2024-2025 SEYMOUR AWARDS NORTH REGION

Congratulations to these exceptional CSF Sealbearers nominated by their CSF chapter Advisers and selected as Seymour Award Finalists. On April 5th they met in a group interview setting to compete for the North Seymour Recipient Award.

Mikaela Balaban – Chapter 120 Placer High School
Adviser Suzanna Gardetto
Principal Jaime Jackson
Placer Union High School District

She’s been a 3-year member of CSF. Mikaela has found her leadership skills as she served as a treasurer, vice president, and is the president this year. She is a member of the Outdoor Environmental Club that has educated campers in Kayaking, Hiking, and Backpacking. Then she gets her hands dirty while planting trees and native flowers and clearing invasive weeds. In fact, she was well recommended by the Placer County Land Trust as the first ever youth member to join the council along with the 1st ever youth representative for the Auburn Sustainability Advisor Committee. Mikaela belongs to the Debate Team, a member of the Leo Club and Key Club. She plays on the High School Volleyball Team. She has been a Placer High School Scholar all three years and counting. Mikaela received the College Board AP Scholar with Distinction. She was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for Placer County. Well, it looks like she has applied to great colleges like UC Santa Cruz and CalPoly Pomona but would love to attend UC Davis in the fall. She treasures her house plants and has over 70 varieties in her room.

Amanda Carlile – Chapter 595 Montgomery High School
Adviser Susan Farkas
Principal April Santos
Santa Rosa City Schools

She has been involved in CSF all 3 years and currently is planning the end of year field trips for the club. Amanda has a heart to give back to kids with disabilities through organizations and clubs: Common Ground, Best Buddies and Special Olympics. Amanda volunteers at Kamp Kennedy and WaTam. She also leads classes for “Cooking 4 Me” and shares her love for cooking and gives the participants the confidence to become more independent. She has been a member of YAY, Fresh Start, and the STEM Club. She has been a vibrant member of the Soccer team all 4 years. She has been awarded California State Seal of Biliteracy, Champion of Inclusion, and made the North Coast CIF Presidential List. All this while maintaining Class Rank #1. Amanda has been a part of the Purdue Summer STEP program since 2022. USSD GEL, Cal Poly EPIC program and Interned at BFK Engineers. What do all these have in Common you might ask? She is interested in mechanical engineering. She has applied to all UC’s, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Oregon State, University of Arizona, University of Tennessee, Purdue, Georgia Tech, University North Carolina, Cornell and Princeton. When asked what a highlight of the last four years was, she said it was when she volunteered for a racing inclusion camp to allow kids with disabilities the opportunity to experience special moments with race cars.

Devin Cheng – Chapter 168 Chico High School
Adviser Kris Hahn
Principal Erica Sheridan
Chico Unified School District

He is the CSF President and also held the office of Vice President and Secretary. Devin has planned, scheduled and organized the activities with his team. He has been a member of the Key Club, Science Bowl, Teacher’s aide for AP Calculus and Programming Cyber Security. Devin has also been a team member of the AquaJets team and Chico High school Swim Team. Sometimes you will find him playing piano at the Chico’s Women’s Club. He is a part of COSMOS for University of California, Impact Mentoring, North Valley In Tune Music Foundation and repairs computers for the classroom. Devin is recognized as the only high school student on a team of undergrads, grads and PHD university teams. He is the second author for a published paper using Python script. Devin has been awarded the President’s Volunteer Service award, Skills USA, and in 2023 USA Computer Olympiad. He is employed by CSU Chico as a research assistant. Devin has applied to most UCs but UC Berkeley or Cornell University is his pick. He will major in electrical engineering and computer science.

Grace Ehnat – Chapter 1403 Woodland Christian High School
Adviser Zak McGaugh
Principal Ryan Devine

Grace has been involved in CSF for all 4 years. She serves for the “Fourth and Hope” foundation that provides essentials for the neighbors that are struggling and has been doing this every year since her freshman year. She’s a member of the Student Government and is this year’s Vice President. She plays on the Soccer Team all four years too. She has played Volleyball, ran for Track and Field, throws Shot Put and Discus. Grace is also the team manager for the high school football team and was given a state ring. She is an All-Academic League recipient and has been awarded Honor Roll all four years. Her CSF advisor wrote, “Grace’s heart is evident not only in school, but also her commitment to community and faith. She is known for her kindness, integrity and her unwavering dependability”. Her favorite player is Iona Mayor who is an USA Rugby player and Favorite book, “Who I Am” by Jessica Andrew. Grace could probably go anywhere she wants to college and that is what she will be doing in the Fall. She will be attending Abilene Christian University in Texas and majoring in Kinesiology and getting closer to becoming an Athletic Trainer.

Tiffany Fan – Chapter 1408 Western Sierra Collegiate Academy
Adviser Mary Buttweiler
Principal Jennifer Hill
Rocklin Academy Family of Schools

Tiffany is a four-year CSF member and started this journey by serving as a liaison between CJSF and CSF bridging the gap between the two. She was a presenter for the CSF Virtual Leadership Workshop and helped to raise her local chapter membership by 150%. She is the President of the ASB, Captain of the JV and Varsity Basketball team and Athletic Trainer for Volleyball and middle school basketball athletes. Tiffany is the president of the Chinese Dragon Lion Dance Club. She has been awarded the Elks Most Valuable Student Award, DAR Good Citizens Award, Distinguished Community Service Hours (1,500 plus). Let’s talk about trash to art. Tiffany is the founder of “RE CREATE” and for over 4 years she has secured $50,000 in donations, giving 40 high school students the opportunity to try art in a different way and saving 60 tons of trash every year. She has participated in research for the Coastal Marine BioLab, Attended Stanford Summer programs that specialized in Neuroscience and for Pre-Collegiate Scholars. Most recently worked as an intern for Kaiser Permanente LAUNCH Program. She implemented the “Choose the Right Bin” initiative teaching employees how to save $75 million in waste management. Tiffany has applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, Colombia, Harvard, St. Mary’s and Cal State Pomona. It looks like she is leaning towards St. Mary’s or Pomona. She will major in Sociology and Pre-Med and become a pediatric surgeon someday.

Paige Ella France-Romero – Chapter 156 Vallejo High School
Adviser Julie Czapiewski
Principal Chris Waldron
Vallejo City Unified School District

Paige is the current CSF President, she stays busy by being involved with planning, fundraisers and events keeping the members involved. She has been awarded the President’s Award all four years. She has been a member of the Film Club, Leo Club, Loma Vista Farm Team, Coastal Cleanup Crew, as well as a dance and music member of the Filipino Club. She is the Senior Class Secretary and has been on the Badminton team all four years. Paige was awarded the AP Dept Awards for US History and Language and Composition and the AP Scholar Award. Her high School advisor said, “Paige showed admirable commitment to community service and preserving culture by taking active roles in festivals and honoring the Filipino heritage.” Paige has applied to UC Davis, UC San Diego, UCLA, Sonoma State, San Jose State and Cal State East Bay. If she had to pick right now it would be UC Davis and will major in Psychology and Animal Science.

Taylor Jo Hands – Chapter 1356 CORE Butte Charter School
Adviser Fawn Ruby
Principal Matt Harvey
CORE Butte Charter

A member of CSF all four years. She has completed her American Sign Language Certificate and is active in 4-H. She became a Dairy Princess and is ranked as the number one student at her high school. I have a feeling she doesn’t like to tell everyone, but her CSF advisor told us she will not only graduate with the infamous High School Diploma but also will receive her AA degree in the Spring. She also says she is a well-rounded individual with academic excellence, leadership and commitment to serving others. Taylor has been known to paint a little. Especially at the elementary schools or even at a local fairground. Taylor had applied to and was accepted at Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco and Sacramento but Chico State has her heart and will attend there in the fall. She will be majoring in Art because whenever she goes, she may be painting a mural on the next free space in the city, county or school.

Maya Takhar – Chapter 239 Sutter High School
Adviser Taylor Ernst
Principal Rick Giovannoni
Sutter Union High School District

Maya knows what she is going to do. She is a four-year member of CSF and is the current Secretary but has also been the Sophomore Representative and Vice President. She is a member of FBLA, took part in the March of Dimes, and the Key Club Vice President since her Freshman Year. She said that when the Paradise Fire broke, she then understood what volunteering through the “Say Love” organization was all about. She has also volunteered for the Yuba City Nagar Kirtan helping with Donations and Food Distribution since 2014. When we talked on the phone, she mentioned her babysitting jobs. She thought of them not as valued, but I reminded her that those are sometimes the most important. Because, as a parent, you’re trusting that caregiver with your most important asset, your children. Maya, never downplay your caregiving. It is so noteworthy and commendable. Her advisor says that Maya is an outstanding young woman who will achieve success in her future. She has perseverance to push through any obstacle she may face. She has applied and been accepted to Yuba College. They will be getting a fantastic student and will be very lucky to get Maya as she pursues her dreams.

Leah Wong – Chapter 1226 Horizon Charter School
Adviser Melora Klusnick
Principal Tabitha Bertram
Western Placer Unified School District

Leah has been an active member for the past three years and if she looks familiar, she was a Presenter for the CSF Webinar. She has been in the Leadership Club for 2 years and is President. She is involved in many clubs, organizations and activities. The Annual Book Fair, she’s a Dojo Volunteer, and has played the piano for 7 years. Oh, and did I mention she is a first-degree black belt? Leah took 4 College Spanish classes and has earned the State Seal of Biliteracy for both Spanish and Chinese. She is ranked #1 and maintains a 4.67 GPA. She works as a Social Media tech for two businesses, Horizon Charter School and Cotton Critterz. Leah has applied and been accepted to several colleges so far, University of Pacific, CalPoly, but UC Davis is her number one choice. She wants to major in Plant Science because she likes to work with plants with scientific application.