Gwyneth was raised in a two-parent household that was supportive of her educational endeavors. She needed extra time and extra help due to her Asperger’s syndrome, which was diagnosed early in life. She has maintained a near-perfect GPA and has been accepted at the University of Washington. She plans on studying science.

Gwyneth wants to be in the field of math and science and believes she can make a difference by applying her skills in fields where women are underrepresented. She is dedicated to her studies, has worked an outside job, and is known to her teachers to be bright and always prepared.

Brandon came to CHS from a homeschool background and jumped in with both feet. He has taken a full load of math and science classes and participated in CHS varsity golf, baseball and tennis. Brandon has been a videographer for CHS Publications and served on the ASB cabinet. Brandon worked for three years with the Pacific Science Center (Discovery Corp) in 6-month stints. He began in a Robot Internship, then a Planetarium Internship, progressing to the role of Senior Interpreter 2 which included training volunteers and employees. He honed his public speaking skills by producing live shows.

Brandon extracurricular activities include:

• Global Visionaries, 3 years, including immersion in a building construction project and Spanish in Guatemala.
• Church activities and First Tee Mentoring and Leadership program.

Oh, yes, and Brandon managed to maintain a 3.974 GPA in his spare time! Brandon is thankful that, in his junior year, one of his teachers observed that he had a rather negative outlook on life. Fortunately, he had the good sense to change that.

The result, he says, was that his ”senior year has been a blast academically, athletically, and socially.”

What’s next for Brandon? He is attending Valparaiso University near Chicago. Fascinated by meteorology since competing in the Science Olympiad and predicting weather in an NOAA program, he will study to be a meteorologist. Brandon hopes to use the Spanish language he has studied for five years in his career and wants to help people understand and prepare for adverse weather.

Johairah received a scholarship to pursue her dream of becoming an environmental engineer. She will study at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is familiar with the setting as she has been part of the Outward Bound program. She became involved with the study of energy using wind turbines and won a regional competition with her teammates.

Activities at school and in the community include track and field, biking, president of the Filipino Club and pep band. She has worked part-time throughout high school.

Her letters of recommendation are highlighted with high praise for her leadership skills, intelligence, and hard work.

Johairah has faced many struggles in her home life but always has a smile on her face. Her parents are moving to the Philippines and have little or no financial or emotional support for her. She has been homeless but has not given up and continues to move forward.

Andrew will be going to the U of W in Bothell. He plans to study communications with public health or business administration. As a Filipino-American, he wants to increase the presence of people of color in the newsroom and in the profession of journalism.

His school activities included being Senior Class President, Filipino Club president, lead anchor and reporter Cleveland Publications, Cleveland Singsations Choir (co-founder/ Officer) and CHS PTSA student representative. He has also received multiple honors for his journalism and video broadcasting work.

While pursuing his studies, he received many accolades for his leadership and organization skills, his drive to get better at all things, and his compassion and humility.

He steps up when he sees a need whether helping secure auction items or organizing the journalism program’s processes. His recommendation letters proclaimed his character and ethics.

Andrew’s community-oriented activities have included teacher assistant, St. Edward School volunteer, food distributer at a food bank, and a food sorter and packager for Food Lifeline.

He was an altar server at church, a singer/guitarist in a multicultural choir, and a musician for Ana AHanu ‘L Ku’uleialoha.

The CHS alumni association is proud to support his academic pursuits.

Jessica was a scholarship recipient and plans to attend the University of Washington in Seattle where she has been accepted into their Direct to Computer Science program. She maintained a 4.0 GPA and developed a diverse set of skills always looking for the ‘why’ behind concepts. She was active in Girls Who Code, was part of the Running Start program and was president of the National Honor Society. She was influenced by her aunt, who taught her about hard work, good family values, and that perseverance is the key to success. Jessica also took AP courses and was always working ahead of her class. She received an AP Scholar Award. She volunteered at the Jefferson Community Center and UW Making Connections.

She was also part of All Girl Everything Frisbee Program – a grassroots tackling social justice issues activity.

Her sports activities include Soccer (team captain in 2018) and Varsity Frisbee.

She wants to use her degree in the computer science fields to attain an executive position and be an influence in mentoring and encouraging women to do the same.

Jessica’s hobbies include: playing guitar, sketching and drawing.

A lecture from Dr. Adam D. Leache, an Environmental Scientist, through University of Washington Math Science Upward Bound (MSUB) program, inspired Calvin Fung to expand his appreciation for the outdoors from a hobby to a major in environmental science. His junior and senior year extracurricular activities centered around sustainability efforts on campus. Calvin joined the Green Team, a student-led club with hands-on activities in the school garden and fundraising to advocate for small changes in the school. He collected dried whiteboard markers from classroom teachers and mailed them to the Crayola Company to repurpose the plastic and reduce the impact of dense plastic waste on the environment.

The professors in the summer Upward Bound program as well as his teachers at Cleveland High School commended Calvin’s work ethic and energy and believe he will rise to the rigor of college coursework.

In the fall of 2019, Calvin has begun his pursuit of an Environmental Science degree at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Katelin is one of our deserving recipients of the CHSAA scholarships. Katelin will be attending the University of Washington next year in its pre-sciences program and has already been accepted early into Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy. Katelin’s experience with helping in the care of her grandfather inspired her to enter into the field of pharmacy, and she will be embarking on her eight-year journey toward that goal next year. Katelin has proven herself dedicated both to her academics and her extracurricular pursuits. She was noted by her AP Chemistry teacher as a standout student in her academic performance, but also a student who inspires and encourages the best from her peers (as exemplified in her project-based learning projects).

Katelin took on a leadership position in the HOSA (Future Health Professionals of America) club and it was noted by her club advisor of the impact she made on that group and the legacy she will leave behind for future HOSA leaders. She has performed community work with the King County HPV Vaccine Champions Campaign and the Rainier Valley Food Drive.

She has been an active member in both the Key Club and the National Honor Society and has been a varsity golf team and JV tennis team player. In addition, Katelin worked in the Seattle Public School’s Team Read program for two years.

A statement from her AP Chemistry teacher sums it up

“Bottom line, Katelin is the full package of a student: intelligent, hard-working, collaborative, and a young woman of high character.”

Congratulations to Katelin,. We wish her the best in her endeavors