Page 10
Lowell Alumni Association
Summer 2009
Letters to the Editor Campus News Briefs To: Lowell Alumni Association
To the Lowell Alumni Association, Thank you very much for selecting me as a recipient of an alumni scholarship for 2009. I am especially grateful because college is getting more expensive every year and the economy is currently in the dumps. So, thank you again for your ceaseless, unrivaled support of Lowell High School and its students. Sincerely, Jeffrey Wong ’09 [The cover of Jeffrey’s thank you card is shown above.] Dear Lowell Alumni Association, Thank you very much for your continuous support. Your generosity warmed our hearts. We really appreciate it! Sincerely, AP Chinese students and teacher [Editor’s Note: Alumni donations funded $5,700 in AP exam fee subsidies this year for students with financial need. Providing this special assistance for Lowell students has long been a centerpiece of the LAA’s grants program.] Dear Lowell Alumni Association, I wanted to thank you for granting me the Leah Marie Boehm Memorial Scholarship and for the lovely awards presentation on May 29th. I enjoyed meeting many members of the association over the course of the evening, and I look forward to joining their ranks after my graduation in just a few weeks! Thanks again to both the donors and the members of the scholarship committee for making the evening possible, and please let me know if there is anyone directly connected with the Leah Marie Boehm Scholarship whom I can thank personally. Sincerely, Hannah Safford ’09 Dear Lowell Alumni Association, I am writing to thank you for the generous scholarship you awarded me last May to attend Harvard College. The money has enabled me to postpone finding a termtime job, enabling a very smooth transition from high school to college. I have settled into dorm life, gotten used to cafeteria food, and even learned to do my own laundry. I have also adjusted to college-level coursework, for which I was extremely well prepared by Lowell’s rigorous curriculum. I would once again like to thank the Lowell Alumni Association for helping to make this experience a reality. Sincerely, Marieke Thomas ’08
From: Ivan Yee, Steve Granucci, Bob Jow and Janet Tse (Advanced Placement Coordinating Team) Re: Alumni Grants for Advanced Placement Students Thanks to the generosity of the Lowell Alumni Association, 36 Lowell students received LAA subsidies to help pay for the 119 Advanced Placement exams they took this May. Overall, 1,392 students took a total of 3,331 examinations in 30 disciplines between May 4th and May 15th. These numbers represent a significant increase over the 1,219 students who took 3,149 AP examinations in 2008. This year, while we were distributing the alumni grant letters, one of the recipients opened the letter and, with tears welling up in her eyes, said “You do not know how much this means to me and my family!” These grants helped a significant number of students who did not qualify for state or federal aid, but found their families to be suffering in these hard economic times. These grants definitely enabled these deserving students to take AP examinations that will have a profound effect on their futures. [Editor’s Note — Long a centerpiece of the LAA’s grants program, the $5,700 in AP exam fee subsidies this year were funded by alumni donations.] Dear Lowell Alumni Association, Thank you for granting me a Lowell Alumni Association scholarship. When I first received the notice, I was simply ecstatic; I was overjoyed and honored to receive this award. This award means more than just financial aid to me. Growing up in my small family, consisting only of two siblings and a single mother, I have learned the importance of family. My family and I are all dependent on one another. Whatever step I make or do in life, I never want to let any of my family members down. I try to remain diligent at all times, whether at school or at home. This award has not only proved to me that my persistent efforts in my academics have paid off, it has made my mom and my family proud. This award will always be a motivation to me for now as well as later in the future to always do my best. Thank you for the motivation and opportunity you are giving me to continue my education. I am forever grateful. Thank you. Sincerely, Sharon Xu ’09 Dear Lowell Alumni Association, Enclosed at last is a small donation to partially (very!) assuage my guilt at enjoying the newsletter for several years and never contributing a dime. I also appreciate so much that “we” have an actual human in the office — in the charming person of Terry Abad this evening — who returns calls. Most unusual these days! Very best wishes to all, Nancy Anderson Chirich ’40
Don’t miss our eNewsletter! To subscribe, just send us your name and your e-mail address. lowellaa@lowellalumni.org
Lowell Still Top High School Choice in SF
With 1,947 applications for admission this year, Lowell was again the first choice for more students than any other public high school in the city. 1,700 of those applicants — fully 41% of all applicants for 9th grade slots citywide — named Lowell as their #1 choice. Runner-up as top choice in the preference system was Lincoln High School, listed as #1 choice by just 817 applicants. Lowell expects to enroll an entering 9th grade class of about 650 students in August.
Elena Chin Honored as Scholar Athlete
Lowell senior Elena Chin was selected as one of two CIF/Farmers Scholar-Athletes for the San Francisco section. As a distance runner on the track team, Elena finished third and fifth in the 1600 meter event in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and second in the 3200 meter event this year.
The Lowell Wins National Honors
Lowell’s student newspaper, The Lowell, was honored by the National Scholastic Press Association as one of the top 40 high school newspapers in America at the NSPA’s recent convention in Phoenix. Several members of the newspaper staff attended the convention, thanks to financial support from the Lowell Alumni Association’s Art Hoppe Fund.
Sports Teams Dominate League Once Again
Lowell athletes outperformed the competition again this year, taking a whopping 19 team sports titles: badminton, boys varsity and frosh/soph basketball, boys varsity and frosh/soph cross-country, girls cross-country, girls soccer, boys varsity swimming, girls varsity and junior varsity swimming, softball, boys and girls tennis, boys varsity track, girls varsity and frosh/soph track, girls varsity volleyball and boys and girls fencing.
Five Students Make US Physics Team Quarterfinals
In the best showing in several years, five Lowell students made it to the quarterfinals of the competition to make the US Physics Team, placing them among the 400 best physics students in America. These top-notch science students, all members of the class of 2009, are Percy Fang, Eric Leung, Alex Lin, Mark Olson and Ben Yee.
All-City First Team Selections Abound
Lowell athletes were found on virtually every All-City first team list this year. Congratulations to all! Girls soccer: Lilliana Pedroni ’09, Alissa Goldberg ’10, Shari Kogan ’10 and Adrienne Pearce ’12. Boys soccer: Anthony Clay ’10 and Jose Contreras ’09. Softball: Sophia Chen ’09, Alina Werth ’10 and Chloe Roddy ’11. Boys volleyball: Christopher Leung ’09, Jon Li ’09 and Joseph Lee ’10. Girls volleyball: Katrina Lau ’09, Marianne Koo ’09 and Jessica Peng ’10. Baseball: Narin Leininger ’09, Sam Mallonee ’10, Nate Gilchrist ’10, Charley August ’11. Girls basketball: Jessi Miao ’09 and Kristina Lum ’10. Boys basketball: Yuhki Sakai ’09. Boys fencing: Alex Cheng was individual champ. Football: Ian McGuire ’09, Noah Shaw ’10 and Jabes Rivera ’10, with Wang Han ’09 named Raymond Bass Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Five Lowell Veterans Retire in 2009
With a combined 113 years of service at Lowell, the four teachers and one counselor who retired this year have helped shape the lives of thousands of Lowell students. Counselor Rosemary Dacanay started at Lowell in 1970 and retired this past January. Retiring in June were Latin teacher Dr. Benito Nogara, science teacher James Carmack (also a Lowell alumnus from the class of 1962) and social studies teachers Mary Anne Wold and Gloria Daffner. Best wishes to all for a fulfilling and enjoyable retirement!
Science Students Win Team Award Five Lowell seniors, with science backgrounds ranging from Environmental Science to biology and physics, competed in the 17th annual Canon Envirothon and earned a third place finish among the field of 15 teams from across the state. Jason Lo, Karyn Smooth, Ravi Patel, Jasper Wu and Alice Zhou represented Lowell and were coached by science teachers James Carmack and Kathy Melvin. Although this was the very first time Lowell has participated in this annual competition, students and faculty found it valuable. “I thought the experience was very insightful and fun,” Jasper Wu said. “It was an excellent opportunity to apply what I learned in AP Environmental Science.”
Student Poets Honored in City Competition Four Lowell freshmen earned honors in the city’s Young at Art Literary Art Contest, including first and second place awards. Deedee Pearce won the first place prize in the high school poetry category, freshman Anna Chen took second and freshmen Karissa Tom and Nancy Wu both won honorable mentions. Part of this success is due to the efforts of poet Susan Terence, who works with all freshman English classes at Lowell as part of the California Poets in the Schools program, with funding provided by the Lowell Alumni Association. These students were honored at a special event at the de Young museum where first place finishers read their poems.
Dragon Boaters Travel to China Twelve members of Lowell’s dragon boat team competed in the Macau International Dragon Boat Race in late May. Senior paddler Jimmy Xin said, “I want to be able to see how they paddle in China because they are the best in international champions and we’re going to be competing against them, which is very exciting.” The Lowell squad combined with students from Galileo High School to form the “Galilowell” team, which was the only youth group and the only co-ed team in the competition. The trip was partially underwritten by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. You can see Lowell dragon boaters compete later this year at the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival at Treasure Island on September 26 and 27.
Student Actor Competes in New York After finishing first in the English Speaking Union’s 2009 National Shakespeare Competition regional, Lowell senior Karel Ebergen received a fully-paid trip to New York in late April to compete in the finals at Lincoln Center. He recited Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55 and performed Caliban’s monologue from The Tempest. “I used the same monologue as the one we had on our final. To prepare for the competition, I rehearsed with (drama teacher Teresa) Bookwalter,” Ebergen said. He added that for additional at-home practice “one of the best things is to rehearse in the shower because it provides for good acoustics.” Besides being a veteran of every Lowell play and musical during his four years, Karel is the fourth Lowell student in the past six years to make it to the finals of the ESU Shakespeare Competition.