9 Students Awarded UCLA Scholarships

Nine high school seniors from the San Fernando Valley will get a financial leg up when they start as UCLA freshmen.

The students are among 117 seniors to receive scholarships ranging from $500 to $10,000 from the UCLA Alumni Assn.’s Advisory and Scholarship Program. In all, $250,000 was awarded.

A Montclair College Preparatory student, Shoshannah Katz of Tarzana, was one of three students to win the top $10,000 award.

Another Tarzana resident, Daniel Gryczman, who attends Taft High School, won a $7,500 award.

The merit-based scholarships are available to California high school students who apply for admission to UCLA with a Scholastic Aptitude Test score of 1,200 or higher and a minimum grade-point average of 3.85.

This year’s winners were among more than 1,600 candidates. Scholarship winners were judged on academics, extracurricular and community activities, leadership, potential, letters of recommendation and interviews.

The 29 highest ranking students, whose SAT scores were higher than 1,300 and GPAs higher than 4.0, were eligible for the scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.

During a daylong program at UCLA April 25, finalists from across the state participated in interview, essay-writing and team problem-analyzing sessions. Questions ranged from “Did the West win the Cold War?” to “What real or fictional character would you choose as your role model and why?”

Students winning $750 area scholarships are Anna Hsu, Chatsworth High School; Daniel Kessler, Agoura High School; Michelle Miller, Grant High School; John Morga, Monroe High School, and Ely Sorkin, Stephen Wise Community High School, $750.

Brenda Simon of Granada Hills High School and Gelena Treybush of Fairfax High School both won $500 district awards.