Futures High
26440 La Alameda
Mission Viejo 92691
(949) 348-0608
* Enrollment: 250
* Established: 1985
* Principal: Liz Halasz
* Winning moments: Cultural field trips to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Brentwood and the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles; Nationals figure skater Sasha Cohen
* In the works: Anytime Anywhere Learning; senior portfolios
* Graduation: 6 p.m. June 14 at the Mission Viejo Country Club
SENIOR STANDOUT
Talla Motakef of Anaheim Hills
* Achievements: Earned a 4.45 weighted grade-point average; named Regents scholar; Michael L. Rosten creative writing contest winner; received Fullerton College book award; state Sen. Joseph L. Dunn certificate of recognition; state Assemblyman Lou Correa certificate of honor; offered summer job at UCI biological research center; listed in “Who’s Who Among American High School Students”; speaks Farsi and French
* Connections: Enjoys reading classics and novels; writing short stories and poems; tennis; basketball; surfing the Web for interesting science-related sites; volunteered 350 hours for the Safe and Healthy Communities organization; worked at the law office of Kathryn E. Terry
* Ambitions: Attend UC Irvine, major in biological sciences and English; pursue doctorate at Caltech and career in biomedical research
* Family: “My mother, Mary, has home-schooled me since the second grade. I finished eighth and ninth grade in one year. I’ve taken 1 1/2 years of college while still in high school”
* Philosophy: “Success is a quality and quantity whose value doesn’t have a scientific unit. However, you know you have succeeded when you have done nothing but your very best.”--Anonymous
THE SENIOR CLASS: 31