Emma Bronkar, Chapter 1508 – Early College High School
Adviser Anne Lawrence
Principal David Martinez
Newport-Mesa Unified School District
As a member of Early College High School’s CSF chapter in Costa Mesa, Emily explains that even though there is not an active chapter, and officers are not elected, she has still found a way to exemplify the CSF motto “Scholars for Service” in so many other ways. Reviewing her list of activities, it’s clear her passion is helping others through tutoring, which she completes through the National Honor Society. From offering editing advice for students needing help with essays, to algebra and statistics help, Emily has a gift of compassion to help her fellow students. According to her CSF Adviser, Anne Lawrence, “Emma has a unique ability to connect with others, and because of this, otherwise reluctant students are willing to listen to her and to learn from her.” Expanding her reach for community service, Emily serves as the secretary for the Serving and Learning Together Club, and with others is responsible for helping to plan community service events. Beyond school, Emily has been a committed volunteer at Harbor Trinity Church since 2016, assisting with the children’s program, serving as a church event volunteer, and planning community service events. According to Claire Campbell, the Director of Student Ministries, “Emma is an excellent role model to other students her age and younger.” Are you sensing a theme here? Don’t make this girl angry or she just might display her Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills that’s been working on since 2014. Moving into her future, Emma plans to attend either UC Irvine, UC Riverside or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she will major in Environmental Engineering. When those rare moments occur where she has down time, Emma loves to unwind listening to soundtracks of musicals. I am proud to introduce you to Emma Bronkar.
Sky Bui, Chapter 633 – Bolsa Grande High School
Adviser Hannah Jaspard
Principal Tracy Conway
Garden Grove Unified School District
A CSF member for all four years of high school, Sky has been the president for the past two years of the local CSF chapter at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove. With over 200 members, Sky’s largest task is coordinating 4 -5 monthly service opportunities for the members, most recently partaking in a Hygiene Drive to support the new mental health facility on campus. Outside of CSF, Sky thrives as a leader, serving as a founding member and Vice President of the Youth Advisory Council, Treasurer and now president of Project Angkor, Vice President of the national Honor Society, Vice President of the Math Club, and a student representative of School Site Council. In all of these endeavors, Sky’s focus is always on helping others be their best. Hannah Jaspard, his CSF Adviser states that Sky has this “enthusiasm for living life to the fullest,” and an “ability to communicate most eloquently to people of all ages.” One of his teachers, Amy Nguyen, writes that Sky’s service to the community reinvents the atmosphere to be more welcoming and supportive.” In his personal statement, explaining his desire to help the less fortunate, Sky writes that he feels like “a town crier for the homeless minority who suffer silently in my community. For college, Sky will attend UC Berkeley and major in Bioengineering with the plans to go into the biomedical device field. Don’t worry, I was confused too. This means he plans to research things like glucose monitors, or pacemakers, etc.
If you need to find him when he’s not leading a service opportunity, try the beach, because Sky absolutely loves spending time with family and friends there soaking up the glorious SoCal sun.
Katie Ditter, Chapter 1276 – Westview High School
Adviser Diana Loo
Principal Ernest Remillard
Poway Unified School District
Attending Westview High in San Diego , Katie has been a member of CSF all 8 semesters of her high school career, and has participated in such events as food drives, school carnivals, blood drives and much more. For many of these events, she served as chairman which shows her dedication to leadership. In her personal statement, Katie explains that her “favorite task was spearheading “Start with Hello Week,” where we wrote every student a nametag and displayed them on campus. This helped students meet each other and prevent social isolation.
Outside of CSF, she is a strong leader in so many areas. Katie is the secretary of ASB this year, and has spent much time with school-wide community service, and recognition. This year, she is the president of the club, Random Acts of Kindness, and has been co president, and vice president in previous years. For the Westview Theater Company, she has worn many hats, including junior council, council member, and production manager to name a few. Oh, she’s also the present secretary for the Jewish Culture Club, was the JV Girls Soccer goalkeeper for two years, represented her high school at Girl’s State, and much, much more. Perhaps her most heartfelt involvement is with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where she was chosen as the Student Visionary of the year for 2022 for Southern California and Hawaii and was the runner up in 2023. Abbey Gill, from LLS when writing about Katie “can promise she is a self-starter, unbelievably dedicated to helping others, and is truly an outstanding individual.
Her college plans are to attend either UCLA, USC, or NYU where she hopes to major in acting for film and stage, with a possible minor in Political Science. Whatever her future holds, Katie plans to make “Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase which means “world repair” her personal motto.
Faith Hibbard, Chapter 1293 – Great Oak High School
Adviser Diana Arban
Principal Aimee Ricken
Temecula Valley Unified School District
The current president of Great Oak High School in Temecula, Faith leads a very busy CSF chapter. With over 200 members, Faith has helped with everything from Friendship Bracelet making, to Garden club, to a Greek festival, Operation Christmas Child, and many more. Her favorite is an event called the Spectacular Prom, where she explains that “special education students from the district come to enjoy an amazing night with the CSF students, with the goal of giving them the best night possible with a prom-like setting.” In leadership roles outside of CSF, Faith is the current president of the Habitat for Humanity Club, where she has also served as a secretary. She is also the current president of the National Honor Society and was the vice president last year. I think she likes being in charge. In sports she’s known as Faith “Volleyball” Hibbard. Actually, I just made that up. Seriously though, she has excelled in volleyball all four years of high school as a member of varsity, has also played competitive volleyball since the age of 8, and beach volleyball for the past 5 years. Considering all facets of her life, Fath’s science teacher explains that “Her commitment to community service and volunteering demonstrates a well-rounded and socially responsible approach to her education.” This commitment will lead her to either UC San Diego, or UCLA, where she plans to major in Civil Engineering, and perhaps minor in Business, with the goal of working for an engineering firm as a career. Wherever her future takes her, it is clear that Faith will be amazing.
Nylah King-Boyd, Chapter 505 – Cathedral Catholic High School
Adviser Esther Stephenson
Principal Marlena Conroy
A member of CSF since 10th grade at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, Nylah is the current president of a very active chapter. Under her leadership, CSf has been involved in many community service opportunities, including Trunk or Treat, Easter Projects, Facility Gift baskets, Back to School Supply Drives, Toys for TJ and so much more. Esther Stephenson, one of her AP teachers and current CSF adviser, when speaking about her talents, explains that Nylah is the “glue” for her peers by organizing events that reflect their cultures and identities so that each diversifying factor can be emphasized and appreciated. Continuing in leadership, Nylah is involved in many other ways including serving as the Lead Student Director, and a Senior Advisor of the Cathedral Catholic High School TedX Program, as president of the Black Student Union for the past two years, and as an Ambassador for the Christ Corps Program on campus. Her skills have also enabled her to attend a summer school program at Harvard University in 2022 in an intro to Infectious Diseases program, and to attend a Research Scholars Bioengineering Program at UC San Diego last summer. Nylah has been accepted to Harvard University in the fall where she plans to major in Biomedical Engineering. A personal motivation due to her aunt’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has inspired her to choose the clinical research path in hopes of one day finding a cure for this devastating disease. For fun, she has been fortunate to visit 10 countries so far and loves spending days watching the rain come down with her French bulldog Louie. No doubt, she will achieve great things.
Hannah Lee, Chapter 667 – Sunny Hills High School
Adviser Hera Kwon
Principal Craig Weinrich
Fullerton Joint Unified High School District
Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton is where Hannah has been a member of CSF during all four years of high school offering service in many projects such as recycling, book drives, creating cards for seniors and more. Hera Kwon, the CSF advisor writes that “Hannah is a remarkable young lady who has shown genuine kindness, empathy, and a passion for the world around her. She has a powerful combination of heart, talent, and work ethic. In other leadership roles, and there are numerous, Hannah truly shines. To begin with, she is the web managing editor of her school newspaper, The Accolade, and has won numerous awards with her staff of more than 40 students, and writes 3 or more articles per week. She is also the Co President since 2020 of UNICEF on campus, and has been instrumental in organizing school-wide events for World Water Day and World Children’s day. She is also the Co President of the Future Young Leaders of America since 2020, which hosts monthly park clean-ups, recycling programs, hygiene packages and food bank services. Arlene Kim, The Director and advisor of FYLA explains that “Hannah pushes herself to be outspoken in order to create a comfortable and safe environment for those around her—she listens actively and considerately, making everyone of all ages and backgrounds feel heard and valued. Hannah also serves as the student coordinator of the school club Good Hands for One, which tutors low-income elementary students in math and English. For her future college plans, she is 99.9% committed to attending UC Berkeley in the fall. She plans to major in English where she hopes, in her own words, to use “the power of the law to amplify the voices of the underrepresented, and she aspires to foster an empowering and inclusive community. From her hectic schedule, there are times when Hannah likes to take a step back and immerse herself in old comforts, like making slime, or dalgina pudding, or perhaps binge watching her favorite show Money Heist.
Luke Sonderman, Chapter 1234 – Palm Valley School
Adviser Susie Zachik
Principal Peter Koehler
A four-year member of CSF, Luke is the current ASB President and captain at Palm Valley High School in Rancho Mirage using his skills of leadership to help coordinate CSF and other clubs. According to his advisor, Suzanne Zachik, she explains that “from his position in ASB, he makes sure CSF, and all clubs on campus, are slotted into consistent meeting spots, help to further their causes, run their Winter Olympics, and organize their dances.” Outside of school Luke is currently a Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has attained the status of Eagle Scout in December of 2022 by organizing and constructing a garden around the handicapped parking lot at the Desert Cities Baptist Church. At this same church, Luke is currently the director of Media for which he averages 200 hours each year to complete all aspects of the position. He got his start when the Covid Lockdown forced his church” to close its doors. According to Luke, he explains that he decided to step in and put his dedication to service to good use. I called our pastor and told him that I could live stream the church’s services. As if you need to know that he does even more things, he’s also an accomplished drummer, is in a band, gives drumming lessons, and is a co-founder of Sondy Studios which provides affordable recording services for young musicians. Beginning in the Fall, Luke plans to attend Chapman University, major in Business Administration, and minor in Music Industry. An impressive young man, this is Luke Adam Sonderman.
Tyler Truong, Chapter 665 – Santiago High School
Adviser Jeanne Wu
Principal Christine Pijl
Garden Grove Unified
The Current President and past Secretary of a very busy CSF chapter at Santiago High School in Garden Grove, Tyler has orchestrated and or participated in many events that support the community, from working at a local food bank, to cleaning up beaches, to writing letters to medical workers, and so much more. In other ways to showcase his passion for leading others, Tyler is a Founding member and current President of the Santiago Children’s Hospital of Orange County Club. Writing about his work with this club, Tyler explains that, “ Through this club, we have provided outreach to dozens of organizations, donated over $600 directly to the hospital, and most of all made the lives of less fortunate children better. According to his current English teacher, when writing about Tyler, she explains that “To further his love for science, he co-founded the club MESA (Math, Engineering, Science, and Achievement) to help establish a connection with the MESA competition for our school.” If all of this isn’t enough for you, he’s also the Fundraising Task Coordinator for the Key Club on campus. What might you ask might all of this work prepare him for? Well, he has already been accepted to UC Berkeley, but is still considering UCLA, UC Irine, UC San Diego, CSU Fullerton, or his dream school, Stanford. Once he decides on the college, he plans to major in Biochemistry and Pre Med with the goal of becoming a doctor. While you might see him as a strong leader, he sees himself as a major foodie, and has even made it a goal of rating every Pho restaurant in Orange County.
