Class of 2017 Juanita Haugen -
High School Community of Character Awards
Recipients from the Class of 2017, are Mikayla Tran from Foothill High School, daughter of Anh and Diane Tran, Joshua Ott from Amador Valley High School, son of David Ott and Laura Melchionne, and Lauren Ho-Tseung of Amador Valley High School, daughter of Lars and Kristen Ho-Tseung.
Mikayla Tran is a senior at Foothill High School. She is proud of both her Vietnamese and Caucasian roots, her father was a refugee from the Vietnam war at age 11 and came to the United States. Mikayla tries to spread joy and positivity to those around her and loves to give a helping hand when she sees someone in need. She believes that “a community of character is one that places an emphasis on connecting with everyone’s inner humanity and desire to help one another”. She worked hard to implement gender-free homecoming nominations called Falcon Royalty to make her school more accepting and inclusive to all, where all individuals are welcome and all voices are heard. She has volunteered at many activities, is president of the Interact Club and Area 3 director, a four year varsity track athlete and helped organize the annual Fall Leadership Conference for nearly 4,000 high school Interact members. Other volunteer activities include Tri-Valley Turkey Burn, Toys for Tots and the Interact projects to aid Syrian Refugees and breaking the stigma towards mental health. She hopes to encourage youth empowerment and inspire others to make a difference within their community. Mikayla Tran is an inspiration and the Community of Character Collaborative is pleased to honor her with the 2017 Juanita Haugen Community of Character Scholarship.
Joshua Ott is a senior at Amador Valley High School. He is the founder and president of the Space and Astronomy club where he wrote several grants to purchase Amador's first high powered telescope. The club will be using the telescope at upcoming stargazing nights for the community. He is the student representative on the PUSD board attending school board meetings and providing student input. He has served on the Student Inter-School Action Council, Local Control Advisory committee and Calendar Committee. He was accepted to the Stanford Institute of Medicine Research Summer program where he worked with a group of high school students to perform research relating to Parkinson's disease and helped design a prototype to aid patients with Parkinson's disease. Joshua placed second in the Alameda County Science and Engineering fair for mechanical engineering. He is also the publicist for the Engineering Club and pitches for the Amador Valley Varsity baseball team. Joshua umpired for the Pleasanton Foothill Little League for four years. He is pursuing a private pilot’s license and has already logged 20 hours in a Cessna. Flying has furthered his interest in engineering. Joshua's dream is to become an astronaut; he believes that in order to be successful, one must be motivated to learn and help others along the way. The Community of Character Collaborative is proud to honor Joshua Ott with the 2017 Juanita Haugen Community of Character Scholarship.
Lauren Ho-Tseung is a senior at Amador Valley High School where she currently serves as a student leader. Lauren was selected to participate in Leadership her sophomore year, served as class president as a junior and is currently serving as ASB President. One of her biggest accomplishments has been coordinating the LINK Program for freshmen. The program is designed to help freshmen make the transition to high school. Lauren was involved in planning the freshman orientation and monthly lessons to help students feel confident and connected. Outside of school, Lauren works at the Meadowlark Dairy and volunteers as a softball coach, running clinics for younger girls. Lauren says her parents modeled a clear value system emphasizing kindness to others and following the golden rule. She grew up watching her parents spend their free time helping others through volunteer service and has followed their example. Last year, Lauren had an idea to combine her love for softball with her desire to help others. She thought about collecting used softball equipment to share with girls in need. After meeting a volunteer with the Tulancingo Sister City Organization, Lauren learned of an orphanage in Mexico that was in desperate need of shoes for the kids there. Lauren modified her project and successfully collected hundreds of pairs of shoes, filling dozens of suitcases which were then provided to children in Tulancingo, Mexico. As a student leader, Lauren strives to demonstrate compassion for others, both at school and beyond. The Community of Character Collaborative is delighted to honor Lauren Ho-Tseung with the 2017 Juanita Haugen Community of Character Scholarship.
Abigail Bee Richardson - Village High School
Like Juanita before her, Bee Richardson is a true community leader. When she is not contributing to classroom discussions, Bee is buzzing around the campus hosting Leadership fundraisers and putting together videos for our school assemblies.
Bee has single-handedly made our morning announcements a more engaging means of communication. Her positive attitude and generous, welcoming spirit has won her the respect of staff and students.
She is a wonderful representative of the values of the Community of Character, honesty, self-discipline, respect, integrity, compassion and responsibility.