Discus Awards

Academics

In addition to honors courses I took throughout my years at Chico High School, I have also completed 12 college courses at CSU, Chico and Butte Community College, including: German, Calculus, Physics, Philosophy, International Forum, and Guitar Ensemble. In my college physics course, I discovered a unique lab solution that no one had ever thought of before. It is now included in the department lab manual. I also studied Particle Physics at Stanford University last summer with Dr. Nelia Mann. I have taken 5 AP exams, and received a 5 on both. My teachers know me as a student who thinks.

Community Service

Bidwell Presbyterian Church:

o October 2006 and 2007: Three-day service trip to Santa Cruz, CA – Service to homeless, included passing out meals, blankets and clothes on the streets.

o April 2007 and March 2008: Week-long service trip to Mexico with Amor Ministries – Building homes for indigenous poor.

o February 2007: Week-long Service Trip with Agros International to Brisas Del Volcan, Honduras – Community development through village partnership and work projects.

Chico High School:

o 08-09 Academic Year: Physics Peer Tutoring, 1 -2 hours per week.

People to People Youth Ambassador:

o July 2008: Three-week program in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, with home stay in Germany and attended local gymnasium.

Arts

After meeting jazz bassist Ron Carter in New York a few years ago, I disciplined myself. After school, I’d bid my friends farewell to go sit in my room with my throwaway classical guitar, practicing the basic finger movements for hours in an attempt to imitate the sounds that, for the first time, I was beginning to really hear. Eventually, I gained access to more advanced music and the practice rooms at the local university, and every day last summer I lugged my new, handmade instrument in its case to practice behind a locked, windowless door for hours on end, playing the works of classical composers like Tárrega, Giuliani, and Bach. I now know that I love music, and I also have a better sense of the meaning of my relationship with Ron.