Two San Marino High School graduates will head to college with some valuable extra dollars to put towards their education courtesy of the Yun-Chung W. Chang Memorial Scholarship. Endowed in honor of the mother of longtime resident and four-term San Marino School Board member Joseph Chang and his wife, Shwu, the inaugural event provided thoughtful, appropriate tribute to Mrs. Chang, who passed away last year at the age of 92. Mrs. Yun-Chung W. Chang, a pharmacist, encouraged her children to consider health care as a profession and inspired them to actively participate in charitable pursuits.
“The mission of the memorial scholarship is to encourage the pursuit of medical sciences and the development of research and education in the health profession for students,” Joseph Chang said in his welcome to guests to the Athenaeum last Thursday afternoon.
The scholarships are based upon nominations from a selection committee consisting of two science teachers, at least two counselors and at least one administrator. Candidates must be bound for a 4-year college, be of good character, display a willingness to serve the community and excel in science with a career goal in health science.
This year’s recipients of the scholarships are Alex Chen and J.P. Shohfi, both members of San Marino High School’s graduating class of 2016.
Alex, a member of the school’s CIF champion girls’ golf team, will begin her studies in September at UCLA, where she will pursue a degree in biochemistry. Eventually, Miss Chen hopes to attend medical school and become a trauma surgeon. Away from the classes and courses, Alex volunteers at LINC, a Los Angeles charity that seeks to plant Christian ministries in urban neighborhoods.
J.P. Shohfi set an all-time, national high school football record this past fall for total receiving yards and will continue his career at Yale. Aside from his remarkable athletic career, which also includes soccer and baseball, J.P. helps mentor special needs students at San Marino High School. He wishes to pursue a career in sports medicine or orthopedic surgery after personally experiencing injuries and being intrigued by the repair and recovery processes.
Alex and J.P. were presented their awards by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Marina Tse, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Education. The keynote speaker at the luncheon was Dr. Marie Csete, president of the Huntington Medical Research Institute, whose presentation was entitled “Creating Enthusiasm for A Life of Science.”
In the audience were San Marino Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss and district staff members Linda de la Torre, Julie Boucher and Stephen Choi; San Marino High School Principal Mary Johnson and Assistant Principal Doug Berry; Serena Ho, principal of the Chinese Scholl of San Marino; PTA Presidents Yvonne Chen, Tricia Stenwall, Christina Pink, Helen Phan and Nicolette Fuerst; PCC Trustee Linda Wah; School Board President Nam Jack and fellow boardmembers Lisa Link, and Chris Norgaard and San Marino City Councilman Dr. Steven Huang. Dr. Shelly Enger introduced the keynote speaker, Calvin Lo led the flag salute and Poyu Su delivered the invocation.
