter of recommendation written by Ms. Maryann Wolfe, History Department Chair and English Instructor at Oakland Technical cites “Bright, creative, analytical, perceptive, inquisitive and hard working describe Helen Pho, the student. As to Helen’s character, words such as conscientious, reliable, honest, self-motivated, well-rounded and caring come to mind. Helen can always be relied upon to do more than is expected of her, and she can be trusted to fulfill any commitment she makes.” Helen Pho is ranked No. 1 in her senior class of 293 students at Oakland Technical School. She will be attending Yale University this fall to pursue the field of law. Her numerous academic awards include the AP Scholars with Honors, National Merit Commendation, California Governor’s Scholar, California Governor’s Distinguished Math and Science Scholar and Academic Excellence Award with Honors. Her extracurricular activities include leadership positions in the Math Club and Junior Statesmen of the America Debate Club. Community activities include peer tutoring at Oakland Tech’s Homework Center and volunteer work for a Buddhist Monastery and the Tzu-chi Relief Foundation. She has also worked as a summer intern for the City of Oakland Transportation Services Division and the City of Alameda Public Works Department. In her essay, she dedicates all of her achievements to her grandmother, who passed along the value of education to her students and to Helen’s father. Grandma was a scholar and respected educator fluent in several languages. “She was one of the thousands of boat people who tried unsuccessfully to flee communism during the Vietnam War. She, along with my grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins on my father’s side, drowned in their escape. This was before my parents and two older brothers immigrated to the United States in 1985. I was born the next year, so I never had the chance to meet my grandmother and other ancestors. When my family arrived in America, they came empty-handed except for a metal box with a few articles of clothing. Since many of my relatives were deceased, my parents had to raise a family without much financial or familial support. In the early years, it was impossible for my parents to find jobs because they did not know any English. After learning some of the language, my mother found low-wage jobs and worked very hard at them. My elderly had been hearing-impaired ever since the Vietnam War and could not work, but he instilled in me the importance of an education. He told me, as Grandma once conveyed to him, that having an education opens many opportunities to be successful in life.”
Ashley Chambers was a senior at McClymonds High School. In the fall she will be attending UC Berkeley, where she will be studying journalism. The best introduction of Ashley Chambers is what she has written in the program brochure. It begins with “Be who you choose to be, not who others choose to see.” In her interview with us, Ashley talked about how her responsibilities and challenges as a teen mother inspired her to be so focused on her education. As a result, Ashley will be graduating 3rd in her class of 94. Her academic achievements include the Governor’s Scholarship for Math and Science, National Merit Award and the Academic Achievement Award from the African American Task Force. Her extracurricular activities include the Debate Club, Leadership/Student Government, and peer tutoring at McClymonds’, and her community activities include Youth leader of FAITHS Youth Leadership Training, and volunteering at the California Teachers of English Conference, West Oakland Street Sweep, Westside Economic Development Corporation summer camp. She has also worked as a customer service representative and an intern at Eastside Arts Alliance.
Emerald Tran is currently attending Skyline HS. She will be attending UCLA this upcoming fall as a Biochemistry major and minor in Political Science. In our in personal interview, we asked Emerald to choose one word that describes her best. “Drive” was her word. Because of her disadvantaged background, she does not take anything for granted. This is how Mr. Peter Langhoff, her counselor at Skyline High described Emerald in his letter of recommendation: “Emerald has a level of curiosity, insight, motivation, initiative, sensitivity and concern for others that set her apart from 99% of the students I’ve taught and counseled over the past 35 years. This young lady puts her heart and soul into everything she does with almost no sense of entitlement. Her history reveals she has done everything imaginable to improve herself and prepare to be the best she can be. “ Emerald will be graduating 9th in her class of 369. Her numerous academic achievements include California Scholarship Federation Award, Governor’s Scholarship, National Honor Roll, and her community activities include volunteering for the Oakland Children’s Library, Alameda Food Bank, Oakland Rose Garden and Oakland Children’s Hospital. She has also worked in retail and as a summer intern for the Port at the Oakland Airport.
Sam Becerra is a high school senior at Life Academy. This fall, he will be attending Pomona College in Claremont, CA. He plans to enter college undeclared and later decide what to study. Samuel Becerra will be the first member of his family to attend college. Ms. Carmelita Reyes, his instructor for 3 years, described Samuel as follows: “When Samuel came to Life Academy three years ago, he was the quiet introvert in an otherwise rowdy Oakland class. He used to write me journal entries begging me to tell students to be quiet or to kick out students who disrupted the learning of others. I challenged him to take an active role in “checking” his peers. “No, I could never do that. No one would listen to me.” However, 6 months later, he and like-minded peers led an initiative to remove the class president, who was regularly in trouble for fighting, defiance or drug use. He spoke out at a school assembly, tapped into the frustration of many students, and led a velvet revolution to elect trustworthy and reliable class officers. Samuel was elected as Junior President and Senior Vice-President.” In addition, Samuel ranks second in his class of 58 and will be attending Pomona College in Claremont, California. His academic achievements include, as a sophomore, Academic Student of the Year and as a junior, Life Academy’s Highest Awards, Student of the Year for Academic and Social Excellence. His community and extracurricular activities include youth group president for his Church Yough Group (and Church drummer), tutor and teacher’s assistant. He has also worked as an administrative assistant for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carrie Cai attended the College Preparatory School in Oakland. She plans to pursue degrees in foreign language (French and Chinese) and public health at Stanford University. She enjoys composing music, playing the piano and violin and dancing. Jack Coakley, Carrie’s teacher and coach at College Preparatory, describes her as follows: “Carrie is not only and outstanding student and athlete, she possesses many fine personal qualities: she is respectful, responsible, polite and sensitive toward others; she has a quick smile and demonstrates an impressive work ethic as well as amazing self-motivation.” Carrie’s academic achievements include: National Merit Finalist, election to the National Cum Laude Society, 3rd place in the National French Contents and the Hedy King Robinson Prize for Theory of Music. She is also an accomplished pianist, violionist, musical composer and singer and dancer. Her various community activities include the Oakland Public Library Youth Leadership Council, Hotel Oakland Senior Center, tutoring at the Oakland Chinatown Lincoln Recreation Center. Her interests in sports include cross-country and swimming. Her employment experience includes a summer internship at the Center for Clinical Immunology at Stanford, conducting experiments with a post-doctoral fellow.
In her personal interview, Anna Lau chose “determined” as the one word that describes her best. Her essay featured Martha Coston, a renowned woman engineer during the American Civil War who has inspired Anna to pursue her own career in engineering. In Anna’s words, “Although Coston was constantly dismissed and discouraged because of her gender, she never gave in; instead, she was always ‘ready to fight like a lioness.’ In her essay, Anna describes her own struggle to pursue her passion for civil engineering. Her parents discouraged her, telling her that she would never succeed in this “male profession”. Well, Anna has proven her parents wrong. Not only is she a top student at Oakland Tech, enrolled both the Engineering and Computer Academy, she will be attending U.C. Berkeley’s College of Engineering this fall., majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Anna has achieved numerous academic awards, but has also found time to participate in civic activities, such as tutoring at Family Bridges’ Lincoln Youth Center and assisting at the Oakland Hotel Elderly Home. She also enjoys tennis, badminton and swimming, and plays the Chinese two-string violin.
Jeffrey Lee is a senior at Bishop O’Dowd High School. He will attend UC Berkeley and pursue the field of Economics He loves to play and watch all types of sports ranging from basketball to swimming. Jeffrey is one of Bishop O’Dowd’s top students with a cumulative GPA of 4.239, yet his unpretentious manner during his personal interview never focused on his numerous academic and community achievements. Jeffrey chose “energetic” as the word that describes him best, and his essay featured Michael Jordan as a role model for hard work, fearless leadership, community service and moral integrity. Jeffrey is an accomplished athlete in his own right, most notably his four-year participation on the Bishop O’Dowd Swim Team. Sheridan James, his counselor who wrote his letter of recommendation, describes Jeffrey as follows: “The yin and yang is the balance that Jeffery Lee continues to strive for. Although modest regarding his intellectual prowess, he does realize that he has to balance a rigorous academic schedule, with other activities that give him emotional satisfaction and a release from everyday pressures. His internship at the City of San Leandro Department of Transportation, as a civil engineer, garnered some insight into how to improve the city’s transportation problems. His work with various youth organizations was prompted by his concern about the continued violence throughout the Bay Area.” Jeffrey is very grateful to his parents who grew up in China without the advanced education and lifestyle that he enjoys now. In Jeffrey’s words, “They have motivated me to succeed in life and have consistently made sacrifices to provide me with educational options…”
Tiffany currently attends the Oakland High School. She will be attending University of California, Davis and plans to pursue Veterinary Medicine. She will be the first in her family to move away to college. Tiffany Louie’s two special interests are the environment and animals. In her essay, Tiffany featured John Muir, perhaps America’s most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist. Pursuing her dual passions, Tiffany will be attending U.C. Davis this fall to major in Veterinary Medicine. She will be the first in her family to attend college. Katherine Noonan, her science instructor at Oakland High, describes her as follows: “Tiffany is unusual among high school students in that she has chosen a career field and has pursued coursework and outside training to prepare for it. She worked as an assistant in a veterinary hospital for two years and has been given responsibilities, such as assisting during surgery, that are not often given to students. She is doing a senior project on primate behavior at the Oakland Zoo.” Ms. Noonan further states, “Tiffany matches her academic accomplish-ments with strong commitment to environmental action. She has participated in many hours of community service, including monitoring water quality and shoreline clean-ups”. As an individual, “Tiffany is well-liked by classmates and teachers for her friendly, helpful demeanor, her reliability and her sense of humor.” In addition to her numerous academic achievements and community activities, Tiffany enjoys a variety of sports (including basketball, football, badminton, swimming and snowboarding) as well as art.
What is impressive and unique about Aditi Shastri is the balance of her distinctive creativity with exceptional achievements in biological sciences. Her essay on Dr. Seuss was one of the most unusual and entertaining pieces we have ever read. She will be graduating from College Preparatory School as one of their top students and attending U.C. Berkeley in the fall, majoring in molecular and cell biology Bernie Shellem, her biology instructor at College Prep describes Aditi as follows: “What stands out the most about Aditi is her quiet determination to excel,coupled with peerless consistency. Her test scores were always in the outstanding range, including her 90% cumulative final exam, one of the highest scores in her class. She leads by example…She is one of those behind-the-scenes, get-the-job done type of leaders.” Her academic achievements includea National Merit Scholarship Commendation and placing in the top 10 for 2 years in the National French Concours Exam. Yet her creativity pursuits include Indian Classical Dance, Western Classical singing, acting, studio art, photography to name a few. She has also been active in community service projects: Diversity leadership forums, serving as teaching assistant for CPS Partners Program, a summer school program for Oakland Public Middle Schools students, coordinating a donation drive for Alameda County Social Services, participating in Rebuilding Together (renovating homes for low-income residents).
Jue Wang is currently a senior at Oakland Technical High School. This fall, she will be attending University of California Berkeley, College of Engineering. In her personal interview, Jue chose “hard-working” as the one word that describes her best. Considering her background and subsequent achievements, “hard-working” is definitely an understatement. In the program brochure, Jue describes her determination to learn English after immigrating from Shanghai to the U.S. just three years ago. In her interview and her essay, Jue describes how she spent much of her free time studying English, by watching television shows and newscasts, listening to the radio and reading newspapers and books. Her “quantum” leap from ESL 2 to AP English Literature and numerous academic awards in every discipline, but especially in the field of engineering, are a testament to her determination and diligence. Most notably Jue was selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants to work with the engineers at the Port of Oakland Aviation Facility Administration Department. However, there is one critical, poignant fact that is not in the program brochure. Jue’s essay was dedicated to her mother, a very generous and courageous woman who died in 1990 when Jue was 4. The parents that Jue refers to now are her father and step-mother. In Jue’s words, “my mother donated hundreds of dollars to those in need and created opportunities for them to make their lives better. I have always tried to be just like her. As the Engineering Academy (at Oakland Tech) has only a 50% acceptance rate, I founded the Engineering Club to include those who were unable to qualify for the Academy. In doing so, I created opportunities for students to learn more about engineering that will help them in the future.” Book Reimbursement Winners: Allison
Michele Yee
|
|
|||
.jpg)
Helen
Pho.JPG)
Ashley Chambers.JPG)
Baongor Emerald Tran.JPG)
Samuel Becerra.JPG)
Carrie Jun Cai.JPG)
Anna Lau.JPG)
Jeffrey Lee.JPG)
Tiffany Louie.JPG)
Aditi
Shastri.JPG)
Jue Wang