2011 Scholars (Left to Right, Top Row: Angel Asante, Emelyn Erickson, Jennifer Cruz; Bottom Row: Miranda Lutz, Pamela Ross, Therese Buendia)
Angel Asante: Heading to UC Berkeley as junior to study Bio-engineering (Synthetic Biology) Angel is very poised now, but describes herself as someone who used to be shy. She was able to overcome that and get confidence with the help of a mentor at school who gave her confidence. She has already done a lot of research in her field of major, recently with Anderson lab at UC Berkeley. Angel is the daughter of immigrants and says her parents shaped who she is today. She will be spending 9 weeks this summer at MIT in the MIT Summer Research Program for Undergrads under Prof. Krystala Prather. Angel calls herself optimistic, hardworking, calm & collected. "I first started off at Contra Costa Community College as a junior in High School," she said. "I took Intro to Chemistry with Joseph Ledbetter. He turned into a mentor for me. He mentioned specifically synthetic biology and that started my interest. Synthetic biology integrates our medical and technology together, and hopefully it will help create new ways to approach diseases and treat people in the future. I want to pursue research and this new approach to biology that is really exciting."
Emelyn Erickson: Heading to Duke University as a Global Health Major Emelyn wants to go out in the world and make a huge difference. She is fluent in French & Spanish and very excited about what she wants to do with her life. She raised funds herself to go on foreign aid trips the last three summers to Nicaragua, Japan and France, and hopes to continue that in the future. She organized Club Veg at her school, obtaining a grant from Whole Foods to bring a salad bar in the cafeteria. She will be spending the summer taking a 10 week Mandarin Chinese class at UC Berkeley. Emelyn describes herself as determined, empathetic, and a dreamer. "When I went to Nicaragua, I got the feeling it was an area I could make a difference in personally. Small actions making a difference every day in someone's life," Emelyn claimed.
Jennifer Cruz: Heading to a UCLA, as junior majoring in Pre-Med, Jennifer has a bubbly personality and is the kind of person who wants to go out and make a difference in the world. She loves to dance in her spare time, saying "dancing makes me happy inside." Jennifer does lots of volunteer work at Children's Hospital, USCF medical center, and is the kind of volunteer who thinks nothing of spending an extra three hours talking to a nervous patient. Her faith is important to her and big part of her life. She describes herself as passionate, hardworking and faithful. "What really inspired me...I had a great childhood, but while studying biology I realized how diseases are out there that limit children from living to their full potential as a healthy child," Jennifer stated. Miranda Lutz: Heading to UCLA as an Anthropology Major Miranda is a charming, delightful gal who will quickly organize a benefit concert to help a friend out who is sick and raise $8,000 in the process. She is active in soccer and youth group and wants to study the brain and the way people behave. She works, is interested in journalism and spends time writing a column for a local paper. Miranda will be spending the summer helping with her church bible camp and working. She describes herself as ambitious, caring and driven. "I took an AP Psychology class and was fascinated by the way people interact and evolve," she claimed. "Anthropology is a good base for politics, journalism, psychology, and the health fields. It is a strong foundation for life because it gives you a lot of skills. I find the information so interesting." Pamela Ross: Headed to UC Davis as a junior transfer student to study International Relations/Conflict & Peace, Pamela worked her way through Diablo Valley Junior college as a child care provider, paying her own tuition. In her major, Pamela would like to immerse herself in one country, like Africa, to really study the problems in that area. Poised and confident, she is a true leader and organizer who is fluent in French. She picked UC Davis because of their Model UN program. Pamela loves to run in her spare time and is signed up this summer for the SF Marathon and the Tuff Mudders (sponsored by the British Forces) which is held in Sacramento the day before she starts UC Davis. She describes herself as nurturing, determined, and adventurous. "We live in a flattened world with all our current technology. We can see, hear and talk to people like they are physically with us. We are all connected in some way. Policies of France affect us in the US, and vice versa," Pamela said. "I see issues, conflicts, etc. that need resolutions and hopefully I can be a diplomat one day and develop resolutions for those problems. I feel I can make a difference, a positive difference, in the world."
Therese Buendia: Heading to UC Berkeley as a Pre-Med major, Therese cried as she described her dreams of wanting to be a doctor because of a lengthy illness her mom had several years ago. Going through that scary ordeal gave her the determination to get to college and become a doctor one day. Therese has built houses in Mexico with her church group (St. Agnes) and just returned from building two homes and one addition for three families in an area near Tijuana. In her spare time, she also volunteers at John Muir Hospital, and is involved in student government at her school. Therese describes herself as determined, passionate, and compassionate. "I've always been passionate about helping others. What inspired me most was when my mom got sick for over a year," Therese said. "That whole process of going to the doctors, being rushed to the ER, eventually having surgery...that whole process made me want to help others and become a doctor."