Dell Scholarships go to nine students

Nine students in two district schools have been accepted into the prestigious Dell Scholars Program, sponsored by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

The students, from Crawford High School and the School of International Business at Kearny High, will be part of the Dell Scholars Program, which provides its students with resources and mentoring beyond initial financial assistance to ensure they have the support they need to obtain a college degree.

The students are, from Crawford High School: Ikram Aweys, Israel Barbosa, Ayan Fara, Quang Nguyen and Nongfa Tain; from the Kearny School of International Business, Noema Aguilar, Yusife Nazir, Andy Tran.

"All of us at the San Diego Unified School District congratulate these hard-working students and the schools where they are receiving their high school diploma," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "The Dell Scholars program will help them to continue their road to success."

To be eligible, students must attend a high school with a college readiness program, such as AVID or GEAR UP, which are used by the San Diego Unified School District. At the Kearny School of International Business, Principal Ana Diaz-Booz attributed the student success to the AVID program and the hard work of the students.

"Our teachers and counselors have worked endlessly to support these students," she said. "Erica Heinzman, the AVID Coordinator, is especially committed to the students' success."

GEAR UP, funded through a federal grant, has provided counselors that have moved from year-to-year with the classes of 2012-13 at several high schools, including Crawford.

The Dell Scholars Program accepts students who not only need financial assistance, but have shown the ability to work hard and have had "unique experiences in and out of the classroom," according to the program's website. It also recognizes academic potential and determination. Since 2004, the foundation has awarded 300 scholarships each year.

Dell Scholars receive $20,000 each to complete their higher education over the course of six years. In addition, the Dell Scholars Program provides its students with technology, a private scholar networking community, resources, and mentoring to ensure they have the support they need to achieve their college degrees. Scholars become part of a support network for each other that is made up of themselves, their schools, families, peers and a dedicated Dell Scholar team at the Michael & Susan Dell foundation.

• Visit the Dell Scholars Program website.
• News coverage from UT San Diego»

Met, SCPA Students Get Nordstrom Scholarships

Mikayla Stern-Ellis of SCPA

Hannah Brown of the Met

Students at the San Diego Met High School and the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts are among the 80 recipients nationwide of a $10,000 college scholarship from the Nordstrom department store.

Hannah Brown of the Met and Mikayla Stern-Ellis of SCPA received notification of the scholarship by a personal visit by the company's San Diego Region Diversity Affairs Director, Anita Crandall. Scholarship winners demonstrate outstanding community involvement and scholastic achievement with an un-weighted cumulative GPA of 2.7. They also must also be eligible to attend a four year college or university in the United States during all years for which the scholarship is awarded.

Hannah has completed a number of academic internships while attending the San Diego Met High School, on the Mesa College campus. Currently, she is an intern at 3-D Robotics working with hobby drones. She has been accepted to LeTourneau University in Longview, Tx., where she plans to major in Electrical Engineering.

Mikayla’s goals are to become a scientist who works specifically with the Orangutan population in Borneo, after spending last summer in the island nation. Mikayla spent the summer of 2011 studying in the high school Oncology Program at UCSD. A student at SCPA since 6th grade, Mikayla will graduate from the 12th grade as a Drama Major in the Acting Program. She hopes to be attending either Columbia or Brown University in the fall of 2013.

Since 1994, Nordstrom has awarded college scholarships to hard-working high school students from across the country. In 2013, the company will again award 80 scholarships of $10,000. These scholarships are paid out in equal installments of $2,500 over four years to the college of the student¹s choice.

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Announced

There's just one more hurdle for those on the semi-finalist list for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship and students at La Jolla, Patrick Henry, Scripps Ranch and University City high schools are hoping they make the grade for a college scholarship that can be worth $2,500 or more.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received, according to the scholarship's organizer, the National Merit Scholarship Organization.

On the semifinalist list from San Diego Unified are the following students. La Jolla High: Lydia A. Chim, Michaela A. Diercks, Marian Dorst, Patrick J. Eisen, Kathleen Fan, Oliva Y. Gu, Sarah D. Herrmann, Zoe Kleinfield and Marissa C. Nienberg. Patrick Henry High: Amy L. Morrison. Scripps Ranch High School: Fabian K. Boemer, Karli R. Holman, Alwin H. Hui, Jim Liu, Mark R. Saddler, Kenneth Xu. University City High School: Tyler A. Davis, Yvonne Shieh, Alexander C. Wu.

A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn sat scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. From the approximately 16,000 semifinalists across the country, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level and in February they will be notified of this designation.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2013. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 240 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.

In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2013 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 291,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Securing Our eCity, Cybersecurity Poster Contest 2012

The Securing Our eCity, Cybersecurity Poster Contest 2012 is a contest for 6th-12th grade students designed to help promote cybersecurity awareness and education throughout Southern California schools. We are offering students an opportunity to showcase their creative talents and submit posters that will be used in our local cybersecurity campaign throughout 2012-13.

• More information»