Texas
Records 61 through 75 out of 95

	Year: 2006 Rachel Goss Bellaire, TX, The High School for Performing and Visual Arts College Plans: Vassar College   Rachel is a graduate of The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston (HSPVA). Rachel’s affinity for all types of art has grown in her various studies. In 2004, she attended the Rhode Island School of Design’s Pre-College program with a focus in printmaking; this past summer she studied traditional color photography at the California College of Art. Her work has been featured in the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and at other local venues. Rachel considers volunteer work one of her other great passions. Working at The River Performing and Visual Arts Center for several years, Rachel has helped children with disabilities express themselves through art. The River has not only given her the ability to help children with autism and other difficulties, but also helped her understand how important art is to every part of society. She plans to study art and art history at Vassar.
	Year: 2006 Tassity Johnson Houston, TX, The High School for Performing and Visual Arts College Plans: Duke University   Tassity, who majored in visual arts at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, has been writing ever since she could, and supposes that she will for the rest of her life. Honored with NFAA’s 2006 Gold Award in Short Story Writing, Tassity credits her mother for acknowledging and encouraging her interest, her father for long talks about culture and philosophy and trips to museums, her English teachers, Ms. Duhon and Ms. Ballard, for fueling her appreciation of literature, and her insomnia, for providing an opportune atmosphere within which to write. She has been most inspired by William Faulkner, whose work she feels holds a history and weight that she can only hope her work will have one day. Tassity will attend Duke University in the fall. She also expects to eventually reside in a remote cabin off a desolate cliff in the Nevada desert, where she will write and paint and think.
	Year: 2006 Rafael A. Moras San Antonio, TX, Douglas MacArthur High School College Plans: University of Texas, San Antonio   My life began with little hope of success: born hydrocephalic, and diagnosed with just a slim chance to lead a normal life. By God’s grace I have instead gone on to live by the mantra: “with great power comes great responsibility,” as the basis of my endeavors. I grew up in a family passionately devoted to the arts and especially music, including the great Spanish art of “zarzuela.” I aim to use the gifts God has blessed me with to give back to Him and others as a classical tenor, Catholic music minister, actor, and writer. I have performed solo and in ensembles across the country, placed highly in national, state, and regional vocal competitions, and written an essay now housed in the Library of Congress. The example of heroes like the great John Paul II inspire me to pursue a career in which the call to use my talents to serve and better the world never goes unheeded.
	Year: 2006 Jeff D. Nanney Plano, TX, Plano East Senior High School College Plans: Harvard College   Curiosity fuels me as a person and a student. My grandmother proudly recounts my earnest queries about the plausibility of Santa Claus living at the North Pole, where the lack of a landmass could not sustain humans. And so I am accustomed to seeking the most in every arena of learning available. I have benefited immensely from summer enrichment programs in mathematics, particularly from my experience with the Research Science Institute at MIT. Though I consider myself a lifelong, self-motivated learner globally, I am eager to pursue an education in mathematics. I am currently fascinated with the possibility of teaching and researching as a professor, but no matter what I do, I plan to approach my profession with a distinctly mathematical methodology, a manner of thinking that promotes ingenuity and consistency. As deeply as I love mathematics, I also hope to maintain my passion for sports, music, and history.
	Year: 2006 Jason C. Sanford Dallas, TX, St. Mark’s School of Texas College Plans: Middlebury College   Foremost in Jason’s life is undoubtedly his ardent love of art. In pursuit of this affinity, he has particularly favored three mediums: music, ceramics, and literature, each of which contributes its own unique outlet for his expression. He plays the clarinet, the baritone saxophone, the bass guitar, and the acoustic guitar, and enjoys listening to many genres of music, from classical to electronic. He has worked with primarily wheelthrown pottery for three years and loves it fervently. He also thoroughly enjoys reading and writing, and is considering majoring in English in college, among other subjects. As an athlete, Jason has been on his school’s varsity crew team for three years and has been captain the past two; he also water skis competitively. He hopes to pursue all of his passions at Middlebury College in Vermont.
	Year: 2006 Eloise B. Santa Maria Houston, TX, The High School for Performing & Visual Arts College Plans: Maryland Institute College of Art   Eloise Santa Maria is a graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. She will be attending Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the fall, where she hopes to major in Sculpture and take classes concerning health and nutrition. She is interested in becoming a working artist, but also wishes to pursue social work. It will be a constant struggle to find a middle ground between the two, but she is excited about the pursuit of this middle ground. She has been continually inspired by the Houston artist and activist community; she has learned from them that there are many ways of combining art and social ideas. She is inspired everyday by her friends and family and is especially thankful for her parents who have given her incredible support and encouragement. She loves to grow vegetables, cook, and ride her bike around town.
	Year: 2006 Jessica S. Wang College Station, TX, A&M Consolidated High School College Plans: University of Michigan   I always want to know. My curiosity leads me on a neverending quest for answers, not only to what, when, or where, but to how and why. I have encouraged interest in all aspects of learning as President of my school’s Math and Science Club, Business Professionals of America, and Spanish Club. My competitive and assiduous nature has led me to earn many honors, including the National Winner of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement and one of twenty students to attend the USA Biology Olympiad Finals this summer; also, I have received the Top Gun championship at the state Texas Math and Science Coaches Association meet for three years. I additionally enjoy volunteering at the local nursing home and Habitat for Humanity. Not only do I have a lot of fun in these activities, but I also learn an immense amount from my peers, fellow competitors, and teachers!
	Year: 2007 Jessica Anastasio San Antonio, TX, St. Mary’s Hall College Plans: Princeton University   Jessica has played the flute since the age of seven. In addition to winning state and local music competitions, she is a prizewinner of the National Flute Association High School Soloist Competition, a finalist of the International Kingsville Music Competition, and a Silver Award winner of the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts youngARTS program. She enjoys studying Latin and the long-term impacts of ancient literature. Having spent two of her most memorable summers at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artist Orchestra program, Jessica will be a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow this summer. She is a substitute flutist for the San Antonio Symphony and has performed with the Olmos Ensemble and the Victoria Bach Festival. Jessica also plays the cello and enjoys English-style horseback riding. In the future, she looks forward to studying both music and the classics.
	Year: 2007 Brittanie Brown Dallas, TX, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts College Plans: The Juilliard School   Brittanie lives in Dallas, Texas and is currently a senior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where she is a member and assistant rehearsal director of Repertory 1 Dance Company. Brittanie did not begin her formal dance training until the age of 12 at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Brittanie is now a Silver Award 2007 youngArts winner in modern dance and a Texas Young Master recognized by the Texas Commission on the Arts. In previous years, she was accepted on scholarship to summer programs such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Alonzo King Line’s Ballet. Attending an Arts school, Brittanie has been able to explore other forms of arts besides dance. Given this, she plans to incorporate artistically visual arts and music into her dancing as she continues to grow as a contemporary ballet dancer, choreographer, and actress.
	Year: 2007 Asher Frankfurt Dallas, TX, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts College Plans: University of Southern California   Playwriting began for me during my sophomore year of high school, when my one-act play Broken But Not Torn was produced at Booker T. Washington’s annual New Plays Festival in 2005. Broken went on to be workshopped that summer at the International Thespians Playworks Competition, and soon after, Dramatics magazine printed Broken in their September 2005 issue. Later that fall, Playscripts, Inc. picked up Broken for publication. In 2006, a second one-act of mine, Gale, was produced at the annual New Plays Festival. That spring, I was given a screenwriting assignment in my Advanced Playwriting class and was immediately drawn to the world of cinema. I began to write my full-length screenplay, Fallout, and in the following summer, I spent six weeks at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts studying film production. I cannot wait to return to USC!
	Year: 2007 Jay E. Jackson Carrollton, TX, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts College Plans: California Institute of the Arts   Jay will complete his freshman year as a dance/choreography major in May 2008. During the summer of 2007, he attended the American Dance Festival (on scholarship), and during the summer of 2008, he will attend the Glenda Brown Choreography Project (on scholarship). He is continuing to perform and choreograph at CalArts and is the only freshman selected to perform in the December Dance Concert at the RedCat in Los Angeles. He is currently in rehearsal for 5 pieces that will be performed in the Spring Dance Concert at the RedCat.
	Year: 2007 Amelia Lin Plano, TX, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science College Plans: Harvard College   I often wish there were more hours in the day. From trying my hand at swing dancing to learning how to palm read, my life has always been about exploration, though there never seems to be enough time to try it all. Since sixth grade, I have played clarinet and been an enthusiastic band nerd both on and off the football field. At the same time, I have been doing research on the applications of carbon nanotubes in nanotechnology for almost three years now and run my school’s Mu Alpha Theta chapter. I aspire to a joint career in science research and education, a position in which I can give back to the community in more ways than one. I plan to continue to take on life with zeal, and am grateful to my parents for being the best inspiration I could ever have.
	Year: 2007 Michael Thomas. Montoya Irving, TX, Cistercian Preparatory School College Plans: Wake Forest University   My name is Michael Thomas Montoya, Jr. and I am from Irving, Texas. I have had the pleasure of attending Cistercian Preparatory School for the past eight years, and I plan to continue my education by attending Wake Forest University next fall. I feel fortunate to have become a National Merit Semifinalist, to be number one in my class, and to have been with a vastly talented group of young men at my all-male high school. Yet, through the years I have striven to broaden my horizons through pursuing multiple endeavors outside of academics and serving as a tutor. Besides being an Eagle Scout in Boys Scouts of America and working on many community service projects, one of my greatest passions has been sports including years of competitive varsity football, track & field, and powerlifting. It is this love of sports that has inclined me to want to pursue sports medicine in my future career.
	Year: 2007 Shalin Patel Sugar Land, TX, L.V. Hightower High School College Plans: Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scholars Program   Shalin is a well-rounded scholar who has found his niche in the field of medicine. Through his participation in the Medical Academy at Hightower, Shalin has taken classroom courses in medicine and has also participated in clinical internships in the Texas Medical Center. Shalin likes to keep himself busy with a variety of extracurricular activities. He has won two silver medals in Pathophysiology at consecutive HOSA National Conferences, and participates in state competitions with his Math and Science Team. Shalin also places a large priority on community service, as he has been a summer volunteer at local hospitals for the last two years, and participates in a variety of service organizations, including the Youth Advisory Council for DePelchin’s Children Center. He has worked as a research laboratory associate at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and has written a professionally reviewed paper on left ventricular remodeling.
	Year: 2008 Christina M. Chang Austin, TX, Westlake High School College Plans: Princeton University   L-E-I-S-H-M-A-N-I-A-S-I-S. A speller never forgets her winning words. I attribute my passion for language and etymology to my lifetime love of reading. I have been a member of my Spelling and Vocabulary UIL Team almost half my life, and as team captain, I became the 2007 State Champion last spring. Zealous about the foreign language and its intricacies, I founded my school’s Spanish Club three years ago, and the scope of our service and cultural appreciation has expanded to touch the hearts of many. A veteran student government officer, I successfully passed major legislation as a Girls State citizen. My roles also include All-Area Percussionist and Drum Captain, Homecoming Princess, co-winner for “Rickoid of the Year” at my science internship program, Research Science Institute…. While the list seems endless, I love my busy life. After testing my career interests in a variety of areas, I have arrived at my goal: to expand the frontiers of science.

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