For immediate release:

The largest class of young grads
—really young—to receive bachelor’s degrees
at Cal State L.A. June 10

Los Angeles, CA – While many of their peers are graduating from high school or starting college, 22 students ranging from 17-21 years old will be receiving their baccalaureate degrees at California State University, Los Angeles on Saturday, June 10, 2006.

These exceptional students make up the largest graduating class from Cal State L.A.’s Early Entrance Program (EEP), the only program of its kind in the nation. Modeled after the program at the University of Washington, Seattle, Cal State L.A.’s EEP admits extraordinarily gifted youngsters—some as young as 11—directly into college, providing the early entrants with monitored evaluation, regular counseling sessions, and the opportunity to study with like-minded peers.

Here is EEP’s Class of 2006:
• Joshua Cain (Los Angeles), 18, computer science major. Cain, a partner for 10point10 Media since last year, will continue to work as a web developer for the company after graduation.

• Rex Cheng (Arcadia), 19, biochemistry major. A Dean’s List and honors student, Cheng is one of only 60 in the nation awarded a $5,000 National Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship. Cheng, graduating magna cum laude, will attend the Duke University School of Medicine in July. He was also accepted to Washington University School of Medicine.

• Michael Fenton (Los Angeles), 18, philosophy (pre-law) major. Fenton, with an interest in film, plans to apply to law school after completing his internship at a production film company.

• Joanna Ghosh (Los Angeles), 18, philosophy (pre-law) major. Ghosh has been accepted by the London School of Economics and Political Science to attend its one-year master’s program in political theory. Her goal is to earn a juris doctorate and practice law, especially international law.

• Christopher Lee (North Hollywood), 17, physics major. Lee, who will attend UC San Diego’s Ph.D. program in physics this fall, has also been accepted to doctoral programs at Columbia, UC Irvine and University of Maryland-College Park. A recipient of numerous scholarships, Lee will be graduating summa cum laude.

• Joanne Lee (Riverside), 17, economics major. Lee—the University’s youngest graduating senior— was admitted to UC Berkeley’s Agricultural and Resource Economics Program on a research assistantship with tuition and stipend. She was also accepted to UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz.

• Robert Martin (Los Angeles), 18, French major; geography minor. Martin will be traveling to Krakow, Poland, in the summer to begin graduate studies at Jagiellonian University.

• Erik Mendoza (Ontario), 18, physics major. Mendoza, who served as president of the CSULA Physics Club, has several post-graduation options to consider for his future plans.

• Aditi Mhaskar (Glendora), 19, biochemistry major; mathematics, philosophy minor. Mhaskar, who wants to become a physician focusing on either pediatrics or geriatrics, will be attending Drexel University College of Medicine in August.

• Ani Muradyan (Glendale), 17, history major. Muradyan is planning to work for a year and gain some career experience before applying to law school. Having been exposed to the legal field while volunteering at the Edelman Children’s Court in Los Angeles, her goal is to become a lawyer.

• Jeshanah Naranjo (Los Angeles), 20, theatre arts and dance major. Naranjo, whose ultimate career objective is to direct socially provocative feature films, plans to pursue a master’s degree in film. She volunteered as a stagehand on many campus performances and taught theater to fifth-grade students at a local elementary school.

• Helen Nieman (San Marino), 19, political science (pre-law) major. Nieman will be working on the Olympic Planning Committee in Beijing, China, after graduation. She plans to apply to law school after completing this internship.

• Myle Ott (Santa Monica), 17, computer science major. Ott, who received the University’s Phi Kappa Phi Certificate of Merit, will be attending Cornell University in the fall on full tuition and teaching assistantship. He was also accepted to UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and USC.

• Justin Padilla (Quartz Hill), 18, computer science major. Padilla, who will be vacationing in Cancun immediately after graduation, plans to apply to graduate school next year.

• Suvag Kumar Patnaik (Murrieta), 19, biology major. Patnaik, currently working at Goum Laboratories, will attend the Keck School of Medicine of USC in the fall.

• Andre Petrikovets (Los Angeles), 19, biology major. Petrikovets plans to take a year off to travel the world before applying to medical or dentistry school. He was presented Cal State L.A.’s Outstanding Senior Award at the Alumni Award Gala in 2005.

• Neshan Weiss Sarkisian (Glendale), 19, biology major. Sarkisian, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in zoology, will work for the Entomology Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles after graduation.

• Gabe Sharaf (Pacific Palisades), 19, electrical engineering major. Sharaf—who plans to pursue a career in aerospace industry, particularly in space technology—will attend USC Viterbi School of Engineering in the fall.

• Winny Shen (Diamond Bar), 18, psychology major. Shen will be attending one of the top psychology doctoral programs in the nation—University of Minnesota. She was also accepted to two other renowned psychology doctoral programs.

• Charissa Silva (Whittier), 18, psychology major. Silva, whose research has been published already in professional journals, was admitted to Cal State L.A.’s psychology master’s program with a Biomed PREP (Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program) Fellowship, fully funding her graduate research.

• Ronald Tan (Monterey Park), 20, biochemistry major. An honors student, Tan served as vice chair of finance for the University’s student government. He will be taking a year off before applying to medical school.

• Jeffrey Walsh (Lancaster), 20, mathematics major. Walsh has several post-graduation options to consider for his future plans.

• Lei Zhao (Corona), 18, electrical engineering major; communications minor. Zhao, first-place winner of this year’s CSU Statewide Research Competition, will attend Georgia Tech in the fall. He was also accepted to UC San Diego, Purdue University, Brown University, UCLA, USC and Virginia Tech.

Details on Mendoza’s and Walsh’s post-graduation plans were unavailable at press time.

Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 185,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds--reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Among programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, to be housed in the Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab now under construction. www.calstatela.edu

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