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Brawley, California - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tonight highlighted the extraordinary achievements of standout public high school seniors from across the state. 144 students were recognized at the first Annual Governor’s Academic Recognition and All-State Academic Team Awards Dinner in Sacramento for their outstanding academic, extra-curricular and volunteer achievements. The Governor also named 25 of the 144 students to California’s first All-State Academic Team.

 

“I think it is extremely important that we take the time to honor the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence all of these students have demonstrated,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “These young men and women should be proud of what they have accomplished. We have students who never missed a day of class, made perfect scores on the SAT and still find time to volunteer for a dozen different extra-curricular activities. They mentor, tutor and excel in sports. They dream of making the world a better place and they already are.”

 

The 144 honorees were chosen by county superintendents on a proportional basis based on the size of the county. The 25-member All-State Academic Team was then chosen by the Governor’s Office based not only on grade point average (GPA), SAT scores and class rank, but also extra curricular activities, community service and volunteer activities.

 

“The state puts on many high-profile events designed to honor schools, teachers and principals. And that’s as it should be – they certainly deserve to be honored,” said Secretary of Education David Long. “But we wanted to add a new tradition where we celebrate our state’s greatest natural resource: the students themselves. I could not be more proud of the young adults we honor at tonight’s inaugural event.”

 

The 25 students named to the inaugural Governor’s All-State Academic Team are:

 

Jacob Andreas (GPA: 4.36, SAT: 2400, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Piedmont High School. His activities and honors include: San Francisco Bay Area Science Fair grand prize winner, UC Berkeley CONCEPT Material Science lab intern and Mock Trial.

Jacqueline Quinn (GPA: 4.31, SAT: 2400, Class Rank: top 5%) is a senior at Albany High School. Her activities and honors include: National Merit Scholar semifinalist, USA Biology Olympiad semifinalist and varsity cross-country captain.

 

Armando Martinez (GPA: 4.32, SAT: 1940, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Fresno High School. His activities and honors include: student government vice president, link crew leader and varsity volleyball.

Jenny M. Rempel (GPA 4.32, SAT: 2350, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Edison High School. Her activities and honors include: National AP Scholar, National Merit Scholar finalist and staff writer for The Fresno Bee teen section.

 

Jessica D. Ruprecht (GPA, 4.486, SAT: 2250, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Six Rivers Charter High School. Her activities and honors include: 2008 Humboldt County Stellar Student Award, courses at Humboldt State University and “vdu Award” for outstanding performance in calculus.

 

Joshua Steimel (GPA: 4.71, SAT: 2100, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Brawley Union High School. His activities and honors include: class valedictorian, San Diego Union Football All-Academic Team and I.V.Football.com “Player of the Week.”

 

Johnathan Shih (GPA: 4.5, SAT: 2310, Class Rank: 9) is a senior at Stockdale High School. His activities and honors include: varsity cross-country, AP Scholar with Honors and soccer and piano volunteer teacher.

Laura Stearns (GPA: 4.5, SAT: 2400, Class Rank 1) is a senior at Stockdale High School. Her activities and honors include: Academic Decathlon highest overall student score in Kern County, Whitman National Debate Institute Lincoln-Douglas semi-finalist and Bakersfield Youth Symphony.

 

Andrew Kim (GPA: 4.53, SAT: 2300, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Redondo Union High School. His activities and honors include: Academic Decathlon, 1st place in sports writing at Southern California Journalism Education Association Regional Write-off and manager of student-run internet provider for Redondo Beach Unified School District.

Stacey Shen (GPA: 4.5, SAT: 2330, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at El Camino High School. Her activities and honors include: executive in Call for Youth Leadership, Chinese Calligraphy winner and National Guild of Piano Players.

Eddie Wu (GPA: 4.4, SAT: 2360, Class Rank: 6) is a senior at Mark Keppel High School. His activities and honors include: 1st place overall at Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon competition, tennis team captain and Science Olympiad gold medalist.

 

Mohamed Ismail (GPA: 4.52, SAT: 2220, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Tamalpais High School. His activities and honors include: AP Scholar with Distinction, varsity volleyball and community service through AFS in Panama.

 

Dylan M. Kenny (GPA: 4.36, SAT: 2360, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Golden Valley High School. His activities and honors include: Academic Decathlon team captain and gold medalist, research assistant at UC Merced organic chemistry lab and swim and water polo teams.

 

Elvia Jimenez (GPA: 4.33, SAT: 1730, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at E. Alvarez High School. Her activities and honors include: community service at NatividadHospital in pediatrics and occupational medicine, volunteer in theater productions and golf team.

 

Kylie Rogers (GPA: 4.2667, SAT: 2280, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Brea Olinda High School. Her activities and honors include: AP Scholar with Distinction, editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and Mayor’s Youth Service Award.

 

Placer County
Meredith Evancie (GPA: 4.64, SAT: 2380, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Placer High School. Her activities and honors include: valedictorian, Placer County Peer Court lawyer and 1st place in innovation in chemical engineering at Society for Women Engineers Awareness program.

 

Maryanne R. Ibrahim (GPA: 4.58, SAT: 2230, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Poly High School. Her activities and honors include: Rensellaer Medal for Excellence in Math and Science, research assistant at University of California, Riverside, biomedical sciences lab and varsity tennis.

Albert Liu (GPA: 4.72, SAT: 2370, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Centennial High School. His activities and honors include: Corona-Norco Youth council, Claremont Young Musicians Intermezzo Orchestra and captain of varsity math team.

 

Sacramento County
Chuan-Song A. Lin (GPA: 4.6, SAT: 2290, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Laguna Creek High School. His activities and honors include: Sacramento Youth Symphony Premier Orchestra violinist, Academic Decathlon medalist and 1st place in California State Fair art contest.

 

Jasmine Petro (GPA: 4.7, SAT: 2190, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Middle College High School. Her activities and honors include: dancer for Danzas de Aztlan, student at San Bernardino Valley College and volunteer geometry tutor.

 

Lourd Kettoola (GPA: 4.87, SAT: 2000, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Granite Hills High School. Her activities and honors include: varsity swim team, varsity academic league and Harvard Book Award.

Kaylee Weil (GPA: 4.5, SAT: 2290, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Carlsbad High School. Her activities and awards include: Academic League varsity team captain, California state organizer of the Student Peace Alliance and co-director of Kids for Peace.

 

Matthew A. Heflin (GPA: 4.43, SAT: 2120, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Escalon High School. His activities and honors include: Academic Decathlon overall county champion, varsity cross-country and track and field and Rotary Leadership Camp.

 

Joy W. Zhang (GPA: 4.44, ST: 2340, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Carlmont High School. Her activities and honors include: Go Club founder and president, San Mateo County Fair Piano Competition Winner (2005) and invitation to USA Math Olympiad Training Program.