Note to editors:
For a group photo of the Early Entrance Program grads from San
Gabriel Valley, go to:
http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/images/eeps-sgv.jpg.
(Pictured: back, l-r, Alex Connelly, Angela Chen, Zeeshan Ott; front,
l-r, Margaret Lee, Theresa Cheng)
Eight teens from SGV ready for
More than 20 from Early
Entrance Program
Los Angeles,
CA – Having started college early, some very early, eight
teenagers from the San Gabriel Valley will receive their
baccalaureate degrees at Cal State L.A. Friday-Saturday, June 12
and 13.
The
students, ranging from age 17 to 19, attended Cal State L.A. through its
Early Entrance Program (EEP). The program admits extraordinarily
gifted youngsters—some as young as 11—directly into college and provides
them with monitored evaluation, counseling, and the opportunity to study
with like-minded peers. There are 22 EEP graduates in the Class of 2009
at Cal State L.A.
Here
are brief profiles of EEP graduates from the San Gabriel
Valley:
•
Angela Chen (Temple City), 18, telecommunications and film
major.
Chen, who would like to become a filmmaker and professor, will apply to
graduate school this winter. A Dean’s List student, Chen served as
editor for the Early Entrance Program’s 2007-08 yearbook. She
volunteered at Futurelink School in Arcadia as a tutor helping students
grades K-8 with their homework. She also worked at the Clinton St.
Theater in Portland, OR. She also enjoys playing the piano, violin and
viola. She is graduating summa cum laude.
•
Roy Cheng (Arcadia), 19, psychology major. Cheng, planning to
apply to graduate school after Commencement, served as vice president of
the American Medical Student Association. He is a research assistant for
Professor Kaveri Subrahmanyam in Cal State L.A.’s Media and Language
Laboratory. He is also a member of the Pre-Law Society, Team Flight, G.E.
Honors Club, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He is a
recipient of a 2009 Early Entrance Program Scholarship and a 2009 CSULA
Department of Psychology’s Charles Wang Scholarship.
•
Theresa Cheng (Alhambra), 19, philosophy and biology majors.
Cheng will soon be teaching 9th grade biology through Teach for America,
a program that trains top students to teach in poor communities. She has
volunteered at the Huntington Library and Botanical Garden in Pasadena
and at the Literally Healing Program at the Children’s Hospital in Los
Angeles. At Cal State L.A., she served as vice president and treasurer
of the Philosophy Club; and as president, secretary and publicity
coordinator for the American Medical Student Association. Recipient of a
2009 James Bright Wilson Award and a 2009 Alumni Association
Scholarship, Cheng is graduating summa cum laude.
•
Alexander Connelly (Azusa), 19, biochemistry major;
management minor. Connelly has applied to medical school to pursue his
goal of becoming a cardiologist. He volunteered at the LAC/USC
Collegiate Medical Volunteer Program, Claremont Senior Center and Boy
Scouts. Soon he will begin volunteering at Pomona Hospice. He served as
treasurer and social/publicity director for the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Club, and he was involved in the Music Club, Physics Club,
Chicanos for Community Medicine, and Mock Trial Club. He is also a
member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Beta Beta, and Golden Key Honor
Societies, and the G.E. Honors Program.
•
Christine Do (Altadena), 18, biology major; math minor. Do
plans to apply to a master’s program before heading to medical school. A
Dean’s List student, she has studied the effects of dietary jojoba oil
on HDL concentration in white rabbits in Professor Ray Garcia’s
biochemistry lab at Cal State L.A. She was secretary of the American
Medical Student Association and historian of the Chemistry and
Biochemistry Club. A semifinalist for Miss Vietnam of Southern
California in 2008, she is also a recipient of a David Cameron Memorial
Fellowship and an outstanding poster presentation award at Cal State
L.A.’s 2007 Student Research Symposium. She volunteered at Huntington
Memorial Hospital in the neonative intensive care unit and
post-anesthesia care unit, and at the North Lake Villas assisted-living
facility in Altadena.
•
Margaret Lee (Pasadena), 19, biology major. Lee will be
applying to graduate school in the fall to pursue a career in genetic
counseling. She volunteered at the Sally Ride Science Festival held on
campus, in order to inspire upper elementary and middle school girls to
think about the vast range of careers in science. She served as a
recording secretary for the American Student Medical Association and
president, yearbook chair and secretary of the EEP Club. She is a member
of Golden Key and Beta Beta Beta Honor Societies, G.E. Honors Club, and
Chemistry and Biochemistry Club.
•
Zeeshan Ott (Baldwin Park), 17, social work major. Ott, who
completed a Child Maltreatment and Family Violence Certificate at Cal
State L.A., will be enrolled in Columbia University’s two-year social
work master’s program in the fall. Interested in social policy, he hopes
to pursue a law degree and work with children and families. Having
volunteered for his grandmother’s cultural nonprofit, Urdu Markaz
International, he also participated in the AIDS Walk, Homeless Walk, and
Wednesday’s Child Reunion (to work with foster youths). He worked as a
counseling intern for the South El Monte School District. He was an
academic senator for the Associated Students, Inc.; president and junior
representative for the Association of Student Social Workers; and
president of the School of Social Work Lobby Days Caucus. Recipient of a
Health and Human Services Certificate of Honors, he is also a member of
the the Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key Honor Societies.
Details on Lubabah Ben-Ghaly
of Temple City
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 205,000 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.
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, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu
bachelor’s degrees from Cal State L.A.
in CSULA’s Class of 2009
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