Youth / * News for the 18-and-under crowd : 18 Local Teens Attend National Conference

Eighteen Orange County high school juniors traveled to Valley Forge, Pa., recently for the national Youth Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Freedoms Foundation.

A national educational institution, Freedoms Foundation has as its goal “to improve the understanding of the fundamentals of the American way of life as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”

The local youth were selected by the organization’s Orange County chapter. Local spokeswoman Connie Silva said candidates are nominated by both their high schools and Freedoms Foundation members, then selected in an essay contest.

The Orange County participants and their high schools: Barrett Beardsley, Villa Park; Shaunna Burk and Julie Gunderson, Pacifica; Victor Echevarria, Servite; Tracy Eleasar, Mater Dei; Teresa Flores and Maria Talag, Buena Park; Annie Kim, El Toro; Catherine Lo, Sunny Hills; Laemsing Nguyen and Trang Thuy Nguyen, Bolsa Grande; Molly Moore, Katella; Mark Payne, St. Michael’s; Lindsey Schubert, Irvine; Stephanie Soltis, Santa Margarita; Matthew Steele, Marina; Christine Vu, Amigos; and Jennifer Wong, Western.

Three alternates in the competition were Karakate Boonsirisermsook and Kittima Boonsirisermsook, both of Saddleback High; and Hadith Ramos of Buena Park High.

--BY BILL BILLITER, JOHN POPE AND MIMI KO CRUZ