O'melveny's 2019 Warren Christopher Scholarship Awards
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About the artist: About the cover quote: Geovani Cruz is a 2017 Warren Christopher At the end of my year’s clerkship [for Supreme Scholar who hopes to make a difference in the Court Justice William O. Douglas], it took me world through art and create real and positive several days to screw up my courage to go into social change. He will be attending Tufts his office and ask his advice about my future. He University in Fall 2019. looked right through me, then responded, “Get out into the stream of history and swim as fast as you can.” I waited for more words but got only a penetrating stare and continued silence. When I realized that Douglas had nothing more to say to me, I backed out of the room, thanking him as I went. After reaching my desk, I plopped myself down to think about what to make of his Delphic remark. After mulling it over for a while, I decided that with that single sentence Douglas had given me two messages. First, he’d told me that I had a chance to become a person of consequence, a judgment he had never even hinted at before. Given what I knew and thought of Douglas, it was the most empowering vote of confidence I could imagine. Second, Douglas had advised me to aim high—to risk my strength against a current that had the capacity to sweep me away. — Excerpt taken from Warren Christopher’s book “Chances of a Lifetime” The Warren Christopher Scholarship Awards are granted annually to exceptional sophomores from high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. This year, 122 high schools in the District nominated one tenth grader for the award. The Scholarship criteria include academic promise, community service, and financial need. From the group of nominees presented by all of the high schools this year, 15 Warren Christopher Scholars were selected. Each Scholar receives a $20,000 college scholarship, payable at $5,000 per year for four years. The Warren Christopher Scholars must graduate from a LAUSD high school and attend college to claim their scholarship award. Committee Matt Kline, Chairman Allison Keller O’Melveny W.M. Keck Foundation Elham Ardestani Kat Kleindienst McDermott Will & Emery Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert Andrew Christopher Cassandra Seto Akridge Invested O’Melveny Scott Christopher Stuart Tobisman JP Morgan Loeb & Loeb Thomas Christopher Alison Towery Latham & Watkins Los Angeles Unified School District George Demos Elsa Weiss O’Melveny Walsworth Julie Fei Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP The ceremony and ongoing work of the program wouldn’t be possible without O’Melveny’s Julie Villarreal, Irma Torres, Angelisa Herrera, Stephanie Och, and Tracy Scott. Program June 13, 2019 11:00 am Welcome JULIE FEI Remarks VANESHIA REED 2010 Scholar Presentation of Awards ANDREW CHRISTOPHER ELHAM ARDESTANI 12:00 pm Luncheon 12:45 pm Closing Remarks MATT KLINE 1:00 pm Roundtable Discussions SCHOLARS ONLY The Awards Ceremony and Luncheon are hosted by O’Melveny & Myers LLP. 2019 Warren Christopher Scholars Osvaldo Alvarez South Gate High School Osvaldo Alvarez is already well on his way to achieving his dream of becoming an engineer. In high school, Osvaldo signed up for a robotics ELAC course, where he learned to build a robot and conducted robot-led tests. This class sparked his interest in computer science and improved his leadership and communication skills. Osvaldo wants to continue that passion at a summer UCLA engineering program, with the ultimate goal of attending UCLA and becoming an engineer. Taking a full load of honors courses, he volunteers with the Key Club, where he gave back to the community by delivering toys to children in foster care and working in a food bank. With the Environment Club, Osvaldo cleaned up the Bolsa Chica conservatory and is working on his school’s small garden. “I have learned how big a difference people can make through cooperation and hard work.” Minna Belidhon Foshay Learning Center Minna Belidhon came to the United States as a 12-year-old from a very poor neighborhood in the Philippines. “I felt different and invisible. My accented tongue and broken English silenced my voice.” Going to the library and discovering that she had access to thousands of books helped Minna learn English. “I felt my voice and control going back to me and this time I wanted to own it. I wanted to use it. So I did.” In 2017, Minna joined the Migrante and Filipino Migrant Center, a nonprofit organization with the mission to educate, organize, and mobilize low- income and working-class families of the Filipino community. She creates pins, buttons, shirts, and more to raise money for the group, and writes poems and raps to raise awareness of social injustices. Minna also shares her fellow migrants’ stories through photography and film. “It’s my way of representing my culture while also contributing something to my community.” Ivy Cohen STEAM Legacy High School Ivy Cohen is determined to make the homeless population feel seen and heard. “Compassion is fickle for the poor. Perceived stereotypes of homeless people can be a sentence of life in exclusion, and programs in place to alleviate the impoverished population practice harsh scrutiny for basic needs.” She volunteers with an organization that passes out clothes to the homeless on Skid Row and volunteers with a church food pantry to share food resources. In community college, Ivy has taken a computerized-aided drafting course and an introduction to engineering and design, which led to an internship with LAUSD’s project planning and development unit. Her teacher calls Ivy “intelligent, capable, and charming” and “quick on her feet.” In college, Ivy wants to study bioengineering with the goal of designing and manufacturing tissue and organs to replace dying and diseased ones. Clarisa Cristobal Sylmar Biotech Health Academy It’s not every day that “Teen Wolf” inspires a future doctor, but for Clarisa Cristobal the show helped her learn English as an eighth grader and set her on the path to becoming a cardiologist. Using that show and webtoons, Clarisa quickly went from not knowing the English language to enrolling in four college courses after her freshman year of high school and working to obtain a Health Occupation Certification. In addition to AP biology, she is now taking her first biotechnology course to become certified as a biotechnology lab assistant. Clarisa wants to help those who can’t afford medical care. When she isn’t relentlessly pursuing her academic dreams, Clarisa runs with Students Run LA and on her school’s track and field team, which she credits with helping her improve her “leadership and communication skills.” “When I run I forget everything for the moment; I feel free like I am flying and no one can stop me.” Romario Cruz John Marshall High School Romario Cruz spent much of his younger years on the move before being placed with his aunt and uncle in the second grade. Now, he does most of his moving on the soccer field. For the past six years, he has spent two to three hours a day practicing. He is now a middle fielder for his high school team. When Romario isn’t on the field, he draws, writes poems, and is learning digital photography and Photoshop. But his love of soccer and art pales in comparison to his love of cats. Romario volunteers at a local animal shelter, helping to take care of cats in need. His teacher calls him “intelligent, persevering, and ethical” and “one of the most consistently interesting people.” Gerson Espinoza John H. Francis Polytechnic High School Gerson Espinoza immigrated to the United States from El Salvador when he was six years old. After the harrowing journey, and faced with a new culture and a mother who worked hard to support his family, Gerson felt a sense of isolation. Determined to make sure other kids don’t feel that way, he volunteers with middle schoolers at his church to encourage them to go to college. He also works with the nonprofit Pacoima Beautiful, recently arranging a fruit and vegetable exchange between local residents to encourage a discussion about healthy eating. In his first year of high school, Gerson took one AP class—then took on four more his sophomore year. He wants to study biology at Stanford, become a pediatrician, and volunteer with Doctors Without Borders to help poor children without access to healthcare. “I push myself because I want to become someone who can give back to the community and spread a message of hope.” Emily Flores Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy of Scientific Exploration Emily Flores says, “The one thing in my life I can control is how hard I work.” She embodies that mantra, holding leadership roles in numerous clubs and taking three AP classes. She participates in her school’s MESA and ASB, served as secretary for school site council and governing council, coordinated her school’s blood drive with the American Red Cross, helped found an all-girls robotics team and an academic decathlon team, and mentors three fellow students. Emily wants to either be a pharmaceutical chemist—because she wants “medicine to be accessible to those who need it, even if that means discovering new ways of creating it”—or study political science so she “can fight to get regulations changed.” Soliyana Gebremadhin RFK - Ambassador School of Global Leadership Soliyana Gebremadhin came to the U.S. from Ethiopia less than two years ago when her mother took a job in the Los Angeles consulate. Two weeks before she moved, she suffered a devastating loss in her family.