MESSAGE TO PUSD

July 18, 2023

Dear PUSD Community,

Graduates in the Class of 2023 have accomplished amazing things.

Frankly, we can’t stop bragging about them, so we’re sharing part three in our special graduate series that celebrates several more of our recent PUSD graduates.

Whether they plan to attend a community college, a four-year university, complete a certificate program, join the military, or the workforce, we are #PUSDproud of each and every one of our grads. We wish the Class of 2023 the best of luck in their future endeavors and we invite them to come back and visit soon.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth J. Blanco, Ed.D.

Interim Superintendent

If you missed part two or you’d like to reread their remarkable stories, you can learn more at www.pusd.us/graduates

Tiffany Jasso hopes to become a cardiologist someday and her Posse scholarship will help that dream become a reality. Tiffany has made the most of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme at Blair High School, enrolling in the Health Careers Academy in freshman year. She has earned multiple college credits by taking dual enrollment classes at both Pasadena Community College and Glendale Community College.

Tiffany plans to major in Biology at Pepperdine University and then attend medical school specializing in cardiology. She said she became interested in medicine as a child.

“I had a heart murmur growing up, so it set me back on playing sports for a while and from then, it sparked my interest in wanting to go into cardiology,” Tiffany explained.

Tiffany is a member of several leadership clubs including: the Sports Medicine Club, Health Occupations Students of America, Sports Medicine National Honors Society, Associated Student Body, Yearbook, and has served as manager for Cheerleading, Girl’s Basketball and Girl’s Volleyball. She recently competed in the National Sports Medicine Competition at Cal State University, Northridge, and says she’s “very proud” of her team for competing while simultaneously preparing for IB tests.

A 2023 Posse Scholar, Minal Saldivar has also received the College Board National Hispanic Recognition Award (2022), the State Seal of Biliteracy (2020), and has been a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) since tenth grade. Enrolled in International Baccalaureate (IB) and Dual Language programs since elementary school, Minal has also completed three college courses that will earn her college credit.

Some of Minal’s community service activities include: volunteering at Union Station Homeless Services and gardening for the Altadena Sheriff's Department. She is an active member of Blair’s Associative Student Body and has served as graphic design volunteer for Blair’s annual fund. Minal has spent the last two summers working as a Pasadena Education Foundation summer youth leader, received counselor training in leadership at Camp Osito Rancho at Big Bear Lake, and participated in the ACLU’s National Advocacy Summer Program.

Minal will attend Dickinson College where she will focus on the humanities. She is interested in cultural anthropology and international studies and hopes to participate in Dickinson’s study abroad program. Eventually, she plans to seek a career in social justice.

Emma Cordeiro, one of Marshall’s two salutatorians, has already made an impact on her community and she could change the scientific world someday. Emma hopes to eventually work in medicine and plans to major in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics at UCLA, following an exemplary PUSD student experience at Hamilton Elementary and then Marshall.

As an Eagle, she landed important club positions, becoming a member of the financial literacy club called Rock the Street Wall Street, the National Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, and Girls Build Los Angeles where she served as treasurer. She volunteered with the Pasadena Educational Foundation in the warehouse and with the USC Pacific Asia Museum as a Teen Ambassador.

Emma has been on the Principal’s Honor Roll all semesters as a Marshall Eagle. She is recognized by the College Board as an AP Scholar with Distinction, received the National Hispanic Recognition Award, and is an AP Capstone Candidate for Diploma conducting her research, The Impacts of Elementary School Gifted Education Programs on High School Academic Performance.

In addition to UCLA, she was also accepted at Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal Poly Pomona, and UC Berkeley.

In her graduation speech, Salutatorian Finney Brownstein said each and every one of her fellow graduates has contributed something amazing to Marshall. An outstanding student-athlete and musician, Finney is now heading to UC Berkeley with plans to major in social welfare. She came to Marshall in 6th grade and after seven years, she has flown the Eagles’ nest but left behind inspiring nuggets of knowledge.

“Go forth, spread your wings (pun intended), continue to be extraordinary, and show the world what Marshall Eagles are made of,” Finney said at the graduation ceremony on June 1. “I want to remind you, class of 2023, to remember to be kind. There can never be enough love and kindness in the world and it is needed now more than ever.”

Finney was a member of the Marshall Fundamental Orchestra for six years as well as the Chamber Orchestra. As a student-athlete, she played junior varsity and then varsity tennis, eventually becoming co-captain. She played on the varsity softball team in her senior year.

Finney is an AP Capstone Candidate for Diploma her topic, APs and Puppies: A Look Into the Effects of Puppy Raising on the Psychosocial Competencies of High School Students in California. She is also recognized by the College Board as an AP Scholar with Distinction.

Through Marshall’s Dual Enrollment Program, Finney simultaneously earned high school and college credits in several Pasadena City College courses including: American Sign Language 1 and 2, personal finance, and communications. On the Principal's Honor Roll every semester at Marshall, she also earned the PUSD Board of Education Leadership Award in 11th grade and won Innovation Project recognition from Marshall in 6th and 8th grades.

She truly earned her wings as a member of the National Honor Society, the financial literacy club called Rock the Street Wall Street, the Action Changes Things (ACT) Club, and the Social Justice Club. She is also a member of the PUSD Student Think Tank.

In addition to Berkeley, Finney was also accepted at Humboldt State, CSU Monterey Bay, San Diego State, UC Davis, UCLA, University of Denver, University of Illinois Urbana, University of Oregon, Smith College, Mount Holyoke, Bard College, Simmons University, and Hampshire College.

Gagik Aghajanyan clearly has the talent and energy to study Energy Engineering and Physics at UC Berkeley because he’s been involved in several extra-curricular activities throughout his time at Marshall. Gagik served as the Activities Commissioner for the Associated Student Body (ASB). As a student-athlete, he was a member of the Boys Soccer Team. He worked as a Youth Leader with the Pasadena Educational Foundation Summer Enrichment Program and has attended College Access Plan (CAP) sessions for support of his post-secondary pursuits.

He spent the summer between his junior and senior year at the Caltech Summer Research Connection (SRC), a six-week program where he worked in a lab and conducted scientific research under the guidance of professional mentors. In high school, he was on the Principal’s Honor Roll all semesters earning a 3.5 GPA or higher each time. He was recently recognized as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Pasadena Coalition 3rd Place Essay Winner.

Gagik had several schools from which to choose and was also accepted at Pasadena City College, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Davis, and Illinois Institute of Technology.

Noel Johnson Montoya is headed to Virginia State University this fall after graduating from John Muir High School (JMHS) Early College Magnet and by the end of the summer, she will also have an Associate of Arts degree in Natural Science from Pasadena City College (PCC). Noel worked hard to obtain both degrees through a joint partnership between PCC and the Pasadena Unified School District.

A scholar and an athlete, Noel plans to major in nutrition and biology at Virginia State, where she will also play lacrosse for their Division 2 team. She says her “love and pride” for Muir drove her to participate in several extra-curriculars. After giving band and basketball a try, this student eventually became a four-sport athlete splitting time between volleyball, water polo, swim and club lacrosse.

Besides athletics, she enjoys community service, participating in Girl Scouts for 13 years and mentoring younger students. Noel hopes to become a sports medicine physician to combine her passions for sports, exercise, and helping others.

This summer she will be traveling to South Africa with Girl Scouts and she said the trip will be “an excellent closure for my time as a scout.”

Noel was also accepted at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly Pomona, University of California (UC)-Merced, UC-Davis, Hampton University, and Howard University.

Rai Pineda is headed to UCLA in the fall to study Business Economics and has overcome personal adversity and faced difficult circumstances to get there. He says John Muir became a “safe space” where he could “focus on education and education only.”

A hard-working student no matter what was going on outside the classroom, Rai also made time for extracurricular activities, some of which he says changed his life. The Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development (MPYD) program became a “second family” to him by always making sure he kept his grades up and instilling values to help him become a “strong and responsible man.”

Rai is also grateful for Upward Bound Math and Science, a federal program in place at Muir which is designed to strengthen students’ math and science skills and to encourage them to pursue postsecondary degrees in math and science.

“They have been my biggest supporters when it came to the college process. They have given me so many opportunities which make me stand out to universities,” Rai explained.

Rai has also completed community service with his church, Primer Iglesia Cristiana Filadelfia, helped children through a group called Royal Rangers, and fed the homeless in Downtown Los Angeles.

A young entrepreneur, Rai has already started his own business reselling shoes. The company he named Pineda Rai Sneakers is clearly a step in the right direction on the path to graduating with a degree in business economics.

“All my hard work has paid off and now I have reaped the reward,” he says, adding that he does everything for his family and wants to “strive for greatness” to make them proud.

“I enjoy communicating the beauty of biology through art.”

PHS Senior Ashly Castillo will have a chance to combine those two loves as a Biology Major and Art History Minor at the University of Chicago.

Someday, she would like to earn a Ph.D. and become a biomedical researcher specializing in immunology. During a summer internship at a cancer research center, Ashly researched non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its relationship to immune system genes.

“At the end I had to present my research to my department and I did it mostly through diagrams. I found this was the best part of my internship because I got to combine my art abilities with my knowledge of biology,” she explained. “Ultimately, my goal is to become a biomedical researcher specializing in immunology. As someone that has a family member with cancer, I've seen firsthand how a disease can affect both a patient and their family.”

At PHS, Ashly was also a member of the Astronomy Club and ran Track and Field until an injury prevented her from running. However, it didn’t stop her from attending practice and meets to support the team during senior year. She also became President of the Model A Ford Club which is dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and enjoyment of Ford vehicles manufactured between 1928-1931. PHS founded the first high school club of this type anywhere in the nation and it is part of the largest club in the world dedicated to one make of automobile.

Ashly received several other college acceptances including: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, Cal State University (CSU) Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Fullerton, and CSU Bakersfield.

Senior Zen Glick is heading to UCLA to study biochemistry and music with a pre-medicine emphasis. A violinist and concertmaster of the Pasadena High School Orchestra, he has also guest-conducted for the Pasadena Symphony in front of 5,000 people and even played Carnegie Hall! As if that’s not enough, he has also survived cancer twice, undergone multiple surgeries, six rounds of chemotherapy, 40 days of radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. He received a Leadership Award from the PUSD Board of Education.

The student musician sings the praises of his PUSD teachers at Sierra Madre Middle School (SMMS) and at PHS for helping him, especially Dr. “R” Anne Rardin, Chad Prado, and the late Amy McLean, who is dearly missed and did amazing things for the orchestra program at SMMS.

“All the teachers in my middle school career and my high school career – they were all incredibly accommodating and they were willing to spend extra time outside of school to help me,” Glick explained.

But Zen isn’t just an outstanding student leader, he hopes to continue to inspire change through his music by raising money for an important cause. So far, he’s raised over $8,700 in donations for neuroblastoma research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He hopes to be part of the UCLA Orchestra and music clubs on campus. For more on his story, click here and/or donate to his CHLA fundraising page here.