JUNE 9, 2017
Who’s
NEWS? Business news and special
achievements for North San Diego County. Send information via email to community@ coastnewsgroup.com. MAN WITH A MISSION Encinitas resident Shane Poppen is a dedicated board member for the McAlister Institute, with a current mission to shed light on its June 17 Walk for Sobriety. The walk is an opportunity to bring help and hope to individuals and families braving the unforgiving cycle of addiction. Shane has chaired the Walk for Sobriety committee since its inception in 2012. He is an active volunteer in the community, serving on the board of directors for the McAlister Institute, as a board committee member for Feeding America San Diego, as a camp director for Bill Walton’s inaugural Inter-Tribal Sports basketball camp supporting San Diego’s Native American youth and as a youth basketball coach for the San Diego YMCA.
velopment with the Emilio Nares Foundation, a nonprofit that helps families navigate their child’s journey through cancer. Conrad brings more than a decade of experience fundraising for children’s programs like The Grauer School, an independent college preparatory school in Encinitas; The Parkside School, an elementary school serving students with special needs in New York City; and the EastLake Educational Foundation in Chula Vista, which supports technology enhancements for six public schools in the EastLake area.
WATER POSTER WINNERS Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s board of directors recognized the winners of the 2017 North County Water Agencies Water Awareness Poster Contest. The first-place winner was Catherine Schmidt from Blair Trumble’s class at Santa Fe Christian School. Schmidt’s poster advocates to be water-smart by collecting rainwater. Emma Reyes Moreno from Wynne Love’s class at Stone Ranch Elementary earned second place with her postLOTUS TROLLEY er, which depicts water-usLAUNCH Carlsbad resident ing devices and shares water-saving tips. Maya Laffler from Karin Roberts’ class at El Camino Creek Elementary received thirdplace honors. Her artwork promotes water-wise practices and brings to light the issue of water quality. Farzan Dehmoubed introduced his new ecofriendly product, Lotus Trolley Bags, with a Backyard Launch Party at his Del Mar home June 3. View a product video at https://bit.ly/2pxvf6w. Lotus Trolley Bags is a 1% For the Planet member and hopes to raise awareness for charities it supports. ENCINA WASTEWATER AWARDS Recognizing the critical role industries play in protecting the ocean, the Encina Wastewater Authority honored local businesses that achieved 100 percent wastewater discharge compliance for 2016 with its prestigious Gold Award. These industries play an important role in protecting the collection system workers, the Pacific Ocean and the Encina Water Pollution Control Facility. The 2016 Gold Award recipients include: SeaSpine, Inc. (seven years); Versum Materials US, LLC (four years); Hollandia Dairy (four years); Natel (two years); Metal Etch Services (two years); Alphatec Spine, Inc. (two years); GE Osmonics (two years); Carlsbad Technology, Inc. (one year); Prudential Overall Supply (one year); Vista Industrial Products, Inc. (one year); Natural Alternatives International (one year); Melles Griot (one year); Glanbia Nutritionals, Inc. (one year); HRE Performance Wheels (one year); and Hughes Circuits, Inc. (one year). NEW DIRECTOR FOR NARES FOUNDATION Encinitas resident Renee Conrad is the new director of de-
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T he R ancho S anta F e News
WALMART COMING TO OCEANSIDE Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, arranged the sale of a single-tenant absolute net-lease Walgreens property in North San Diego County at 3507 Cannon Road in Oceanside. The purchase price was $7.4 million, which represented a cap rate of 5.0 percent. Hanley Investment Group Executive Vice President Kevin Fryman, along with Ed Hanley, president of Hanley Investment Group, represented the seller, a private investor based in Beverly Hills. The buyer, a private investor from Northridge, was represented by Jason Flashman/ Flashman Investment Group of Peak Commercial of Los Angeles. RECYCLING IN STYLE The Kate Spade New York distribution center located in Carlsbad has been named as the Recycling Champion of the Quarter by Waste Management and the csity of Carlsbad as part of the Recycling Champion Program, which recognizes Carlsbad businesses for their exemplary recycling efforts. The city of Carlsbad and Waste Management recognized employees who work at the distribution center of Kate Spade New York for their exemplary sustainability efforts, which include recycling all cardboard packaging from their product resulting in 65 percent of the material generated at the site being recycled thereby diverting it from the landfill.
13-year-old local girl prodigy graduates from Palomar College By Aaron Burgin
SAN MARCOS — To say that Claire Lewis isn’t your average 13-year-old is a gross understatement. She could perform classical piano pieces three months after touching the ivory keys at age 6. She recently aced Calculus 3 — a feat many college students struggle to accomplish. And last Friday, the San Marcos girl with a love of classical piano and Gustavo Dudamel walked the stage with her fellow graduates — from Palomar College. What started three years ago as her parents’ search to satisfy her homeschooling math requirements climaxed with Claire receiving her Associates Degree, the youngest person in the school’s 70-year history to receive a degree. For Claire, an aspiring orchestral conductor and classically trained pianist, and her family, the journey was rewarding. “I feel really happy I was able to do this, I’m so happy I had this option,” said Claire, who plans to take the next year to apply to musical conservatories. “I just wasn’t getting challenged in regular school, so this was a perfect fit.” Her father, Tim Lewis, and mother, Simone de Bruyne-Lewis, are software engineers. Both said they were happy to be able to help their daughter pursue her dreams. “My feeling is one of excitement and gratitude,” Tim Lewis said. “I’m just grateful we were able to support her pursue her goals.” Tim and Simone said they recognized from an early age that Claire was innately more curious and driven than your average child. That curiosity and drive manifested itself most notably when she discovered her love for music. She started playing the piano at 6, and after three months had outstripped her father, a musician of 30 years, and was playing Bach minuets. “I remember when the crossover occurred, I would play the minuets and make tiny mistakes and have to go back,” Tim Lewis said. “One day she played it, and moved right on.” Almost immediately, her parents said, she gravitated not just to playing instruments, but directing them. When listening to classical symphonies, she would mimic a conductor’s motions with uncanny precision, her parents said. She knew what she wanted to be when she grew up at that moment, and hasn’t wavered. “When I was a child, if someone asked me what I wanted to do, I probably said a doctor,” Lewis said. “But did it change in a
Claire Lewis is the school’s youngest graduate ever. Courtesy photo
year? Probably so. “But she seems to be steadfast in that goal, and bravo to her,” Lewis said. “I think it’s fantastic that she has that certainty.” De Bruyne-Lewis said by fourth grade, Claire was begging to be homeschooled so she could devote more time to music. She currently is a member of the San Diego Civic Youth Orchestra. The parents made her finish elementary school first, and then started exploring homeschool options that would allow her to be
in a classroom setting and satisfy her accelerated learning rate. “She would go through the books faster than I was able to teach her,” de Bruyne-Lewis said. “We searched and found that Palomar offered courses, and we asked about them, and learned she needed to take an assessment to see if she could take the college-level courses.” That was in 2014, and Claire tested into beginning algebra. But with each class, Claire’s curiosity increased and she wanted to
take more courses, before long she was carrying the workload of a full-time student. And these were not online courses: Claire was in class with college-age students. “At first they were confused about why this little kid was in class,” Claire said. “But after a few classes they got used to it.” Tim Lewis said he and his wife initially had reservations, but they quickly melted away. “What started as ‘How do we get this (homeschooling) done?’ turned into this amazing experience, and our initial trepidation quickly gave way to, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool,’” he said. Her favorite courses? Math, Claire said without hesitation. “It was easy for me to understand,” she said. “I got an A in Calc 3, and I got a perfect score on one of the tests.” Now, Claire said she will take the next step to narrow her list of prospective conservatories and begin the involved process of applying and auditioning for one of the precious spots. “There are a lot of good conservatories so I’m looking forward to applying to them,” she said.
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