Four outstanding Colonists have been awarded the AHS Alumni Association Spirit Award, a scholarship presented annually to students who display a well-rounded background in academics, extra-curricular activities and pride in being a Colonist.The 2010 winners are Eric Pedroza, Jesse Gutierrez, Jorge Flores and Yimaj Ibrahim, who were awarded a total of $6,000 in scholarship money.
Pedroza will be attending UCLA to study medicine. He served four years on the AHS Associated Student Body (ASB) and as a student ambassador to the Anaheim Union H.S. District. He also participated as an officer in several school clubs and organizations, including serving as president of the California Scholarship Federation. Eric also led the varsity volleyball as team captain.
Gutierrez will be attending UC San Diego to study psychology. At AHS he served on the ASB and provided leadership in several service groups, including the Anaheim Youth Advisory Council, for which he worked alongside the Anaheim chief of police. He is also a dancer in the Ballet Folklorico troupe.
In addition, Jesse is also the winner of a Disney $5,000 scholarship for his “Graffiti Hurts” program, which he started in 2009 in conjunction with the Anaheim Police Department. As part of the program, Gutierrez and other AHS students meet weekly with grade school students to discuss the negative effects of graffiti to the community.
Flores will be attending UC Berkeley to study in a science-related field. In his application, Jorge wrote that after graduating from AHS he will “continue to play the part of a Colonist, the noble first voyager to the New World.” He continued by saying that he hopes to return to the Colony one day as living proof to the importance of academics, leadership and having “fervent pride” in one’s beginnings.
Jorge was a student and community leader and helped his Neighborhood Organizing Committee present an alternative affordable housing plan to the Anaheim City Council. His teachers called him “by far one of the most exceptional students at AHS” and “a role model for maturity and integrity.
Ibrahim, who will be attending UC Irvine to study medicine, has been an outstanding scholar throughout his four years at AHS. Yimaj excelled in his studies, as well in athletics as a member of the junior and varsity basketball teams. A member of the California Scholarship Federation, Yimaj has maintained a 4.0 GPA while playing sports and working part-time in the school cafeteria.
His teachers gave him outstanding reviews, one commenting: “”Yimaj has dedicated his life to serving others, academically, emotionally, and through volunteer work. He has mentored students on the basketball court, as well as in the classroom.”
Other AHS students benefiting from alumni-based scholarships include Michelle Torres, Jose Madera and Hugo Hernandez, recipients of the Bud Fassel Memorial Scholarships. This award is given by Jim Fassel, Class of 1967, in memory of his father Bud, a Class of ’39 grad who served as Anaheim High’s equipment manager for nearly three decades.
Anaheim High is also proud to announce that two of its students are winners of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
AHS Seniors Neda Arora and Jonathan Carmona are two of only 1,000 students to receive the scholarship, which pays for tuition, housing and other expenses for up to 10 years of higher education with no financial cap.
Neda and Jonathan both hold student leadership roles in the district and at their alma mater.
Neda, Anaheim High’s ASB president, is the student representative to the AUHSD Board of Trustees. She is a member of the Puente club, the California and National Honor Societies. Neda is also involved with the Tiger Woods Action Plan, tutoring students in her school’s Ninth Grade Academy Program. Outside the classroom, Neda enjoys playing tennis and biking.
Neda plans to attend UCLA and major in biology, although teaching is also a profession that interests her because she enjoys working with children. Upon graduation, she wants to travel to different countries, including her father’s homeland of India, to help people.
Jonathan is a member of the Student Ambassador corps, which represents the AUHSD to the community. At AHS, he also serves as president of the Key Club; member of NJROTC, Puente, National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation. He is also founder and choreographer of ‘90s LunchBox Kidz, a Hip Hop dance crew.
Jonathan, who plans to attend Colombia University to study biological sciences, also tutored students in the five-year academy program. While at AHS, Jonathan has worked with the CSUF Health Science Department, producing information for research on the disease fibromyalgia. He has also led discussion boards on health-based issues within the Latino community.
Three other AHS students have received the Gates Millennium Scholarship award in the past five years. In 2008, Eliana Trujillo was the first AHS student to become a Gates scholar. In 2009, Brian Agredano and Maisie Nguyen received the award.
The AHSAA Scholarship Committee is headed by Jerry Woodward. Class of ’59. If you wish to contact him about making a donation toward the scholarship fund or serving on the committee, he can be reached at 562-889-0084 or woods47nj@verizon.net.
