Scholarships enable opportunities
Various organizations provide financial aid to honor students.
A handful of Brahmas, graduating in a just a few days, will be leaving with scholarships resting on their shoulders.
Rachel Wang and Rachel Ahn, this year’s winners of the 14th annual Girls’ League scholarship, will each receive $500 to go toward their college tuition.
Wang plans to continue her academic career at UC Irvine and major in English. She hopes to become a teacher and applied for the scholarship due to her passion for helping the world around her.
She considers one of her greatest high school achievements to be her self-published children’s book, “Fighting Problems,” which follows two horses in their journey to peacefully divide food among themselves without using violence. Publishing the book in her junior year, Wang has donated nearly 20 copies to Maple Hill Elementary School and Quail Summit Elementary School as well as Diamond Bar’s Tiny Tots Program.
“The reason why I published [the book] is so I can hopefully inspire children to follow their dreams like I did,” Wang said.
“Fighting Problems” is also available in Spanish, a language Wang has utilized to help her peers. She received the Spanish student of the year award in her junior year during the All School Awards Night.
Meanwhile, Ahn plans to attend University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She applied for the scholarship since tuition is more expensive for out-of-state colleges.
She said she made fond memories when participating in the school’s American Red Cross club, which hosts blood drives to save over 600 lives per year.
“Working with such amazing students, officers, advisors, and staff made [the American Red Cross] the best experience I had on campus,” Ahn said via Instagram.
Ahn believes the best part of the American Red Cross is that any DBHS student can be a part of the club. She is grateful to have the opportunity to give back to the community.
Girls’ League adviser Lisa Pacheco said she chose Wang and Ahn for the scholarship due to their authenticity and the unselfish motives they had when helping their community—they provided assistance because they wanted to see the world improve.
“We want that spark and that passion for giving back and helping to make the world a better place,” English teacher Pacheco said. “They’re both stellar young ladies and very deserving of their award.”
Amy Miyahara, the recipient of the second annual Bull’s Eye scholarship, will attend Stanford University to pursue a journalism-based career. Miyahara said she applied for the scholarship in order to help pay for college and to continue journalism. The scholarship covers $1,000 of her tuition.
She said her greatest accomplishment was being one of the editors-in-chief as well as the sports editor of the Bull’s Eye in her senior year, along with reporting on topics students would otherwise be oblivious to.
“It was exciting to bring attention to certain aspects of culture or help Diamond Bar High School students become a little bit more educated and aware,” Miyahara said.
Katherine Tran, a recipient of the Air Force ROTC scholarship, applied for it because of her wish to become an officer in the Air Force after college. The scholarship will pay approximately $15,000 of her college tuition.
Tran said her greatest achievement was being a member of the DBHS dance team. As the captain of this year’s dance team, she took charge of a team that relied on her.
“That was the best part of my high school career,” Tran said. “It taught me how to become a leader later on.”
Additionally, Timothy Yeh won the $2,500 National Merit scholarship. To qualify for a National Merit scholarship, one must be selected by a committee of college admissions and high school counselors. The group then considers the applicant’s academic achievements, success on standardized tests, leadership skills and a letter of recommendation from a school employee. Involved in a DBHS math club, Yeh said he was fond of the memories he made while participating in the activity.
“I was [the] Math Team president this past year and I really enjoyed competing in Math Madness with all my friends,” Yeh said via Messenger.
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