The Community of Character Collaborative has selected four high school seniors to receive this year’s Juanita Haugen Memorial Scholarships in recognition of their community involvement.
The teens will be honored at a luncheon in May along with other people actively working for the benefit of others, displaying the characteristics of compassion, honesty, respect, responsibility, integrity and self-discipline.
Trinity Chang
Trinity Chang is a senior at Foothill High School; her parents are Sophie Liu and Eric Chang, first-generation immigrants from Taiwan. Chang credits her parents with instilling in her the core beliefs of “work hard, be grateful and give back.”
After she struggled in high school to find a healthy balance between school and life, Chang founded the “Safe Haven,” a club where everyone can feel comfortable and discuss issues important to them. She is an advocate for mental health, and has spoken at the school district summer leadership symposium and PPIE’s Fall Gala, advocating for mental awareness and education on campuses.
This past summer, Chang served as an intern for the Go Green Initiative, working with the school district and city to help the community become more eco-conscious. She is also co-president of Foothill High DECA, co-president of the Foothill National Honor Society Chapter, a commissioner on Pleasanton’s Youth Commission and principal cellist of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Alexander Chen
Alexander Chen, a senior at Foothill, is also a first-generation American, the son of Ke Chen and Yuan Liu.
Chen came to believe in the power of determination and self-discipline after developing a sudden-onset stutter in childhood, and he is the founder of “A Free Voice,” a regional stuttering support and advocacy organization. He is also a vice president of the Foothill Model United Nations team, which he joined to improve his public speaking skills.
Through this work, Chen has realized that he wants to help those in need. In response to the 2018 Parkland shooting, he became one of the main student leaders of the Foothill walkout as well as the Tri-Valley March for Our Lives and is a gun reform activist.
Chen is also editor-in-chief of the Foothill newspaper, The Talon Times, an emergency room volunteer at Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare hospital, and a varsity water polo player. Also, intrigued with the biological origins of his stutter, he has interned with the UC San Diego Research Scholars Program, the UC Davis Young Scholars Program and the Stanford Summer Institutes of Medical Research.
Olivia Ferrari
Olivia Ferrari, a senior at Amador Valley High School, is the daughter of Jason and Diane Ferrari. She attributes her compassion for those with special needs to her neighbor, Dylan, a nonverbal quadriplegic whom she has known since she was 5, and she has joined “Night to Shine,” a prom-like event for those with special needs.
At school, Ferrari and her old friends always invite new friends and even strangers to sit with them at lunch, making their table a safe haven where all are accepted. She also passes out sunflowers to those at school who look like they could use some sunshine.
Ferrari’s other volunteer activities include knitting hats for premature babies, Adopt a Family, raising donations for a local NICU, Hively, Open Heart Kitchen, Kids Against Hunger, Wreaths Across America and Blankets for Kids. She also has participated in the French Honors Society, Ukulele Club, Girl Up Club, Botany Club and held leadership positions since elementary and middle school, including in youth programs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Jessica Luan
Jessica Luan is also a senior at Amador Valley, and her parents are Shaofeng Luan and Jing Wu. Jessica was born in Rolla, Mo., and noted that although small it fostered a thriving multicultural community.
When Luan started high school, she noticed that food scraps, paper, plastic bottles and all the trash were thrown in the same gray bin. Concerned, she joined the Environment Club, Local Leaders of the 21st Century, and the school’s Green Team and has learned that students can shape school policy and enact change. She overcame her fear of public speaking to promote environmental issues.
Luan holds a black belt in taekwondo; has conducted pharmaceutical science research at the University of Iowa on optimizing gene delivery for bone cell growth; is a junior volunteer at Stanford-ValleyCare hospital; and a four-year member of the girls’ golf team.
She said she is grateful to her parents, who left their homes and native tongue to provide a life better for their children, and feels a sense of responsibility to be a good role model for her younger siblings, Ari and Max.
The scholarships were created in memory of Juanita Haugen, founder of the Community of Character collaborative, who was a former president of the school board and also active in the California School Boards Association. For more information, visit www.CommunityOfCharacter.org.
