Literacy Group Graduates 11 New Tutors

Literacy Tutor Certificates will be awarded June 29 at the Fullerton Public Library to 11 volunteers of the Fullerton Affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America who have completed a tutor training course.

Following their graduation they will be assigned on a one-on-one basis with students who require instruction in basic reading or English as a second language.

The new tutors are Carla D. Akins, Betty Annis, Peg Carey, N. Albert Lopez, Amanda T. Phem and Bernadette Yeng, all of Fullerton; Eric Gustafson and George Tassios, Brea; Donna Vidales and Bev Schultz, Anaheim, and Cathy Ortega, Yorba Linda.

A new tutor training class will begin at the library on Oct. 10.

Brian W. Joe, 9, a fourth-grader at Brea Country Hills Elementary School in Brea, has been invited to present a piano performance at the California School Employees Assn. annual conference on July 30 at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers hotel. His presentation will include popular and contemporary songs.

Costa Mesa resident Margaret Anne Kelly, 31, a Costa Mesa High School and Cal State Fullerton graduate, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will leave July 1 for Mongolia. She will provide consultation to small business owners.

“The opportunity to have a job that has a more visible impact on the community around me and the overseas adventure were the most appealing aspects of Peace Corps service,” Kelly said.

On June 28, Peace Corps volunteer Lisa J. Welton, 32, of Huntington Beach will be on her way to Jamaica as a primary physical therapist working with disabled children in rural areas.

A graduate of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, she earned her degree in physical therapy from Mt. St. Mary’s College. She has used that knowledge locally as well as on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and in Romania and Ethiopia.

And heading for Malawi, Africa, on July 7 will be Lisa Ann Burton, 22, of Laguna Beach, who will teach chemistry and physics at the secondary school level as a Peace Corps volunteer. “With Peace Corps, I have the opportunity to travel and perceive the world through a different view,” she said.

Cal State Fullerton graduate Melinda K. Harlow of Long Beach has been awarded a Fulbright grant and will spend 10 months at the University of Mannheim in Germany this fall.

She will study the German apprenticeship system for training skilled workers and the applicability to American business.

“The fact that she has a strong proficiency in German and has spent an extensive amount of time in Germany showed she is suitable for living and studying in that country,” said Ronald M. Harmon, professor of foreign language and literature and Fulbright program adviser at the Fullerton college.

Jason Itri of Huntington Beach and Yeegee Brigida T. Castillo of Anaheim have been selected to attend the National Young Leaders Conference July 7-12 in Washington, D.C.

The high school students will meet key leaders and newsmakers from the three branches of government, the media and the diplomatic corps during their six-day stay at the conference titled “The Leaders of Tomorrow Meeting the Leaders of Today.”

Michelle Pirozzi, 18, of Anaheim Hills has won a four-year scholarship from United Parcel Service Foundation following a nationwide contest and on Aug. 21 will begin attending Cornell University, where she will major in law.

While attending Canyon High School in Anaheim, Michelle maintained a grade-point average of 4.3. She has been in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program since sixth grade.

Monika Polinay, 16, who dances with Ballet Montmartre in Costa Mesa, was named Overall State Grand Champion in her age group in the fine arts-ballet division at the recent California State Talent Competition in San Jose.