Top Senior Scholars Exhibit Many Facets

Stereotypes make Trabuco Hills High School senior Kelly Perez bristle. With blond hair and bright green eyes, Kelly says people consistently label her a “dumb blonde.”

Perez, 17, is anything but that. With a grade-point average 4.73, a letter in varsity soccer and a part-time job at an advertising agency, she doesn’t have to prove that she’s got an ample brain beneath her blond tresses.

“It’s nice to surprise people who judge others by stereotypes,” Perez said. “I work hard in everything I do. A lot comes easy to me. But there is some stuff that’s harder to learn, and so I have to work harder.”

In the past four years, Perez has worked hard enough to be listed among the best and brightest students from Orange County’s 56 high schools, the cream of the class of 1991. Not only do they excel in the classroom, the county’s top high school minds are leaders in other activities as well. They dabble in student government, earn letters in varsity sports, volunteer extra hours at soup kitchens and also manage to have great social lives.

“I don’t look like a stereotypical nerdy valedictorian,” Perez said. “I have a mixture of friends who are jocks and brains and everything mixed in between. I hate the so-called rules that say I have to belong to any one group.”

Perez, who plans to attend Yale University as a major in business administration with aspirations to join the soccer team, insists that “I’m really quite typical.” But there is one elite group that Perez belongs to that most of her friends can’t join. She’s a valedictorian.

This year’s valedictory crew from Orange County will be spread far and wide in their post-high-school years. Nineteen are going to Ivy League colleges, 18 to Stanford, and 56 to the University of California system. Eleven are undecided about college.

Nearly all of them have achieved a grade-point average of at least 4.0. Others, like Perez, have gone beyond that by excelling in honors and advanced-placement classes.

“It’s exhilarating to see what can be accomplished with hard work,” said Orange County Supt. of Schools John Dean. “They are well-rounded students. They don’t have tunnel vision with just academics.”

William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions for Harvard University, said Orange County students have a good reputation among colleges. Seven of the valedictorians are going to Harvard or Radcliffe, he said.

“Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League schools are well aware of the talented students in Orange County,” Fitzsimmons said.

There are already signs that some of that talent will result in heavy-duty movers and shakers coming out of the class of 1991. Indeed, one student has an appointment at the White House later this month.

Sunny Hills High School senior Jae K. Kang will meet President Bush as one of eight teen-agers in California selected as a Presidential Scholar. Not bad for a student who calls herself “a procrastinator with a capital P” and who hasn’t been able to open her school locker since September because she can’t remember the combination.

“I’m basically a boring person,” said Kang, who plans to go to Harvard in the fall. “My idea of fun is to plop down on the sofa and read a good book.”

But Kang, 18, had to do more than just read books to win the presidential honor. She has amassed more than 300 hours of volunteer time at a church soup kitchen and spends her free periods tutoring other students in calculus and physics. On weekends, she mans a volunteer switchboard for Safe Rides, an organization that provides transportation for intoxicated drivers.

Like many of the other valedictorians, Kang is refreshingly honest about herself.

“I’m very mature in some ways and very immature in others,” Kang said. “But I’m not arrogant or condescending, and I don’t have a bloated head.”

Being an A-plus student has had its down times though, according to some of this year’s crop of valedictorians. Often they are type-cast as “nerds” with little or no social life.

Taking exception to that is Laguna Hills High School valedictorian Spencer Lee, 18, who has accumulated the county’s highest grade point average--4.94.

‘My friends are always saying, ‘You’re so busy, how do you have time for a life?’ ” Lee said. “All I know is that I’m having the best time in my life. High school has been great, and life will get even better.”

Like his fellow valedictorians, Lee, who has collected more than $4,000 in scholarships to help pay his Harvard tuition, is active outside of the classroom. A cross-country runner, Lee is already sketching out a career in sports--he wants to work for the U.S. Olympic team as a scientific researcher.

He may also be considering putting his experience as vice president of the student body to work--he has a poster of President Bush hanging in his bedroom.

But that doesn’t mean Lee has ignored the more-typical teen idols. With a passion for hard rock and rap, Lee is an avid fan of Motley Crue, Whitesnake, and Run D.M.C.

Despite his scholarships and achievements, Lee, like other valedictorians, insists he’s not an “overachiever.”

“I don’t see how it’s possible to overachieve in anything,” Lee said. “If I concentrate on less things, I’d probably do better in them. But where’s the excitement in that?”

Orange County High School Valedictorians/Salutatorians/Speakers

ANAHEIM UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Anaheim 330 Trish Consunji(3.45) June 13, 3 p.m. Carlos Flores (N/A) Cypress 320 Michael Nam (4.31) June 13, 6 p.m. Esther Yu (4.31) Katella 328 Gina Bowman (2.74) June 13, 7 p.m. John F. Kennedy 356 Jacqueline Goldgorin(3.30) June 13, 6 p.m. Kenneth Hsu (4.32) Michael Saravia (3.55) Khanh Pham (4.31) Loara 375 Holly Jacobson (3.26) June 13, 5 p.m. Angeles Pai (4.28) Kathy Driskell (3.45) Magnolia 272 Iaiela Apahidean (3.40) June 13, 6 p.m. Sharon Dolgovin (3.90) Savana 280 Cynthia Kuragami (4.27) June 13, 3:45 p.m. Jason Hauge (3.00) Western 283 Jia-Ann Yuh (3.94) June 13, 4 P.M. Jesse McReynolds (4.10)

School Commencement Prospective College Anaheim University of Toronto June 13, 3 p.m. Fullerton College Cypress UC San Diego June 13, 6 p.m. Johns Hopkins Katella West Coast College June 13, 7 p.m. John F. Kennedy Cypress June 13, 6 p.m. College UC Berkeley Cal State Fullerton UCLA Loara UC Irvine June 13, 5 p.m. Columbia Univ. Univ. of Miami Magnolia Biola June 13, 6 p.m. Cal State San Bernardino Savana Yale June 13, 3:45 p.m. Undecided Western UC Irvine June 13, 4 P.M. Cal Tech

BREA-OLINDA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Brea-Olinda 287 Peter Liu (4.49) UC Berkeley June 19, 5 p.m. John White (4.34) Cal Tech

CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Capistrano Valley 536 Connie Fang (4.35) June 18, 7 p.m. Christen Lee (4.34) Elizabeth Lin (4.28) Emmanuel Wen-Chen San (4.28) Ingrid Wang (4.26) Dana Hills 450 Lida Chaipat (4.27) June 18, 5 p.m. Mona Wang (4.26) Brandon Mazzacavallo (4.22) Artur Rzadkowolski (4.21) Nick Peters (4.16) San Clemente 350 Bill Hagedorn (4.26) June 18, 6 p.m. Renee Swayne (3.74) Denise Laster (3.72)

School Commencement Prospective College Capistrano Valley Univ. of June 18, 7 p.m. Pennsylvania Stanford Stanford UCLA UCLA Dana Hills Stanford June 18, 5 p.m. Stanford UCLA UC Irvine Stanford San Clemente Princeton June 18, 6 p.m. Penn State USC

FULLERTON JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Buena Park 260 Steve Vrooman (4.52) June 13, 5:30 p.m. Tracy Luddington (4.45) Fullerton 260 Steve Miller (4.64) June 13, 5 p.m. Sharon Kim (4.63) La Habra 285 Noelle Suzanne Bowyer (N/A) June 13, 4 p.m. Sharon Lynn Tedder (N/A) Dana Simone Martinez (N/A) Sonora 270 Kimberly Leone (4.61) June 13, 6:30 p.m. Linda Le (4.55) Jeannie Im (4.50) Sunny Hills 400 Jae Kang (4.79) June 13, 7:30 p.m. Rose Kim (4.75) Katy Strauss (4.73) Vanita Aroda (4.70) Troy 294 Cassandra Friemel (4.65) June 13, 2:30 p.m. Dan Dickenson (3.57)

School Commencement Prospective College Buena Park Loyola Marymount June 13, 5:30 p.m. Univ. of Minnesota Fullerton Pomona College June 13, 5 p.m. UC Berkeley La Habra Cypress College June 13, 4 p.m. Cal State Fullerton UCLA Sonora USC June 13, 6:30 p.m. UC Irvine Amherst College Sunny Hills Harvard June 13, 7:30 p.m. Brown Univ. Princeton UCLA Troy MIT June 13, 2:30 p.m. Univ. of Redlands

GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Bolsa Grande 330 Duc Nguyen (4.28) June 18, 5 p.m. Timothy James Moore (4.15) Garden Grove 330 Khang Bui (4.38) June 18, 4:30 p.m. Ryan Haynes (4.37) Jennifer Christiansen (4.34) La Quinta 335 Jennifer Chien (4.0*) June 17, 3 p.m. Derek Kato (4.0*) Dao My O (4.0*) Los Amigos 290 Yuan Li (4.24) June 17, 6 p.m. Ra Nae M. Stanton (4.17) Pacifica 290 David S. Chia (3.98) June 17, 6 p.m. Shashi Hanuman (4.00) Linda C. Sexsom (4.00) Rancho Alamitos 228 John Chen (4.42) June 17, 5 p.m. Thao Nguyen (4.37) Eugene Martin (4.34) Santiago 320 Hien-Hanh Do (4.34) June 17, 3 p.m. Tam Vuong (4.28) Stefanie Cave (3.40) Michelle Medina (2.94)

School Commencement Prospective College Bolsa Grande UCLA June 18, 5 p.m. USC Garden Grove UCLA June 18, 4:30 p.m. UC Berkeley Smith College La Quinta Stanford June 17, 3 p.m. UC Berkeley UC San Diego Los Amigos Stanford June 17, 6 p.m. UC Riverside Pacifica UC Berkeley June 17, 6 p.m. UCLA Oklahoma Christian Rancho Alamitos UCLA June 17, 5 p.m. UCLA UC Santa Barbara Santiago UCLA June 17, 3 p.m. Pomona College Rancho Santiago Rancho Santiago

HUNTINGTON BEACH UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Edison 450 Paul Lu (4.49) June 13, 5 p.m. Tran Trang (4.51) Fountain Valley 680 Margaret Chou (4.60) June 12, 5 p.m. Denise Marcello (4.58) Huntington Beach 480 Brian Toy (4.57) June 13, 4 p.m. Staci Slick (3.48) Janell Carlson (2.95) Marina 483 Maevonne Lee (4.61) June 13, 4 p.m. Ocean View 437 Chieh “David” Chieng (4.68) June 12, 6 p.m. Phillip Phuc Le (4.68) Westminster 450 Elizabeth Rytting (4.66) June 13, 5 p.m.

School Commencement Prospective College Edison UC Berkeley June 13, 5 p.m. UC Santa Barbara Fountain Valley Harvard June 12, 5 p.m. UCLA Huntington Beach UCLA June 13, 4 p.m. West Point San Diego State Marina UC San Diego June 13, 4 p.m. Ocean View Cal Poly SLO June 12, 6 p.m. MIT Westminster BYU June 13, 5 p.m.

IRVINE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Irvine 500 June Fang (4.31) Stanford June 18, 5 p.m. University 500 Navid Jahed (4.64) UCLA June 18, 5 p.m. Kristina Ho (4.59) Stanford Steven Huang (4.59) Harvard Ravi Konchigeri (4.59) Stanford Ernest Kim (4.53) Stanford Ji-Hong Zang (4.53) UC Berkeley Kathleen Phillips (4.50) Stanford Woodbridge 420 Sun Chung (4.24) UC Berkeley June 18, 2 p.m.

LAGUNA BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Laguna Beach 150 Charlotte Yen (4.33) UC Berkeley June 19, 7 p.m. Matthew Guss (4.31) Yale

LOS ALAMITOS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Los Alamitos 500 Belinda Young (4+) Stanford June 18, 4 p.m. Kimberley Carlson (4+) Stanford

NEWPORT MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Corona Del Mar 325 Vipal Soni (4.29) Stanford June 20, 3 p.m. Beilene Hao (4.26) UC San Diego Costa Mesa 200 John Updegraff (4.10) UC Irvine June 20, 6 p.m. Kendall Zirkel (4.05) UC Irvine Estancia 300 Brian Chavez (4.15) UC San Diego June 20, 5 p.m. Heidi Chung (4.10) UCLA Newport Harbor 280 David Kamper (3.98) Columbia Univ. June 20, 3 p.m. Stacy Shefflin (3.84) UC Irvine

ORANGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Canyon 390 Billy Wang (4.65) Univ. of Missouri June 13, 1:30 p.m. Jason Pu (4.62) Stanford El Modena 400 Sonja Nazareth (4.80) UCLA June 13, 6:30 p.m. Brent Austin (4.74) Air Force Academy Orange 400 Tu Mai Tran (4.66) UC Irvine June 13, 5:30 p.m. Villa Park 350 Kerry Saukkola (4.65) UCLA June 13, 4 p.m. Wayne Chang (4.60) UCLA

PLACENTIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** El Dorado 330 Michael Kim (4.30) June 18, 8 p.m. Esperanza 500 Kenneth Surjadinata (4.0*) June 19, 8 p.m. Valencia 350 Quynh Truong (4.47) June 20, 7:30 p.m. Saji Gunawardane (3.40) Sheela Loving (3.14) Sharice Hammond (3.55)

School Commencement Prospective College El Dorado UC Berkeley June 18, 8 p.m. Esperanza UCLA June 19, 8 p.m. Valencia Whittier College June 20, 7:30 p.m. UC Berkeley Cypress College UCLA

SADDLEBACK VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College El Toro 475 Steven Kim (4.75) Yale June 20, 5 p.m. Richard Hsieh (4.74) Harvard Laguna Hills 300 Spencer Lee (4.94) Harvard June 19, 5 p.m. Jung Il “Jay” Kim (4.83) Harvard Mission Viejo 405 Anna Gorman (4.77) Georgetown June 20, 5 p.m. Sean Faden (4.72) UCLA Trabuco Hills 320 Kelly Perez (4.72) Yale June 19, 8 p.m. Lisa Paisley (4.67) UC Berkeley

SANTA ANA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Saddleback 550 Tri M. Nguyen (4.67) UC Berkeley June 19, 4 p.m. Hieu T. Truong (4.58) UC Irvine Brent Kelly (4.16) Air Force Academy Santa Ana 450 Ana Rosa Torres (4.27) UC Irvine June 19, 7 p.m. Jeanmarie de Quiroz (4.24) Undecided Valley 420 Brian Nguyen (4.73) Stanford June 19, 1 p.m. Lin Lin (4.60) Smith College Duran Williams (3.57) Cornell

TUSTIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

School Class Valedictorian/Speaker Commencement Size (GPA) ** Prospective College Foothill 315 Steven Lin (4.79) Brown Univ. June 20, 7 p.m. Monica Ryu (4.74) Harvard Susan Wong (4.54) Cornell Mark Foster (4.11) USC Heather Bozek (2.95) Irvine Valley College Erin Marlin (3.42) Univ. of Arizona Monica Reafsnyder (3.37) Chapman College Paul Constantine (2.62) Marymount Palos Verdes Tustin 380 Laura Egendorf (4.77) Wesleyan College June 20, 4 p.m. David Simpson (4.77) UC Berkeley Shawn Green (4.72) Stanford Peter Kraslawsky (2.88) Rancho Santiago Melissa Blitch (3.38) UC Riverside Stacie Nakamoto (4.28) UC San Diego

N/A: Declined to state

* Unweighted grade point average

** Grades for students taking Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate classes are weighed on a 5-point scale. At some schools, the valedictorians or top students are not automatically chosen to be graduation speakers; instead, tryouts are held from the senior class at large and graduation speakers are not necessarily those ranked first academically in their class.

Source: Individual schools listed Researched By: DALLAS M. JACKSON / Los Angeles Times