Denver Public Schools Asian Education Advisory Council presents awards to students, teachers and administrators
The Denver Public Schools Asian Education Advisory Council (AEAC) celebrated its 34th Annual Awards Ceremony on Sunday, May 5 at the Doubletree Hotel in Denver. Students as well as teachers, administrators, parents and community members were presented awards at the event by AEAC chair Priscilla Rahn. Consul General of Japan Midori Takeuchi was the keynote speaker, and DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova greeted families and congratulated all of the nominees. The 2019 Community Award was presented to Jeff Osaka, owner of Osaka Ramen, Sushi Rama and 12 @ Madison. Leadership winners were: Tuong Cindy Ho, Joey Kim, Jolina Nguyen and Jensen Tsao.Academic winners were: Tatiana Martinez-Tran, Dawn Cubangbang, Karena Li and Lay Mu. Loan Maas Special Talent winners were: Maralgoo Amarsanaa and Nyla Nakashima. Adult winners included: David Elbot (teacher at Place Bridge Academy), Jessica Leonard (administrator at Denver Language School), Lyndsay Tayler (administrator assistant from Denver Language School), Jennifer I (parent volunteer at Hill Campus of Arts and Sciences) and Anne Aragon (special service provider at JFK High School). The two high school students who received the Allstate Award and a $500 check from Shelley Migaki’s office in Lakewood are: Allstate Academic Award Winner Steven Nguyen is an 11th grade student at Abraham Lincoln High School. He performs incredibly well academically, ranking #1 in his class and holding a
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June 2019 | On Scene
4.6 GPA. He aspires to become an astrophysicist and is preparing himself by taking an AP Physics course. He is enrolled in all honors and AP courses.
Allstate Academic Award Winner: Steven Nguyen Steven’s experience of being bullied as a child and made fun of for his looks and accent has led him to gain the confidence he has today. His parents taught him not to care about what others thought of him and to stand up for himself. He strived hard at school and kept busy with after school activities. He is a member of ROTC and Balarat and has volunteered as a library tutor, as well as for Back to School Night and at the Food Bank at Cross Road of Soccer. He has even helped build ramps for handicapped kids. Allstate Leadership Award Winner Tam Nguyen is a junior at the John F. Kennedy High School in Denver. She is academically driven and community service oriented and maintains a GPA of 4.862 with a term GPA of 5.2. Tam is a member of the JROTC Honor Platoon and has provided service to the community at the Hot Chocolate Run for the Ronald McDonald House, Makea-Wish, The Janet Danos March for the
Cure, World Vision, Special Olympics and the American Legion. At school, she has volunteered at the pep rallies, trick-or-treat street, canned food drive, penny wars and class meetings. She has attended The Bridge Project, a nonprofit organization serving youth in Denver’s public housing neighborhoods, for eight years and has gained educational and emotional support from the program. She aspires to be a role model for underprivileged kids by volunteering to work at The Bridge Project to teach STEM and coding classes. Tam and her parents are immigrants from Vietnam and her parents have instilled in her the importance of hard work and education.
Allstate Leadership Award Winner: Tam Nguyen AEAC is a nonprofit organization established in 1985 by the Denver Public Schools Board of Education and seeks to improve educational quality and opportunities for all students with emphasis on students of Asian or Pacific Island heritage. Learn more at aeac.dpsk12.org.