Poly Whiz Kid Keeps Up Whirlwind Pace

At first, Christopher Lees thought he might miss his graduation at Polytechnic High School in Long Beach. Lees, 17, is to give the opening commencement remarks June 20. At the same time, he is scheduled to attend a weeklong national speech tournament in Chicago.

But the whiz kid, who will graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and has received more than $30,000 in academic scholarships for college, says he will resolve the conflict by attending both events.

“I’ll fly to Chicago June 16, participate in the tournament, fly home June 20--missing part of the commencement rehearsal--give the welcoming speech, get my diploma, attend grad night party, and catch a ‘red eye’ back to Chicago the next morning,” Lees said.

That whirlwind pace is typical for Lees, said biology teacher Daniel Sourbeer. “He has always got a thousand things going. And he is successful,” said Sourbeer, who taught Lees advanced biology when Lees was a 10th-grader.

“He’s charismatic. He’s mature. Dealing with him is like dealing with another adult. He’s more of a friend than a student,” Sourbeer said.

Lees stands out even among the 650 students in the high school’s magnet program for the gifted and talented, the biology teacher said. Lees started taking college courses at Long Beach City College at age 12. He also found time to start his own computer consulting business.

He started the business in 1989 as a favor for his father, James Lees, who needed a computer system for a property management company he owns. Lees branched out and wrote computer programs for some physicians at Doctors Hospital of Lakewood.

Today, Lees has more than 20 clients, who pay fees ranging from $20 to $100.

During his career at Poly High, Lees also has been manager for the basketball team and the announcer for school sporting events. “He has an incredibly fine voice,” said school counselor Helene Goodman.

Forensic coach Gene Gillam said he spent two years trying to persuade Lees to join the speech team. “He was always so busy,” Gillam said.

Lees joined the team this year, and won the Orange County and East Los Angeles District forensic speech competition for extemporaneous speaking. He will represent the district at the national contest in Chicago.

He was student body president last semester, and is the student member of the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education. Supt. Tom Guigni described Lees as “the best (student board representative) I’ve seen in my 20 years-plus as a school superintendent.

“He is accepted as an equal on the board,” Guigni added. “He is always prepared. He does his homework.”

This year, Lees persuaded board members to allow the student representative on the board to cast a non-binding vote for the first time. The vote is not counted with the board’s vote, but at least the student representative’s views are on the record. Lees now votes on all issues not involving personnel or closed-session items.

“I talk to the students and the student leaders and find out what they want, then I vote,” he said.

Why is he always so busy?

For Lees, the answer is simple. “It is fun. No one forces me to do it. I’m just a regular high school kid. I enjoy what I do.”

He plans to attend Harvard University, where he hopes to major in economics and then attend law school or business school.

* Bell High School student body president Jack Guerrero has received a $5,000 scholarship from the Washington Crossing Foundation of Pennsylvania for his essay explaining why he plans a career in government service. Guerrero and Lees were two of three first-place winners in the competition. The other winner was from Allentown, Pa. Guerrero, 17, will attend Stanford University and major in political science or economics. He intends to pursue a career in government after law school.

* Shruti Sheth, a senior at Whitney High School in Cerritos, will be rubbing elbows with such famous Americans as Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and television journalist Barbara Walters when she visits New York City at the end of June. Sheth and 33 other outstanding students from throughout the nation will attend the American Academy of Achievement’s “Salute to Excellence” program June 27 to 30 as guests of Encyclopaedia Britannica USA, a division of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. The company is paying for the trip. Sheth, 17, who has a 4.0 grade-point average, is her class valedictorian. She will attend Stanford University as a premed major.

* Eleven students have received the Viking Award, Long Beach City College’s highest student honor for academic achievement and outstanding school and community involvement.

They include: Andrew J. Dale, who is on the school’s academic honors program and participates in track and field; Anissa Gonzalez, an honor society member who is president of the women’s club Entre Nous; Steven M. Hinds Jr., former sports editor of the college newspaper, The Viking, and a member of the track and football teams.

Being honored also are: Paulina Laurent, who founded the campus organizations All Cambodians Together and Associated Asian Women; Joseph Evans Matthews, former photo editor of the school’s newspaper; Martha G. Morales, who served as treasurer, historian and president of the women’s club, Espirit; Katie Wagman, former treasurer of the honor society and debate team captain.

Others honored were: Denise Marie Von Rotz, who served on numerous school and community committees, including chairwoman of the finance committee; Carmen Navarro, a cross-country runner who also worked on various scholarship and blood drive committees; Christine Combs, a former editor, news and feature editor of the school paper; and Morgan Chmel, a vice president of the speech team, who won silver and gold medals in state speech debates and a silver medal in national competition.