2010 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Sheta Chatterjee
Sheta Chatterjee is a senior at San Dieguito High School Academy, where she has a GPA of 4.68.
She has already written and filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for her invention entitled "Energy Conservation System and Methods." Her patent was filed and expedited as one of the first 3,000 green technologies in the nation. Chatterjee was inspired to invent a method of energy conservation for use in the home after visiting her grandfather in India, where energy is scarce.
She dreams of being a technology entrepreneur and engineer after pursuing an education in engineering and computer science at MIT or UC Berkeley, as both have strong computer science and electrical engineering departments. She desires to bring her energy conservation invention to these universities because of their strong energy technology research programs.
"Sheta is a true entrepreneur who is able to take an idea and turn it into a marketable, socially responsible product or set of instructions that can help improve the lives of others,” said one of her teachers. “She is capable of truly affecting our future and will inevitably be a force of good in the world."
Chatterjee will be the first female engineer in her family. In addition to already having a patentable product, Chatterjee loves running, writing, mathematics and graphic design. She likes to engage in all engineering and entrepreneurial pursuits and works to fulfill her goal of one day making her energy technology of value to people in the world.
Alessandra McDowell
Alessandra McDowell is a senior at San Marcos High School. She states that Alzheimer's, autism and alcohol addiction, firsthand family challenges, have given her clear direction and purpose to find cures for afflictions of the brain.
The summer following her freshman year, she participated in the study of the "molecular biology revolution" at the collegiate level in UCSD's COSMOS program. While hunched over a microscope studying gel electrophoresis, polymerase chain reactions and genetic cloning, she realized a career in medical research was her calling.
During her sophomore year, she was a founding member and is now chair of the Girls' Empowerment Council. Through information programs and mentoring, the council helps girls lead positive, healthy and balanced lives.
At the month-long Education Program for Gifted Youth program at Stanford, she addressed many of the ethical issues surrounding genetic medicine and human gene manipulation.
McDowell has already been admitted to Emory University, UCSD, Southern Methodist University and UC Davis, and also has applied to Vanderbilt University. McDowell’s counsellor said, "Alessandra is intrinsically motivated to succeed and has a creative intelligence which allows her to think outside the box."
In addition to being a leader and mentor to others, in her spare time McDowell enjoys French language and culture, recreational reading, guitar lessons, clarinet, musical theater, Disneyland, country music and going to the beach.
Anna Kornfeld Simpson
Anna Simpson is graduating from Patrick Henry High School with the goal of becoming a computer scientist. To her, time stands still when she is working out the intricacies of a new computer program. She is excited and captivated by figuring out how to make a machine perform certain tasks, sometimes so much that she forgets to eat.
Simpson seeks out new opportunities in math, science and computer science and has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that has often exceeded the challenges provided by her high school. She has taken every AP science class offered at her school. After she exhausted her school's advanced math classes, she enrolled in community college calculus classes during her junior and senior years. She is known as a "math person" on her varsity academic league team, is president of the Math Team, and spends lunches tutoring freshmen in math and physics.
Since the summer after ninth grade, Simpson has worked as the only high school student in a lab at UCSD developing a chemical detecting robot. She presented her robot at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair where she won a Senior Sweepstakes Award, a trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and awards from several local professional societies. Her robot also received the 2009 Project of the Year Award at the California State Science Fair, the highest science fair award in the state.
Last summer, she attended the Research Science Institute, where she conducted research to improve large editing software in MIT’s Computer Science Laboratory. Simpson has received early admission to MIT and the California Institute of Technology. She has also applied to Harvey Mudd College and Princeton University. In addition to her studies, Simpson is interested in computer programming, playing flute and piano, solving math problems, reading and discussing history, art, literature and science with her mother.
Jordan Thayer
Jordan Thayer is graduating from Francis Parker School. Her dad refers to her as "Home Depot girl" because ever since she can remember, she has enjoyed exploring Home Depot and the exciting tools and gadgets. She even hoped that those her father purchased would break so she could get the chance to fix them.
Her fascination with physics and math has led her to study engineering. She has applied physics to her home repair projects, in which she has fixed the pool's filtration system, created better surround sound for her stereo, and performed calculations to build a block wall and iron gate. She says this work taught her an invaluable lesson: physics often calculates theoretical data that must be altered in real-world situations.
After obtaining an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, Thayer intends on pursuing a graduate degree and hopes to minor in either economics or statistics, because she believes there is a logical intersection between engineering and economics. She has already been admitted to MIT and USC, and believes she will also be admitted to the University of Pennsylvania and California Institute of Technology.
When describing Jordan, her college counsellor states that "the 'what' questions are natural for a child and Jordan's parents were prepared for most what's. They just did not anticipate their daughter would graduate to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions so early in life."
One of Jordan's favourite pastimes was to observe passing objects during road trips and ask questions such as “How is a bridge built,” or “Why does that car move slower than ours?” When she's not finding ways to build something bigger and better, Thayer enjoys spending time with her family, playing competitive basketball and volleyball, Greek folk dancing, gourmet cooking, synchronized swimming, golf, poetry, hiking, weightlifting, bowling and watching classic movies of every genre.
Caroline Yu
Caroline Yu, a senior at Torrey Pines High School, spent her summer growing hermaphrodite worms as an intern at the UCSD Jin/Chisholm Lab, where she studied axon regeneration in these worms. She and the researchers were hoping to find novel signaling pathways that play a major role in axon regeneration through a large-scale genetic screen.
She is fascinated by the mind, and believes studying both psychology and neurobiology will provide possible answers to the complex questions of how the mind works. The Athena Pinnacle Scholarship will permit her to learn about bioengineering chemistry, genetics and neurology. Because her mother suffers from lupus, Yu will also focus on immunology to learn more about her condition so she can help the millions who suffer from autoimmune disorders. She hopes to participate in Doctors without Borders and Duke Engage.
Yu believes education and health care are two of the most powerful tools to fight poverty, and wants to use her spare time tutoring, volunteering at hospitals and clinics, and finding ways to donate basic vaccines and antibiotics to impoverished communities.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Asian Heritage Youth Leadership Award, ACCEF Leadership Award, Rotary Youth Leadership Award and received third place in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. Yu has been involved with advanced research at the Salk Institute researching the function of the SMRT gene and has won numerous awards in math.
Her dream schools are Harvard University, Brown University and Princeton. In addition to her many school and community activities, Yu also enjoys tennis, running, listening to or playing music, photography and is fascinated by the elegance of life, especially the mechanics of the mind and consciousness.
2009 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Ronit is the founder and president of the Inquiry Club, a student organization that promotes and supports student science and engineering research in middle and high schools. She founded the club because of her own love of research and her desire to help other students reap the benefits of conducting scientific research. Ronit plans on using her research background in being an advocate for environmental causes. Her science teacher says, “Ronit is definitely one of my favorite ‘what if’ students, a group of students who commonly question and inquire about ways to explore and resolve some of the major problems in the world. Ronit utilizes her skills as a leader to inspire and bring out the best in people around her. As Dr. Mark Hildebrand, her supervisor in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography lab expressed, ‘I wish my post docs could be as motivated and focused as she is in regards to her work.’” Ronit will attend Yale in the fall.
Nadia has pursued a high school science track dense with biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and calculus. She has conducted more than 40 technical laboratory experiments that include gel electrophoresis, sterile techniques, and comparative anatomy dissections, among others. She was honored with the school’s Future Einstein Award for her dedication to science and is passionate about educating youth and women in scientific disciplines. For the past three summers, Nadia has held a teaching position at GATEways, the largest summer school gifted program in America. She helped create the first online science journal at Torrey Pines High School and also led a science club called Future Applications of Science and Technology where she helped organize seminars of scientists in neurology, endocrinology and global warming. Nadia will attend Harvard in the fall.
Sydney says she has always been interested in biological sciences and describes herself as that kid who valued her “Operation” game above all else. At the age of nine she began reading medical encyclopedias for fun. In high school, she took every class that had anything to do with life science. At 16, she discovered her passion for medicine after working as a recovery room nurse for a free clinic in Tecate, Mexico. Sydney wants to make a difference in her community and the world by spending her life helping people through medicine. Sydney will be attending USC as an honors engineering student where she will major in biomedical engineering with a minor in theater arts. She has been pre-admitted to USC’s Keck School of Medicine for her graduate/medical school education. Sydney’s college counselor has this to say of her: “In 11 years of being a counselor, I have not worked with a high achieving student like Sydney who is so serious about her studies, yet manages to have so much fun at the same time. She represents the finest qualities of a scholar, community builder and activist.”
Hurnan has vigorously pursued her passion for biology with a desire to discover the path biology can lead in the areas of medicine and genetics. In 2007, she participated in the Bioengineering Summer Program at UCSD, and in 2008 she was selected among 55 applicants for a summer internship at the Human Biomolecular Research Institute where she performed personally designed experiments to test DNA purification processes. In addition, her experience at the 2008 Youth Leadership Conference in Asian Health Issues at Stanford exposed her to the outreach opportunities available in third-world countries. She regularly volunteers at the North County Health Services clinic as a medical records assistant and also served as a clinic receptionist in a small Chinese town during her 9th grade summer. She also has a passion for music and founded the San Marcos Youth Orchestra where she is also its leader and a volunteer teacher. Hurnan’s counselor said “Hurnan is exceptional in her ability to pursue her passion and to share that passion with others. She will undoubtedly be successful and will also impact those around her.” Hurnan has been accepted to Harvard University. She will be a first-generation college attendee.
Lauren’s interest in healthcare was spawned by her trips to the hospital where her parents worked. As she entered high school, Lauren took advantage of every opportunity to enroll in science classes. She participated in a neurobiology summer program at UCSD and in the summer of 2008 she enrolled in a science and medicine program at UCLA. There she had the opportunity to interact with clinicians and researchers. She intends to double major in biology and biochemistry or psychology while pursuing a pre-med or pre-pharmacy curriculum. She also wants to conduct scientific research into the molecular mechanisms of diseases and the application of this information in the identification of potentially useful medications and treatments for human diseases. Lauren is attending UCLA in the fall as a neuroscience major. Her interests include tennis, graphic design, art, photography, volleyball, softball, traveling to third world countries and volunteering with Kids Korps, Bread of Life and Habitat for Humanity.
2008 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Monique Barrios
Monique Barrios is a senior at Ramona High School. Monique intends to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. Her goal is to help people by finding cures and creating artificial organs. She hopes to attend Stanford University in the fall, a school that she has been planning to attend since she was seven years old. Monique is the first in her family to attend college and her goal to attend Stanford drove her desire to be an academic success. Monique is also an accomplished athlete and is on the varsity cross country, water polo, and swim team. She was the president of Fusion-Interact – a campus and community service organization that incorporates tutoring, mentoring, and community service and campus beautification. She founded the “help the elderly program” and “student helping students” tutoring program. She also spends 15 hours per week tutoring middle school students. Monique’s counselor says – "Monique's in one of the top leaders I have encountered in 18 years in education. Although highly intelligent and a talented student athlete Monique’s greatest strength is her faith and steadfast character. She positively influences people and therefore impacts every organization, team, or group she is involved in." Monique has also won awards to her digital photography. She is truly multi-talented young lady.
Joyce Cheng
Joyce Cheng is a senior at Torrey Pines High School. From her early childhood she wanted to be a doctor as noted in her preschool memory book. She plans to major in biochemistry, neuroscience, molecular biophysics, or molecular and cell biology. She has applied to UCSD, UCLA, Berkeley, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, MIT, Penn, and Princeton. Her plan is to go onto medical school and go into cardiology, neurology, immunology, and/or surgery. She would like to divide her time between practicing medicine, doing medical research, and doing volunteer work. Joyce came in second place in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair in the medicine and health category and was a semi-finalist in the USA biology Olympiad. She has participated in the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Summer programs. Her High School Counselor says “Joyce displays an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, the intellectual giftedness to quickly understand complex materials, and a strong motivational drive that pushes her to pursue a deep understanding of whatever material she is trying to master. Joyce does all of this with humility and kindness towards her fellow students.” She is also the president of the future leaders in the Field of Medicine Club. She is currently a volunteer research intern at the Whittier Institute for Diabetes at UCSD and volunteer three to four hours a week at Scripps Memorial Hospital. In here spare time, Joyce plays the piano, listen to music, and is thinking about writing a novel or screenplay.
Sarah Cheng
Sarah Cheng is a senior at Westview High School. As an intern for Dr. Michael Sailor at UCSD Chemistry Department she was eager to pursue a career in chemistry. As part of her internship she joined Dr. Sailor’s sensor project to detect pollutants in the air. And with his encouragement she began her own project on the design and construction of a day-to-day sensor that she will enter in the Inventor’s Showcase competition in May. Sarah has also participated in the Science Olympiad from her freshman year in high school and in her junior year she became a five star science coach and in her senior year she became the Chemistry lab coach. Sarah is also an accomplished violinist and is second violin in the San Diego Youth Orchestra and has performed in the Pit Orchestra for the San Diego City Ballet Nutcracker performance for the past three years. She is also a graduate of the San Diego Hua Xia Chinese School and now instructs students in reading, writing, and speaking Chinese. Sarah founded Sweet Treats Baking a club dedicated to teaching others how to bake and provided baked goods to San Diego Rescue Mission. Sarah's AP Biology instructor says "Sarah is an extraordinarily gifted student and has the ability to integrate several ideas into a big picture. She has a wonderful personality and her academic team members, music program players, adult summer research team members, and social groups on our high school plaza, all count her as their friend and colleague." When she is not pursuing her next scientific discovery, Sarah likes to play the violin, listen to music, bake, figure skate, and read.
Alice Chung
Alice Chung is a senior of Mira Mesa High School. In elementary school, Alice believed she had the magical power to cure anyone’s "boo boo" with her plastic Fisher Price stethoscope and a box of Band-Aids. No scrape on the knee or bump on the head was too big or too small for her. Soon her injury prone peers lined up to see her. Her desire to help others carries through to today when she volunteers at Rady Children's Hospital. She is also actively involved in the Key club, the art club, engineering club, ecology club and student council. Alice has also attended Chinese School and is fluent in Chinese and acts as a student mentor. She has also been Mira Mesa High Schools top scholar the last three years. She hopes to attend UCSD because of its strong reputation in the area of biology. She has also applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell. Alice's teacher says simply "Alice is one the best. Her extremely personable nature, outstanding performance in the classroom, and conscientious contributions to the learning community represent the epitome of what a high school teacher desires and expects from any high school student." In her spare time she like to read, watch movies, do yoga and Pilates, play the piano and spend time with family and friends.
Parima Shah
Parima Shah is a senior at Canyon Crest Academy. Parima would like to attend college and double major in neurobiology and philosophy. After college she would like to attend medical school and become a physician. Her plan is to go to the tribal areas of Gujarat, India and found her own hospital and search that community. She has volunteered at the Seva Rural Hospital in Gujarat for the last three summers. Parima's extracurricular activities include an internship at the Haas Lab at UCSD where she researched Green Florescent Protein and Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts and the pathways between stem cells. She also helped publish a paper on this topic. She also has her own research project and written a paper on the effects of breathing techniques on test anxiety and is entering it in the Science Fair this year. At school she is actively involved on the Math Team, the Debate Team, and the Model United Nations Team. She is also an accomplished Kathak dancer and has performed all over the U.S. Parima has been accepted to UC Berkeley and has applied to USC, Washington University, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts, UCLA, UCSD, Georgetown, Amherst, and Pomona College. Her first choice is Princeton because of it's many opportunities to conduct research and the college’s commitment to diversity. Parima's counselor says "Parima is an outstanding example of a student with a genuine love of learning and unbridled boundless energy. She has demonstrated academic success and a level of dedication and resiliency unmatched by the majority of her peers." In her spare time Parima likes to run and teaches Kathak dance to beginners.
2007 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Rachel Belzer
Rachel Belzer is a Senior at Torrey Pines High School. Her goals include the study of biology, medicine and biomedical engineering in order to make advancements in medicine and human health. Rachel spent the past summer working in Dr. Peter Vogt's molecular biology lab at The Scripps Research Institute. She hopes to earn her undergraduate degree in bioengineering and then pursue a masters and MD/Ph.D. focusing on neuroscience. Rachel has applied to Duke, Penn, Northwestern, UCLA, USC and UC Berkley. Her physics teacher says that she always accepts the greatest of challenges and puts forth the infinite effort to bring her projects to a successful conclusion. Last year she wrote a thesis for her English class on the differences in the neurological structure and the thought processes of the brains of men in comparison to women. According to her teacher, she possesses the discipline and intellectual talent to make a real contribution to the neuroscience field. Rachel is a varsity field hockey and Lacrosse player and has volunteered for the American Liver Foundation and the Relay for Life. In her free time, she likes photography, movies, salsa dancing and playing with her dog, Rex.
Linda Ge
Linda is a Senior at Westview High School. She has always been fascinated with the field of science and her favorite gift from Santa when she was six years old was a crystal-growing kit. Her career goal is to make meaningful contributions to society by becoming a doctor in the area of biomedical research. She discovered her passion for research while interning at The Scripps Research Institute last summer. In the fall, she hopes to attend UC Berkley, UCSD, MIT, Stanford, Princeton or Harvard. Linda's AP Chemistry teach says that Linda's work ethic, integrity, drive and passion for learning far exceed every other student that she has encountered during her years of teaching. In fact, Linda ranked in the top 100 of 11,000 students in the 2006 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad, which is a remarkable achievement for someone with less than a year of actual chemistry instruction and experience. Linda is also a member of the varsity swim team, a member of Key Club and volunteers with the American Cancer Society and the MS Society. In her free time, she plays the piano, violin and likes Rubic cubing, reading and shopping.
Karen Tian Lee
Karen is a senior at Rancho Buena Vista High School. She realized on a recent visit to Tibet how diverse and beautiful the world is, yet there is an apparent gap between the beauty and the quality of life in third world countries. Her experience motivated her to help those less fortunate, whether it involves finding more efficient means of food production or useful drugs that could contribute to a better quality of life. She would like to pursue a career in the biological or pharmaceutical fields and hopes to major in biological sciences or biochemistry. Her choices for school in the fall include Brown University and UCSD. Karen's chemistry teacher and Academic Team Coach says that Karen is intelligent, diligent, graceful, and filled with integrity. Karen is as fine a person and student she has known in her 26-year teaching career. Karen's school activities include the Science Olympiad, varsity tennis team, academic team and Key Club. She has volunteered as a tutor at Crestview Elementary and the St. Francis Soup Kitchen. In her free time, she likes to play the piano, read and watch foreign films.
Nancy Ngan-Phan Nguyen
Nancy is a senior at Mira Mesa High School. She hopes to become a family doctor and work in a clinic that provides vital medical services to families whose financial and educational circumstances do not give them access to good medical care. She plans to obtain an undergraduate degree in Psychology so she can begin to understand the human mind, body and behavior. She would like to attend Harvard or UCSD. Nancy's AP Calculus teacher says that he has never met anyone more persistent and determined than Nancy. Her English teacher says she has a strong work ethic to match her intelligence, a gentle disposition to match her determination and a sense of humor to match her sense of responsibility. Nancy's school activities include AFJROTC, Class Council and Key Club. She has volunteered at Read Across America, Cedar Fire Evacuation Center, Mira Mesa Town Council Street Fair and is a Mira Mesa Library Tutor. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, read, tutor children, do Sudoku puzzles and look for the hidden meanings and symbols behind movies.
Lissette Wilensky
Lissette is a senior at Mt. Carmel High School. She has always been fascinated by the workings of the human body and loves chemistry. In particular, she has developed a fondness for the immune system, one of the most complicated systems in the body. Her goal is to study either biochemistry or bioengineering. Upon graduation, she would like to work in a research laboratory, preferably with stem cells or immunological studies. Lissette has applied to Cornell, Harvey Mudd, Olin College, UCSD, UC Berkley and UCLA. Her chemistry teacher is continually impressed with her intelligence, insight, natural ability to teach others, and the high quality of her work. She states Lisette is really an amazing young lady who will contribute much to our world. Lissette is the Captain of the Academic League and is also a member of the Math Club, Science Club and Political Forum. She placed first in the American Chemistry Society competition and is the winner of the CalTech Book Award for excellence in Science and Math. Her community activities include Key Club, Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation, and tutoring high school students in six subjects. Her personal interests include martial arts, piano, art history, ballroom dancing and reading.
2006 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Bernice Huang
Bernice has always been fascinated with the field of medicine. She dreams of helping others and discovering ways to improve human health. As an undergraduate, she would like to major in bioengineering and specifically focus on tissue engineering and then after college continue on with her studies in the field of medicine. In the fall she hopes to attend Harvard, Stanford, Duke or MIT. Last summer, Bernice was an intern in the Nanobioengineering Department at National University of Singapore where she learned that the practical application of science to real life problems is the very essence of engineering. And the previous summer, she took part in the Explorations Summer Residential Program at Yale University.
Li-Tyng (Debbie) Hung
Li Tyng says she has two futures that lie in front of her. Her undergraduate goal is to earn a degree in bioengineering. Then she would either like to attend medical school and then go on for an advanced degree in biomedical engineering. She will either attend UC Berkeley or UC San Diego in the fall. In high school, she has participated in the Science Olympiad and last summer was an intern at the San Diego Marine Technology Program at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The science department chair at University High School said that Li Tyng "truly delights in learning and makes a point of educating herself in a variety of fields. She is genuinely eager to learn and seeks out opportunities to challenge herself and work hard. I have no doubt that she will bring honor and credit to your scholarship program" In her free time, Li-Tyng solves math and science problems, play sports, draws and paints, plays instruments and listens to music.
Kim-Chi Nguyen
Kim- Chi says that while other girls were playing with Barbie dolls, she was roaming around the garden searching for spiders and grasshoppers, digging for bones, and examining flowers. She plans to pursue an undergraduate major in science and then go on to graduate school in the field of Marine Biology. Kim-Chi has taken enrichment classes at UCSD in the summer and had the opportunity to research the wetlands of Bahia de los Angeles in Baja California. She has applied to attend UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, and UC San Diego. The Math Department Chair at Hoover High School says "Kim-Chi can be relied upon to lead any group and complete any project. She continues to learn new material even when she is out of formal schooling because it is simply in her nature to acquire new concepts and facts. She is a unique person, who spends large parts of her day helping others through individual assistance and service to the community." In her free time, Kim-Chi she teaches and mentors the 3rd Grade Girls Science Club at Rosa Parks Elementary and is active in the Asian Pacific American Club and the Optimist Club. She also loves to sew, snorkel, play and listen to music.
Ayla Opal-Marie Sessions
Ayla believes the future lies in engineering, and specifically bioengineering. In college, she would like to study biomedical engineering, genetics or biology and go on to a graduate degree in medicine. Her ultimate career goal is to become a pediatrician. Ayla's two top choices for college are UC Berkeley and Duke University. In Ayla's A.P. Biology class she easily mastered the art of preparing buffers, manipulating pH meters, preparing and running SDS gels, designing and make ELISA, and performing successful Western Immunoblots. Ayla's Science Teacher says that "Ayla is a dedicated, hard working, mature scholar with a heart and smile as big as all outdoors. Her impeccable morals, her commitment to service, and her sincere intrinsic desire to learn have helped Ayla grow into a confident and unparalleled role model at Escondido High School". At Escondido High, Ayla has been a varsity softball player, been active in the National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation and Gate Advisory Committee. She is also actively involved in the community through her participation in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, working at the Interfaith Soup Kitchen, and the Make-A Wish Tuna Challenge. She also enjoys deep sea fishing, scrapbooking and reading - lots of reading.
Emily Wier
Emily enjoys the study of science because she feels it is an everchanging medium that continually evolves, providing an opportunity for constant learning. Emily would like to pursue an undergraduate degree in marine biology and then go on to become an environmental lawyer. Her goal is to promote the best policies for sustaining our environment for the future. She hopes to attend Princeton, Brown, or Northwestern University in the fall. Emily has had the opportunity to observe the wildlife of both the Galapagos Islands and Africa in pursuit of her interest in biology. Both experiences gave here a deep reverence for nature and increased her passion for the environment. Emily's guidance counselor says that "Emily Wier is a dream of a kid, the kind of young person who is so wholesome, so well-intentioned, and so unequivocally good that she makes the adults in her world more hopeful for the future." Emily's other activities include being a violinist with the San Diego Youth Symphony, a active member of the Environmental Awareness Club, and a participant in the Science Olympiad for the past four years.
2005 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Jessica Green
When Jessica Green was seven years old she asked her mother, "Which do you find more useful, your upper lip or your lower lip?" And although she still doesn't know the answer to that question, her perpetual curiosity led to math and science. Jessica was invited to attend UCSD's Academic Connections, a three-week summer residential program where she enrolled in the course "Engineering and Earthquakes." From this experience she discovered that she wanted to be a structural engineer. True to her plan, Jessica will be attending UCSD's Sixth College as a Structural Engineering major. Her principal at Helix High School said she is intellectually carnivorous, highly intelligent and a true scholar. Jessica is a CSF president and a member of the varsity track and field team. In her spare time, Jessica loves to sing, act, knit, run and go to the beach.
Dana Levine
Dana Levine says that biomedical engineering is much more than a career to her it is a calling. She is a modern-day "renaissance woman" and has a love of everything from anatomy to aeronautics to zygotes and zero gravity. Dana's chemistry instructor at Bonita Vista High School, Jeffrey Rivera, says Dana can be anything she wants, and he easily sees her being a doctor, lawyer, senator or researcher. He says her talents are wide and deep and whatever course she takes; he knows she will be successful. Dana was very pleasantly surprised to be admitted to all seven of the universities she applied to and was offered a place in the class of 2009 at Harvard, Stanford, UCSD, UCLA, Berkeley, USC and Caltech. She has decided to attend her first choice - the California Institute of Technology in the fall. Besides being a varsity lacrosse player, Dana's hobbies include singing, dancing, guitar and beadwork.
Daphne Di-Fan Lo
Daphne is a senior at Eastlake High School. Every summer for the last three years, she has gone to Texas Tech University Medical School to intern for the summer. There she studied the effect of different dietary oils and their relation to cancer. She also co-authored an article on the study. From her experience, Daphne plans on majoring in biochemistry to become a science researcher and practicing physician. Of all the colleges to which she applied, Duke, Johns Hopkins and UCSD are her top choices. Daphne's counselor, Tim Lopez, says Daphne is creative, well organized and goal oriented. She takes on leadership roles easily and interacts well with people of all ages. She is active in the Key Club and is CSF president and founder of the math competition club. In addition, she is the captain of the varsity tennis team. In her spare time, Daphne loves to play the piano, violin, viola, cello, bassoon and flute - yes, that's six instruments! She also loves to read, spend time with her family and sleep - but I'm not sure there's time for that.
Sally Liu (Lu)
Sally describes herself as the nerdy scientist, the community do-gooder, the student leader, the eccentric musician, and a varsity athlete all rolled into one. Dawn Gamerale, Sally's chemistry teacher at Rancho Bernardo High School describes Sally as mature and focused. She possesses the qualities that you identify with great leaders. Due to her strong knowledge of science, Sally was selected to intern at the Sal Institute and participated in the COSMOS mathematics and science summer program. She is President of the Key Club, Vice President of the National Honor Society and Co-President of the Future Medical Leaders of America. She was also selected to be the Varsity Track and Field Female Scholar Athlete of the year. In her spare time, she is an accomplished musician, playing violin and piano and is 1st violin in the San Diego Youth Symphony. Sally will be attending Duke University in the fall.
Michelle Schorn
Michelle is a senior at Torrey Pines High School. She is considering a wide spectrum of potential careers in the field of science, including marine biology, neuroscience, robotics, cell biology, astronomy, epidemiology, and fossils. She hopes to attend UCSD, Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Brown, among others, in the fall. Michelle says that all of these top schools offer endless opportunities to be a leading woman in science. Since 2002, Michelle has worked in a lab at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. One of her professors says that she is academically gifted, self-confident, unassuming, solid and a born leader. Michelle has won many awards by participating in the Science Olympiad and has been selected for the State team each year since the 7th grade. For fun, Michelle likes to dance and she is the co-president and lead choreographer of the "Off the Wall" dance club. She also loves to scuba dive, play the piano and do origami.
2004 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Stephanie Mah
Stephanie claims that ever since kindergarten, when her teacher taught her about deforestation and recycling, she has wanted to help reverse the negative effects that humans have had on the environment. In high school she developed a passion for chemistry. She learned the relationship between hydrocarbons and pollution and suddenly understood what an important difference science makes in the world. Her love of learning is demonstrated by her arriving an hour early each morning to begin her AP Biology labs. She maintains high academic standards in all five of her AP classes and also finds time to participate in multiple extracurricular activities, where she takes on leadership roles. She plans to pursue a career as an environmental engineer and hopes to attend the University of Southern California, the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Irvine or UCLA.
Laura McKiernan
Laura sees herself as a problem solver, and hopes to apply this skill to her career. While growing up, while her friends played with Barbie dolls, she was conducting experiments with her slime chemistry kit. During her sophomore year, she pursued her love for science by taking an AP chemistry class, and the following year was the only junior female in the AP physics class. She plans to pursue a career in applied mathematics, where she will gather biological data and create mathematical models to research and evaluate the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals drugs. She also is interested in bioengineering or applying statistics to genetic research. She is very excited to have received early acceptance at Harvard, where she will be able to cross-register for classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Denisse Montano
Denisse has always envisioned herself as someone who helps others, and believes the best way to do this in her career is by becoming a nurse. She has made it a priority to give back to the community, as is reflected in her extracurricular activities that include church youth group, Californians for Justice, Peer Helpers, and her participation in Auroras, a senior honor society whose main goal is to serve the school and the community. In addition to her great compassion, she is a determined person and a very hard worker, who outranked all of the other students in her AP biology class. She will be the first generation in her family to attend college and hopes to attend Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Kirsten Ronholt
Kirsten’s two greatest passions are biology and physics. She claims that the rest of her life was decided after reading an article on “Building the Bionic Brain,” about a computer implant that would behave like a network of real neurons in the hippocampus, replacing damaged brain tissues. She plans to pursue a career as a research neurosurgeon, working to understand and direct the activity of the brain, redirecting and rebuilding to improve and save lives. If given the chance, she will change the world, by inventing new procedures, revolutionizing industries and changing the way the world works. She sees herself as a determined, pertinacious, tenacious young woman who will make both her gender and her community proud. She hopes to attend USC, Caltech, MIT or Stanford as a biology major, with an emphasis in pre-med.
Jenna Sopfe
At 11 years of age, Jenna decided she wanted to be a pediatrician. Her two loves are medicine and journalism. She wants to use her passion for science to improve the living conditions of humankind and, specifically, to prevent sickness in children. While in high school, she was a volunteer at Grossmont Hospital, working in neonatal care and found this experience to further encourage her goals. She also wants to write for medical journals and expand her love for writing. Jenna looks forward to one day participating in Doctors Without Borders, and is eager to be part of the advances in technology, to alleviate and control pain and suffering. She plans to attend a college where she will receive a superior education and that has a united school spirit. She hopes to attend Stanford, UCLA, Notre Dame or Rice University..
2003 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Karen Chavero
A graduate of Orange Glen High School, Karen took advanced placement courses, was an honors graduate in humanities, and active in the National Honors Society, Varsity Cross-Country, and Varsity Track & Field. One of her advisers said “she even runs with passion!” Karen looks forward a future career in math and science. She’s interested in the Human Genome Project and wants to find cures for diseases such as Down and Turner Syndromes. Karen looks forward to attending college and setting an example for her four younger siblings. Hopes to attend UC Berkeley or UC San Diego.
Kathryn Joyce Metz
Kathryn participated in four school clubs while attending Santana High School, including AP government where she was one of only 8 students (out of 100) who received an “A.” One of her advisers said she is the type of young woman who “will make you proud!” Kathryn is in becoming a pediatrician with a particular interest in technology and research opportunities in medicine. This with the research goal of finding cures for childhood diseases. Hopes to attend Pepperdine University (which offers a sports medicine program), UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, or UC San Diego.
Cindy Eliana Parra
Cindy is a graduate of Bonita Vista High School where she was a National Hispanic Scholar, on the Principal’s Honor Roll, and took part in Varsity Swim Team, Waterpolo, ASB, concert and marching bands (playing the flute). One of her advisers said she is the type of woman she “wants to see in her own daughter.” Cindy plans to study medicine and become a doctor servicing the minority community, in particular women and children. Schools of her choice: Columbia or Brown University.
Laura Wang
Laura is a graduate of Torrey Pines High School where she made the National Honor Society and French National Honor Society. In sports she excelled in Field Hockey; track & field. A singer, she sand soprano at local charity events and school sports competitions. Laura also volunteered her time in the cardiology and pediatrics units of Lawrence and Memorial Hospital. Interested in life science, chemistry, and economics she will seeks to combine those interests in order to work toward reducing world problems such as war, famine, and disease in less developed countries. Her school of choice: Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology.
Anabel Armenta
Anabel is a graduate of Orange Glen High School where she was an after-school tutor in math and science. An artist she sketches and paints on a daily basis. She was a member of the National Honors Society and made the team in basketball and swimming. One of her advisers said with Anabel’s demonstrated sense of responsibility, her devotion to her education, and her respect for others, she would “trust Anabel with her life.” Anabel’s mother is a cancer survivor and her grandfather lost a leg to diabetes, therefore, she is keenly interested in pursuing medicine. Without the Pinnacle Scholarship Anabel would not be able to attend college. Her college choices: Bryn Mawr College or UC Berkeley.
Roseanne Raphael
Roseanne is a graduate of Rancho Buena Vista High School where she completed all college and honors required courses with special emphasis on biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, and physiology. She was a volunteer at Scripps Encinitas Hospital and an intern at The Scripps Research Institute. A writer, she has published two poems and was a consistent recipient of the Quality Writing and Math award throughout her high school years. One of her advisers said Roseanne is a person who works to make this world a better place than she finds it. Roseanne is fascinated by the medical industry and science and wants to become a trauma surgeon. She plans to attend UC San Diego.
Cara-Lynn Lopresti
Cara is a graduate of Torrey Pines High School where she took advanced placement courses and excelled at sports receiving awards in field hockey, lacrosse, and roller hockey. Cara is very interested in constructing things with wood, hammer and nails, including skateboard ramps and an elaborate set for a haunted house each Halloween. She wishes to explore a career in architectural design and engineering and to design the first professional women’s field hockey stadium. She hopes to represent the United States for field hockey in the 2008 Summer Olympics. She plans to attend Stanford University.
2002 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Qian Cece Chen
The word “smart” describes CeCe Chen. Also: artistic, athletic, diligent, and bound for a career as a surgeon. A graduate of Torrey Pines High School, she’ll attend the University of Pennsylvania with the help of her Athena scholarship. Cece’s outstanding academic record includes awards for her independent research projects from BioGENEius, Westinghouse, and a first place at the San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. Her goal of becoming a surgeon was born during her stints as a volunteer at Scripps Memorial Hospital. And she’s also an accomplished artist with awards throughout high school for her painting, drawing, and pastel work. Cece says she believes being an artist is perfect training for the delicate work required of the surgeon and scientist she hopes to become.
Vanessa Elena Cobian
Vanessa graduates from Vista High School as the first AVID student to finish all the requirements for the International Baccalaureate Diploma—and the first member of her family to attend college. Her teachers call her smart, mature beyond her years, and a natural leader who is determined, passionate, optimistic, and witty. Vanessa was a regional winner in Cell Biology at the Science Olympiad. She wants to become a pediatrician and has spent her out-of-school hours volunteering at Tri-City Hospital’s maternity department for the last three years. To pursue her biology and pre-med degrees, her choices of schools include Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, or Columbia on the east coast—or UCLA, UC-Berkeley, or UCSD.
Lisa Kodadek
Excitement about the progress of the human genome project led Lisa to make a career in genetics her goal. The San Marcos High School grad also is considering becoming a surgeon. She simply wants to do her part to save the world. Lisa is what the Athena vision is about and why she’s such a worthy scholarship recipients. She’ll start her journey with a major in biology. Her teachers say Lisa’s at the top of her regular and advanced placement classes in all her science work—biology, genetics, chemistry. One advisers says he’s rarely seen someone of her well-balanced qualities – scholastics, athletics, and community volunteer. Her choices of schools—UCSD, UC-Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, or Johns Hopkins.
Naoko Kozuki
Bonita Visa High School’s Naoko Kozuki graduated with an armload of awards for her science projects, as an advanced placement scholar and a candidate for a full International Baccalaureate Diploma. Along with being an excellent student, she’s a superb musician (flute and piano) and a leader in academic league, the Science Olympiad, and academic decathlon. Off campus, she’s used her skills as a volunteer to tutor and to help others. Naoko, too, wants a career in biology. She plans to major in molecular biology—and leaves the door open for a career either as a researcher in medical biology or as a physician. Naoko has her sights set on Princeton as the place to begin her journey with the help of an Athena Pinnacle Scholarship.
Allison Lange
Allison’s goal is medicine, a future she envisioned after working as a volunteer at a hospital birth center. She wants to specialize in neonatology—working with at-risk babies to give them a chance. Allison graduated from Escondido’s Orange Glen High School with top grades and an impressive list of activities that show how well-rounded she is: National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, track, water polo, music, and tutor. It’s no surprise her class voted her “most likely to succeed.” The head counselor at Orange Glen High says Allison is one of the most dedicated and self-motivated students she’s ever known. Allison will major in history while she pursues her pre-medical degree. She’s aiming for The College of William and Mary, Middlebury College, or Princeton.
2001 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Jenny Ha Truong
Jenny is a well-rounded student at Grossmont High School and excels in both English and science. She is active in School speech team, Asian Pacific Student Association, School Site Council, Future Business Leaders of America, and the California Scholastic Federation. Jenny English teacher says that both within and outside the classroom, Jenny makes a difference in the community of Grossmont High School. She volunteers at Grossmont Hospital and was the recipient of the "gift of time" award for giving over 200 hours of service to Grossmont Hospital. Jenny has decided that she will be double majoring in biology and Spanish. Her ultimate goal is to have a career in medicine. She was the recipient of the Bausch and Lomb Science Award for excellence in science. Her stop three choices for colleges are Stanford, Rice, and Pomona College.
Lydia Dahoussi
Lydia is a senior at Granite Hills High School and it has been her lifelong dream to become a scientist. She is actively involved in her school and is the founder and president of the philosophy club, president of the California scholarship federation, cross country team, national honor society, model united nations, academic decathlon. Lydia also is well respected by the faculty and her school and frequently lectures in her social science teacher's world history class on topics that involve western philosophers and machiavellian principles. He brings her in because she know the topic better that he does. Her community activities include Special Olympics and she acts as math science tutor. She enjoys reading Scientific News and Scientific American and will be majoring in biology. She has applied at to four UC's and UCSD is her first choice for college in the fall.
Melissa Morelos
Melissa is a senior at Escondido High School and her two passions are biology and psychology. In her classes she has had the opportunity to perform experiments like "western blot", a clinical diagnosis to test for the HIV, constructing a pregnancy test, and detecting sickle cell anemia by electrophoresis. She also enjoys delving into the human psyche to discover plausible reasons for a person's behavior. Melissa is a treasurer of the California scholarship federation, senior representative to the national honor society, a member of the girls varsity soccer team and link crew. The Social Science Chair at Escondido High says that Melissa makes a powerful and demonstrable imprint in the classroom and is deeply committed to the welfare of others. She tutors others and is active in her youth group and other community organizations like "I love a clean San Diego". Melissa is part of the first generation in her family to attend college and hopes to attend Loyola Marymount, USC, Brown, or UCSD next fall.
Vera Trofimenko
Vera is a senior at Francis Parker High School and her passion is also biology. Last summer, Vera was as lab assistant in the Plant Biology Lab at the Salk Institute. As a lab assistant, she helped graduate students with the study of gene mutations. Vera is actively involved in her school as a member of the academic league, model united nations, national honor society, California scholarship federation. She is also the president of the Writers Club. Vera's social science teacher says that Vera makes teaching a pleasure and the she is a deeply sensitive, witty, charming, and loving person with razor sharp intelligence, academic discipline, unflinching personal commitment, and outstanding scholarship. Her community activities include volunteering for the Sony Art Walk, Jewish Family Services, her youth group, and acting as a part-time reporter for The San Diego Heritage newspaper. She hopes to attend UCSD or Stanford in the fall.
Mary R. Presley
Mary is a senior at University City High School and every since the eighth grade has been "enraptured" (her words) with biotechnology. Her fascination began with a PBS special in which a paraplegic stood up and walked due to a fiber-optic wire running under his skin from his leg muscle to his brain. The development of the device allowed the electrical signal from his brain to stimulate his muscles and she told herself "this is what I want to do". In the eight grade she built a computer controlled robotic arm and recently took first place in the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair in the engineering category. Additionally, last summer she decided to get a "head start" in the field by working as an intern at MorphoGen Pharmaceuticals doing stem cell research. Mary is active in school and is a member of the math club, science olympiad, key club, multi-cultural commission, California scholastic federation. She also debate club and a member of the water polo team. Her community activity in rolling readers and the Baha'i Youth. Mary's English teacher says that Mary is a student of unusual accomplishment and an individual who will make tangible improvements to her - our - world. Mary's top two choices for colleges are MIT (where she has already been accepted) and Harvard.
1999 Pinnacle Scholarship Winners
Jessica Green, of La Mesa.
Dana Levine, of Bonita. Accepted to the California Institute of Technology.
Sally Liu, of San Diego. Accepted to Duke University.
Daphne Lo, of Chula Vista. Accepted at UC Berkeley.
Michelle Shorn, of San Diego. Accepted at Yale University.
