Four head east to Ivy League
May 20, 2014
A handful of students are rewarded for their diligence every year by getting accepted to prestigious universities. This fall, seniors Grant Shao, Sylvia Guan, Tiffany Lam, and Christina Chen will be attending Ivy League schools, after four years of rigorous work and dedication.
Lam, a member of Diamond Bar High School’s yearbook staff and an active member in Interact club, earned her way into Harvard. There, she hopes to become more involved with some of the athletic programs, such as the school’s tennis club and dance club. After obtaining her degree in biomedical engineering, Lam plans to pursue a career as a pediatrician.
“I was pretty self-motivated, but I’m glad my mom supported me through every decision. She didn’t put pressure on me to get into any private schools, so I was pretty comfortable with everything,” Guan said.
Joining Lam in the east will be Christina Chen, who be attending Yale this fall. As a high school student, Chen held leadership positions in Girls’ League, TSA, and Key Club. However, she believes her most memorable high school experience was a seven week internship at the Garcia Materials Science Research Program, where she worked in a lab at the University hospital searching for material science methods to increase wound healing speed. By taking part in hands-on research, Chen became interested in the medical field.
At Yale, Chen plans to major in Biomedical Engineering and is considering a double major in Art History. After obtaining her degree at Yale, Chen hopes to pursue a higher education at medical school and become a doctor. Although Chen also received an acceptance letter from her dream school, John Hopkins University, she chose Yale for its “liberal arts curriculum, alumni network, and amazing resources they give to undergrads.”
University of Pennsylvania will soon be home to two more Brahmas, Shao and Guan. Shao, who was a state officer for TSA and a prominent member of Brahma Tech, Science Olympiad, FBLA, and DBHS’s Robotics Team, has long been interested in technology and business. He hopes to pursue this interest by researching during his freshman year and getting involved with student government. Shao plans on entering either the engineering field or the business field.
“My childhood [environment] and my brother were what motivated me early in high school. Then, just loving what I did motivated me for the rest of high school,” Shao said.
Guan will also be joining Shao at University of Pennsylvania. Guan, an aspiring physician, plans to study bio-logy and begin researching at nearby hospitals. In addition, she looks forward to being a part of the university’s a cappella scene.
Guan was heavily involved in her community throughout high school, via organizations such as Leo Club, Link Crew, Los Angeles County Fairplex Junior Fair Board, and DB4Youth. Along with holding leadership roles for many of these groups, Guan took 11 AP classes and maintain a 4.0 GPA.
“My parents and sister are always encouraging me just to try my best in anything that I do and are always there for me when I need advice. For the most part, I would say I’m self-motivated to accomplish my goals,” Guan said.
