Fifteen Young Grads Will Walk in CSULA Undergraduate Commencement
on Saturday, June 11

Los Angeles, CA – At an age when many of their peers are graduating from high school or starting college, 14 students ranging from 18-22 years old will be receiving their baccalaureate degrees at California State University, Los Angeles on Saturday, June 11, 2005. An additional EEP undergraduate will be receiving both a baccalaureate degree and a teaching credential. Three more “EEPsters” will be attending Cal State L.A.’s Master’s Hooding Ceremony on Friday, June 10.

These exceptionally bright students are part of Cal State L.A.’s Early Entrance Program (EEP)—the only program of its kind in the nation. EEP has grown steadily since its inception at Cal State L.A. in 1983—there are more than 100 EEPsters now attending Cal State L.A. 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.

The 2005 CSULA EEP graduates are:

• Brandon Pancost (Glendale), 19, computer science major. Brandon, who will be attending USC master’s program in computer science, was also accepted to the master’s program at UCLA.

• David Nguyen (Downey) 19, biology – David began attending CSULA in 2000. An honors student, he is one of only 60 in the nation awarded the 2005 national Phi Kappa Phi fellowship. David will attend the University of Iowa’s Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. He was accepted at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, and is wait-listed at David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.

• Frank Sy (Arcadia), 18, biochemistry major. Frank will be attending Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine in the fall.

• Jackson Vane (Whittier), 21, biology major. Jackson will be attending Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago [formerly Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School].

• Jesse Hsieh (Arcadia), 19, psychology major. Jesse started as an “EEPster” in 2000. He will be attending UCLA School of Law in the fall, and was accepted to George Washington Law School, Martin Luther King Law School (UC Davis), and is waitlisted at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Duke, and Cornell.

• Jonathan Roberts (Westchester), 19, electrical engineering major. Jonathan will be seeking employment in the engineering field after graduation. He eventually plans to return for a graduate degree in engineering after working in the field. He is graduating with his sister, Dominique (see below).

• Karen Kuo (San Marino), 19, business administration major, option marketing management (minor in economics). Karen is applying to NYU, Cornell and other master of science in direct and interactive marketing programs.

• Katherine Chuang (Arcadia), 19, computer science major. Katherine is applying to the master’s program in library science at UCLA.

• Mindi Hillman (Los Angeles), 22, liberal studies major. Mindi began her studies at CSULA through the PACE program in 1997; she then started in the EEP program in 1998. She is planning to attend CSUN to earn a credential as a sign language interpreter. Hillman will be seeking an ASL (American Sign Language) or deaf-related job while she is earning her teaching certification. After that, intends to interpret privately, with the ultimate goal of working in that capacity in the court system.

• Nina Lu (Arcadia), 20, biology major. Nina has been accepted to medical school at UC Davis and three other schools, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

• Dominique Roberts (Westchester), 18, political science major. Dominique plans to attend Pepperdine University School of Law in the fall.

• Andrew Greene (Tarzana), 19, broadcasting major. Seeking a job in the film industry after graduation.

Other EEP graduates walking are Geoff Lancaster (Shadow Hills), 23, history major, who will also be receiving a teaching credential; Siraj Gibani (Rancho Cucamonga), 19, a biology major; and Jordan Kubicki (Downey), 19, a psychology major.

Master’s recipients—Friday, June 10, 2005.

• Receiving a master’s degree in environmental hydrogeology is EEPster James Walker (Irvine), 24. James earned a degree in geology at CSULA in 2001, worked as a consultant for a year, then returned to the CSULA master’s program. He is currently working for GeoTrans in Irvine as an environmental consultant, and teaching part-time for the Cal State L.A. Dept. of Geology. He hopes eventually to earn a second master’s in Civil Engineering, or possibly an MBA. • Jon Rheuben (Los Angeles 90026), 23, is receiving his master’s in biology. • Joe Viola (Altadena), 23, is receiving a master’s in mathematics. He will be attending UCLA’s mathematics Ph.D. program in the fall.

# # #