College Corner

Collins to lead tech deployment

A team of UC Berkeley undergraduates has won a grant from the One Laptop Per Child Association to distribute laptops to children in Uganda during summer 2009.

Marie Collins, a 2007 LCHS graduate and sophomore political economy major, will lead the UC Berkeley One Laptop Per Child deployment of 100 laptops to Buwaiswa, a small village in the Kamuli district of eastern Uganda, this June.

The proposal was one of 30 selected from over 220 submissions from students around the world for the OLPCorps Africa program. This groundbreaking new grant equips recipient student teams with 100 XO laptops, a server, a $10,000 operating budget, and a 10-day training session in Kigali, Rwanda.

The One Laptop Per Child Association developed a low-cost laptop — the “XO Laptop” — to revolutionize children’s education. Their mission is “to provide educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.”

The UC Berkeley team’s mission is to use the XO laptop to improve literacy and education in Uganda. Although the Uganda government guarantees universal primary education, much of the money destined for educational programs is instead siphoned into the pockets of government officials. Ugandan students must pay for their own textbooks, and only four children from each family are eligible to receive free primary education.

Rare opportunity for undergrad

La Cañada resident Kayla Furman, a member of the class of 2011 at Occidental College, is one of approximately 100 students at the college who have been selected to live and work on campus this summer pursuing independent research projects.

Furman is working with Dr. Kristi Upson-Saia, professor of religious studies, conducting research to study African tribal religions, animism and the contest between magic and religion.

Such an opportunity is rarely extended to undergraduates, as most students do not participate in research at this level until graduate school.

SooHoo elected to fraternity

Hayley SooHoo of La Cañada High School’s Class of 2008 has been elected to the Delta Tau Chapter of Delta Omicron at the College of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Va.

Delta Omicron is an honors fraternity in the field of music with collegiate chapters established throughout the United States and abroad. A freshman at William and Mary, SooHoo is second chair flute for the wind symphony. She recently performed with the group in Atlanta. She’s been named “Best Freshman” with the symphony, and next year she will serve as its publicity director. SooHoo was a member of the LCHS 7/8 band for two years and the high school band for one semester.

SooHoo studied flute with La Connie Branson of La Cañada for seven years.

She plans to major in business, with a minor in music at William and Mary.

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