4 minute read
NEWS: Student highlights
Lancers in the NEWS
Seniors Named 2021 YoungArts Finalists
Seniors Kelly Lu ’21 and Arya Pratap ’21 are among 150 students selected from 8,000 applications nationwide for the prestigious National YoungArts Foundation annual visual, literary and performing arts competition. Kelly’s Design Arts honor recognizes her graphic design talent, a self-taught artistic skill. “Design is engineering and storytelling, requiring empathy with and awareness of the end user, whether that user is an established firm asking for a rebrand or a child interacting with your app,” she says.
Arya’s World Dance honor is in Indian Classical Dance or Bharatanatyam, a 2,000-yearold divine art form she’s performed since age 4. She uses dance and her current virtual performances to tell stories and to foster change on issues including domestic abuse, social-economic inequality and global warming. “Hearing people say that my dance empowers them to share their own narratives of injustice fills me with an unmatched sense of purpose and confidence to continue experimenting with my art,” she says.
Riley Simonsen ’22
2020 Los Altan of the Year
Junior Riley Simonsen was named Los Altan of the Year by the Los Altos Town Crier for her impressive community service. As a result of the newspaper article, Riley also was recognized by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. In 2020, Riley joined Los Altos’s Teen Advisory Council, part of the Community Health Awareness Council, and co-created the council’s new buddy program matching teen mentors with elementary school students. Riley also serves on the teen advisory group for Lyftly, a Los Gatos-based company that administers mental health and emotional support through an app. She volunteers with San Jose’s Hope Services to assist people with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, and is a teen docent at the Los Altos History Museum. At Saint Francis, Riley is involved with the Family Club, Student Council and California Scholarship Federation. An avid soccer player, she hopes to study nursing.
Kaushik Tota ’21
Youth Game Changer Award
In December 2020 at the inaugural, virtual Clean Energy Hall of Fame ceremony, the California Energy Commission honored Kaushik Tota ’21 as the Youth Game Changer Award Winner. In 2018, he founded the Climate Youth Ambassador Program (climateyouthambassadors.org) to collaborate and lead Bay Area teens in solving the climate crisis. During the pandemic, Kaushik’s nonprofit held 11 virtual events, reaching 700-plus students at elementary and middle schools. The nonprofit won the 2020 Our Planet, Our Purpose: STEM for Changemaking Challenge by Ashoka national award recognizing organizations using STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to promote sustainability in their community. “I believe that awareness is fundamental in spurring on widespread adoption and advocacy for progressive climate policies at a local, nationwide and global scale,” says Kaushik, who is a member of the Science Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Science Olympiad and robotics teams.
LANCER profile
Soana Leaea ’21
Varsity volleyball team position: middle Member Athletic Director’s Council Co-head Polynesian Club Member Encore Volleyball (Redwood City club team)
What has this past year meant to you as an athlete and leader?
No Lancer team has been able to play or practice during COVID-19. It’s been weird to steer around the pandemic and figure out how to keep going and stay active. Our volleyball team keeps in contact and we do team Zooms. I grew up playing basketball, but I felt that volleyball has more camaraderie than the other sports. The bond we have as teammates is important to me. I’ve definitely learned to appreciate that resource during this past year. It’s been weird for recruiting, too. I tried to have a recruiting visit last summer, but it was canceled, so I’ve talked to coaches on Zoom. [Soana will be playing for the University of California, Irvine.]
How are you leading on the Athletic Director’s Council?
The council has one student from every Saint Francis team, men’s and women’s. It’s juniors and seniors. We talk about issues that affect the athletic department and serve as advocates. I hope to be a doctor, so it’s helping me learn to be a better listener and advocate. Our teacher-coaches, especially Coach [Michael] Rubin [volleyball coach], are always there for us. That’s what we need, especially during the pandemic when we can’t be together in person.
You co-lead the new Polynesian Club, one of nine self-identified affinity groups for Saint Francis students of color created last fall. Talk about the club’s impact.
The Polynesian Club and the other affinity groups were needed because, as a whole school, they help everyone understand each other’s culture and traditions. It brings us together a lot more. The way that Saint Francis educates our heart and mind has taught me to be a better person overall and to help others as well as being a good student and athlete. Lanuola Saulala ’22 leads the club with me. Our club hasn’t met in person yet, but we are having Zoom meetings and designing different types of gear for our club.
