Are you an Asian American student graduating from high school or college? You may be eligible for the Northwest Asian Weekly’s Outstanding Graduates column.
To qualify for this column, you must have a minimum GPA of 3.6, have overcome personal adversity, or are an outstanding athlete, community volunteer, or artist.
For more information, visit www.nwasianweekly.com.
Alvin Sutjandra
Woodinville High School
“My name is Alvin Sutjandra and I won’t settle for standard.”
A self-proclaimed motivator and self-starter, Alvin Sutjandra enrolled at Cascadia Community College through the Running Start program last year. The program gives high school students the opportunity to take college courses for high school and college credit.
Since then, Sutjandra has made the President’s List at Cascadia for academic excellence.
Sutjandra worked part-time throughout the school year — an experience, he says, that taught him the importance of responsibility and professionalism. During the summer, he volunteered at Hopelink, a service center for the homeless and low-income families.
Sutjandra says his goals are simple: to focus on school and challenge himself. He also wants to be a good role model for his three younger siblings and cousins who are currently living overseas.
Sutjandra is graduating from Woodinville High School with a 3.7 GPA and will be attending the University of Washington this fall.
Amanda Chin
Ingraham High School
“I want to give back to the community as the community has given me … maybe someday even give back to the world.”
Not everyone would think about hosting a Guitar Hero tournament to raise money. But Amanda Chin did just that, raising money from the gaming tournament to buy some sustenance and a water pump for a small farm in Kenya.
She also played on the International District Chinatown Community Center (IDCCC) girls basketball team.
But Chin isn’t all about fun and games. She is the publications officer for her school’s Key Club, which organizes community service projects. Chin is also involved in the Upward Bound Program, a college preparatory program for low-income and first generation college students.
Fluent in Toishanese and Cantonese, Chin says she enjoys working toward improving her knowledge of Mandarin and Spanish.
Chin is graduating with a 3.85 GPA and will attend the University of Washington this fall.
Thao Hoang
Mountlake Terrace High School
“Life was tough at the beginning … I never thought that one day I could do what I have been doing right now.”
At age 14, Thao Hoang emigrated from Vietnam with her mother in hopes of getting a good education.
She says she was shy and only had a few friends, but that is hard to imagine now. The teen was voted most promising, most amazing, and most studious by her high school classmates.
Shortly after arriving in the United States, Hoang was diagnosed with lupus.
Recovery was tough, she says, but she bounced back. She entered her high school’s ESL program her freshman year, and worked extremely hard. By her junior year, she was taking Advanced Placement classes.
Hoang also joined the swim team, the tennis team, and became a member of the National Honor Society.
She is graduating with a GPA of 3.9. She will be attending the University of Washington and hopes to earn a business degree.
Timothy Pham
Kentwood High School
“I am a student, a brother, a son, a math nerd, a science geek, a procrastinator, an initiator, a leader, and many other titles strung together …”
Timothy Pham is a student that loves to learn. ‘Knowledge is power,’ is a phrase that he has taken to heart and integrated into his work ethic.
Through the Associated Student Body (ASB), Pham has planned coat and blanket drives, cancer charity drives, and food drives.
What he is most proud of is Munch Madness, a canned food drive. Over five weeks, Kentwood gathered 29,000 pounds of food, far exceeding expectations.
Pham works with the Kent Police Department’s Youth Board through its Reduce Underage Drinking Campaign.
Last year, he was accepted to be a part of the Washington Aerospace program offered through the Museum of Flight. He says he finds true passion in the math and science fields.
Pham is graduating with a GPA of 4.0. He will be attending Yale University and hopes to study engineering and minor in Spanish. ♦