Congratulations, Cum Laude Society Inductees!

Leila Bagheri is co-president of the Madrigals and a frequent soloist who performed renditions of many current favorites at various benefit concerts on campus. She spent the summer at Middlebury College in their Spanish Immersion Program and is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society. Beyond school walls, she volunteers at Rady Children’s Hospital and held an internship in the Pediatric Hematology Lab at UC San Diego where her lab manager said that she was integral to the success of the program. She is also a lacrosse team captain and a great leader of LJCDS’ rapidly growing lacrosse program.

Jackson Benning started at LJCDS as a junior and truly hit the ground running, exploring all that the school had to offer. He joined Mock Trial and won Best Bailiff Award in San Diego County. He is a three-sport athlete who has been selected to the San Diego All-Star Game for two straight years. As a peer leader, not only has he helped a crew of freshmen adapt to their new high school, but he has also been invaluable to his freshman advisor who is new to the school this year. He spent his summer learning to write computer code at Harvard, is a member of the Mandarin Honor Society and has earned the 2016 Darla G. Cox New Student Award.

Paulina Ferrari is an outspoken, caring, generous, curious, trailblazing leader according to her teachers. She is a nationally ranked tennis star who will continue her tennis at Columbia University, but it is clear that her academic pursuits always come first. She is a passionate seeker of knowledge who sets the standard in class discussions, inspiring other students to join in the conversation. She has even been known to lead class or to arrange study sessions for her peers.

Alexander Heyman can be found in his wetsuit teaching surfing with the Fulcrum Surf Company, standing up on stage entertaining the crowd during Friday assemblies, singing in a musical, or acting in a play perhaps written by his own pen. He might be selling sandwiches or tickets to an event or making a new video to publicize the next Associated Student Body event. Those who have taught him know him as the smiley young man who adds energy, enthusiasm and a sincere passion for learning to the class culture and is also a member of the Mandarin Honor Society.

Joshua Jacobs loves to sing and loves to tinker according to his teachers. Specializing in deciphering forensics and cryptology, he helped lead the cyber security team to the finals at the San Diego Mayor’s Cup. He is a creative scientist who spent the summer in an engineering lab at UC Berkeley working on a 3D printed electric skateboard. As a musician, he plays the saxophone and drums in addition to performing with the Madrigals. He can be seen performing as Wes Warniker in Footloose this spring. As a member of the Mandarin Honor society, he even enjoys breaking out in song in Chinese.

Rostam Reifschneider is a leader in the Innovation Lab. He has helped start a business to take to market a device designed to assist downhill skateboarders as they make turns at high speeds. In partnership with the company Camelbak, he has designed, built and patented a hydration system for athletic teams. He is an intern with a local architecture firm where among other things he designed a model for a potential innovation lab expansion here at LJCDS. He earned the 2016 Don Ings Award in Science and Engineering and is currently in 2nd place in school in the California Math League competition.

Jennifer Richards joined LJCDS junior year and jumped right in as a Scholar-Athlete with leadership skills. She quickly emerged as a leader in the classroom, never fully content with an answer but needing to understand the background and every detail of the associated logic. She leads as the secretary of student council where she is an effective communicator who is tremendously reliable with follow through. She has orchestrated this year’s senior-on-campus bonding game, is a member of the Spanish Honor Society and a star of our tennis team. She was the Coastal Conference singles champion and CIF runner-up and was selected as the captain of the San Diego Union Tribune All-Academic team. She will continue playing next year at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ava Robinson is a budding computer scientist/engineer. After her LJCDS introduction into computer science, she went on to self-study an additional programming language through the UC San Diego extension program. She is much more than just a programmer, though. She is described an amazing student ambassador for the school, a member of ethics council and a peer leader for freshman advisory. She is a three-year member of Community Service Board and has been actively involved in events such as Torreys Got Talent, St. Vincent de Paul Halloween and Valentine’s Carnivals, and Vi Senior Prom. She even finds time to dance 20 hours per week for her dance company and to be a counselor at the Jewish Community Center summer camp. She has also earned membership in the Mandarin Honor Society.

Annika Schafer is a true explorer. She plans to take a year before college to travel to England, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Malta and Japan, and then return to coach gymnastics and volunteer as much as possible. She says, “In order to grow to become the kind of person I want to be—a well-rounded, well-traveled and experienced citizen of the world—I need to experience different worlds in the way that only an untethered soul can.” She is involved in community service, co-leading and planning fundraising efforts for Just in Time for Foster Youth with Bake Sales, a parent yoga event, Are You Smarter Than a High Schooler, and Life Swap. A member of the French Honor Society, she spent this past summer in France in a homestay program perfecting her fluency and enjoying the culture.

Yuanping Song is driven—driven to excel as a scientist because of the positive impact he could have on society in that profession; driven enough to study for, take, and earn 5’s on two AP exams for classes he did not take; driven enough to complete junior and senior years in 15 months, taking seven courses this year in order to move a step closer to making that impact on the world; driven enough to take a Calculus for Engineers course at UC San Diego. He was last year’s California Math League champion at LJCDS and currently stands in 1st place in this year’s competition. He plays the saxophone and runs cross-country.  

Gabrielle Stryker may be found serving as a witness in front of a full courtroom at a Mock Trial event or performing in musicals, this year as Lulu Warniker in Footloose. She is an avid writer having written over 250 pages of short stories in the past year. Her teachers say that she brings an awesome perspective on social justice to classroom discussions and that she is a fantastic mathematician. Last year, she wowed science teacher Susan Domanico, Ph.D., winning a Judges Award for 2nd place in the country in the Protein Data Bank video competition about Structural Biology and Diabetes.

Emily Williams came to LJCDS as a junior and joined the community seeking a school that truly fostered the love of learning. Teachers describe her as a philosopher who is wise beyond her years and who thinks with the clarity and focus of a graduate student. She has read all of Stephen Hawking’s works and may just be the next LJCDS alum turned astrophysicist. She is also a transformational artist who is passionate about the impact art has on society. She is a caring peer leader who has been inspired to initiate a program to provide exam prep and study skills to ninth grade students. As an active member of numerous clubs on campus including Green Team, Pegasus and Spectrum, she has seen the need for more effective communication among clubs and is working on a plan to create an Upper School club calendar.

Andrew Yoon’s teachers describe him as determined, talented, dedicated and hard-working. He is the captain of the academic league team and as a member of the San Diego Youth Symphony, he plays his clarinet at a very high level. He performs in the LJCDS band in addition to performing for the elderly at nursing homes. He is a budding neuroscientist who combines many of his interests as he volunteers with the Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education, providing music instruction to students with autism. He is also a black belt in Taekwondo.

Sheila Akavan is a leader. As a varsity tennis player, she leads on the court and helped her team earn an Open Division berth this year. Serving in her third year on the Ethics Council, she is the heart of this group, according to her teachers. She is a leader on the stage as well as a regular performer in the student plays and in other LJCDS productions, and she most recently played multiple roles in Metamorphoses. She is also a two-year member of the Community Service Board and a member of the Spanish Honor Society.

Spencer Camp is known for bringing his sense of humor and ready smile to class and for keeping teachers on their toes. He brings this same sense of fun coupled with a strong work ethic to the tennis court. He is a member of the Community Service Board, the Spanish Honor Society, and a three-year member of the orchestra in which he is the principal violinist. His skill and dedication to the violin have earned him membership in the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Last year he was on LJCDTV, giving the entertainment news alongside his brother, Brandon.

Alyssa Chen is described by teachers as persistent, one who works hardest when the course material gets the most difficult. These traits are evident in both her studies and her interests. She is a member of the Mandarin Honor Society and is a three-year avid member of Amnesty International. She is also a top-level fencer who often competes internationally. Alyssa matches all of this with exceptional responsibility and communication when it comes to her course work.

Min Cho has helped lead the men’s basketball team to a 7th seed in the Open Division. He is currently ranked 3rd among LJCDS students in the California Math League competition. All of his teachers describe him as one of the nicest students on campus and he is a frequent ambassador to visiting students. His teachers also describe him as responsible and dogged in his approach to his studies.

David Diaz is a two-sport athlete in football and track and is described as a committed and coachable athlete, a leader and a loyal teammate. He also doubles up as a musician, singing with the Madrigals and playing the violin. He plays with the San Diego Youth Symphony, is the co-concertmaster of the orchestra, gives violin lessons and is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He will also be in this year’s musical Footloose.

Mark Endo joined the LJCDS community last year and joined the Ultimate Frisbee team being named Most Improved Player. He joined the Honors Orchestra and is now a multi-faceted guitar player comfortable playing many styles and in many ensembles. Band teacher Chad Przymus says that he “can count on one hand the number of guitar players who can do that.” In the spring, he and a classmate finished 3rd at Startup Weekend, an intense workshop for budding entrepreneurs, where they pitched an idea that helps international students better assimilate in the United States. They now have a viable product with clients.

Jaron Fabular’s teachers rave that he makes his academic accomplishments look easy, but they know that his terrific work ethic is behind this. They describe him as a gifted writer and a creative, progressive thinker. He is a member of the French Honor Society and a three-year member of Student Council, where he is described as always involved, lending a hand and leading by example. Underlying these traits, this year and last, he helped history teacher Jonathan Shulman organize a presentation for the fourth grade Mission project. As his advisor and history and world language teacher, Scott Sanders is consistently impressed by his creative and agile mind and his devotion to his family.

Wenlong Huang impresses his teachers and his advisor with his humility, his unassuming and generous nature and his steadfast commitment to his studies. He consistently challenges himself and he consistently finds success. For example, he took a math course at UC San Diego, took the AP Physics exam without having taken the class and added Honors Orchestra to his already demanding schedule. Last year, as a sophomore, he ranked 2nd school-wide in the California Math League competition. He is a two-year member of the orchestra and a member of the robotics team that competed in the San Diego regional competition.

Lauren Mikuriya was a national-level gymnast until injuries forced her to channel her energies elsewhere. She switched her focus to cheerleading and the courtroom. In addition to cheering for LJCDS, she joined a club cheer program and finished 2nd at a national competition. As a member of the Mock Trial team, this inductee expertly delivers prosecution pre-trial arguments and recently did so in her cheer uniform when competitions conflicted. In all of her endeavors she is dedicated, unflappable and outstanding.  

Michael Savides brings his sense of humor and good nature to everything he does according to his teachers. His academic prowess is diverse: he is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, is currently ranked 2nd in the school in the California Math League competition and is considered a persuasive and creative writer in English. He began his third varsity season of tennis where he is already a CIF champion and a two-time all-Coastal league first team player. He is a junior representative for Student Council and he leads by doing what needs to be done.

Sydney Schlafman is described as a quiet presence in class, but one with strong opinions and deep ideas. She is considered a talented, honest writer and a progressive thinker. This year, she is on the Hope Conference Planning Committee, leading the affinity group work. She is a multi-talented and flexible musician, playing clarinet and saxophone in the concert band as well as tenor drums in the drum line. She is also quick to help and guide those in her section.

Sophia Williams is described by one of her teachers as the student who sets the standard in class. Others comment on the humility that accompanies her many academic accomplishments and on her ever-present willingness to offer help to classmates. Her Ultimate Frisbee coaches describe her as a joy to coach thanks to her positive energy and focus. She is a three-year member of the show choir, a two-year member of the concert choir, and a soloist in the Madrigals this year. She will also be performing in the musical Footloose.