Posted on Sun, Jun 10, 2012 : 2 p.m.
Ann Arbor Huron High School Top Scholars
By AnnArbor.com Staff
Ann Arbor Huron High School held its 2012 graduation ceremonies June 6, 6-8 p.m. at the EMU Convocation Center. The class included 330 graduates.
Ian Blaauw
Activities and Awards: Ian has been part of the Robotics Team, Band, and Chess Club for four years. He has also more recently joined Science Olympiad, Web Design Club, National Honor Society, and Cricket Club. Ian has also gone on mission trips with his church youth group to inner city Detroit and Peru. Some awards he has received are AP Scholar, South Eastern Conference All-Academic Scholar, National Merit Commended Scholar, 2 Gold medals from chess tournaments, and about 6 1's (top score) across 4 yrs. of Solo & Ensemble, including the States levels. Ian's robotics team made it to the International Competition in 2009 and 2010. He scored in the top 200 in the 2010 Michigan Math Prize Competition.
Plans After Graduation: Ian plans are to attend U of M, studying Computer Science.
Emily Chang
Activities and Awards: Emily was a National Merit Finalist and a Presidential Scholar semifinalist. She has served as secretary of Huron's National Honor Society for two years. She volunteered her time as a coach for the Clague Middle School Science Olympiad Team. Emily also played for Huron's Varsity Tennis Team for all four years, serving as captain in her senior year. In her free time, she enjoys reading and drawing.
Plans After Graduation: Emily will pursue a dual degree in the University of Michigan College of Engineering and Ross School of Business.
Mara Darian
Activities and Awards: Mara was a dedicated member of National Honor Society, Key Club and Kids For the Future. She played soccer in freshmen and sophomore years, as well as ran cross country sophomore, junior and senior years. She lettered three times while on cross country, and was elected captain in her senior year. Outside of school, Mara was involved in her church community and enjoyed being a volunteer coach for Girls On the Run of Southeastern Michigan. This summer, Mara will travel to Armenia to help build a house for a needy family through the Fuller Center for Housing.
Plans After Graduation:: Mara plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall.
Kelsey M. Gradwohl
Activities and Awards: Kelsey was a member of the National Honor Society and The Huron Executive Board. She is a four year Varsity letter winner in Field Hockey and Lacrosse and was a captain of both teams. Kelsey was named to the First Team All-State Field Hockey Team three years in a row and was also All-State in Lacrosse. She has served on the Teen Advisory Council at the Neutral Zone for four years.
Plans After Graduation: Kelsey will be attending college and playing field hockey for Northwestern University.
Alex Hassan
Activities and Awards: Alex was the captain and two-year starting quarterback of his varsity football team. He serves as president of the National Honor Society and the senior class Executive Board. Alex was a winner of the Michigan High School Athletics Association Scholar Athlete Class A Scholarship and was chosen to the MHSAA Football Academic All-State First Team. His other athletic accolades include All-League Honorable Mention Quarterback for 2 years, the River Rat Award, Coaches Award and Offensive Player of the Year Award. He won the All-Southeastern Conference Sportsmanship Award and has won the Huron High School Scholar Athlete Award each of his four years in high school. Alex was recently named as a 2012 National Merit Winner and AP Scholar with Honor. He is a 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholar Finalist. Alex is on the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum Board of Trustees, and has served as a student representative on the Ann Arbor Public Schools Strategic Planning Committee. He was the Chair of the Student Alumni Symposium on Life in High School at Emerson School. He is currently an intern at RPM Ventures, a venture capital firm in downtown Ann Arbor.
Plans After Graduation: Alex will be attending Harvard in the fall. He plans to study biochemistry and biomedical engineering.
Larissa Herzog
Host parents: Erin and Thomas Zurbuchen
Activities and Awards: Larissa is an exchange student from Switzerland. Although in the beginning it was hard and exhausting, she tried her best in everything she did. Soon, she was able to manage and accomplish her new life. The American way of life. She enjoyed her time at Huron High School and is sad to leave all her friends behind when she has to go back to Switzerland in the end of June. She especially liked playing the cello in the Concert Orchestra every day and spending almost all her afternoons with the Huron Players, rehearsing the plays. She was involved in all the shows of this school year. The Theater became her second home.
Plans After Graduation: Larissa will have to spend another two years in High School in Switzerland. After her graduation she is planing on doing another exchange to the U.S. to attend an American University while she is studying at the University of Zurich.
Elise Ruth Hiskens
Activities and Awards: Elise was a member of the National Honor Society and a Scholar Athlete for all 4 years at Huron. She ran cross-country for 3 years, was part of the Women's tennis team for 2 years and was a track and field sprinter in her freshman year. Elise has been playing the viola for 9 years and enjoyed playing in the Huron orchestras all 4 years. It is her joy to serve others, particularly children, and she has been teaching in the Children's Ministry Department of her church since she began middle school. With her church youth group, Elise has had the privilege of doing volunteer work with the Chene Street Peacemakers in Detroit, and will leave on her second missions trip to Tijuana, Mexico in June.
Plans After Graduation:Elise is a Presidential Scholarship winner and has chosen to attend Eastern Michigan University, studying Early Childhood Education and Psychology.
Kathleen Huntzicker
Parents: Fred and Debra Huntzicker
Activities and Awards: Kathleen was a National AP Scholar and a National Merit FInalist. She qualified as a regional finalist in the 2010 USA Chemistry Olympiad and as a semifinalist in the 2011 USA Biology Olympiad. She was also the winner of the Madame Curie Award from the Society of Women Engineers. Kathleen has played Academic Games for eight years and has been named the individual Sweepstakes Champion at the annual national tournament four times. In addition to competing herself, she is now co-coach of the team at Tappan Middle School. She also works as a tutor at the Kumon Learning Center. In her free time, she enjoys crossword puzzles, thunderstorms, and good books.
Plans After Graduation: This autumn, Kathleen plans to study cognitive neuroscience, although her choice of college still remains to be decided.
Samantha E. Rahmani
Activities and Awards: Samantha has been a driven, dedicated, and active student in the past several years, first in Pioneer and then Huron High School, as well as in her community. During her freshman year, she was chosen to represent Pioneer High School for the University of Michigan's Youth Leadership Experience (YLE). As a sophomore, she was selected as the school's sole representative at the Hugh O'Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership seminar. In both cases, she was chosen for her potential for leadership as well as her excellent academic record. As a leader in school, Samantha helped found and presided over the Student On Alcohol Prevention (SOAP) chapter at Pioneer high school during her second year. As the president, she organized a Town Hall meeting, worked with special needs students on a Red Ribbon Campaign, and coordinated student surveys. Samantha continued her organizational work at SOAP when she moved to Huron High School. As a River Rat, Samantha was a member of the National Honor Society, and was also selected as a National Merit Finalist. All through her high school years, Samantha has been a violinist, first as a part of the Pioneer Orchestras, and then as a member of the Huron Symphony Orchestra. Throughout her high school career, Samantha has continued to volunteer in her community. In the summers, she helps maintain and harvest the gardens for Food Gatherers at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA). She also co-taught at the Northwood English Language Community to help children learn English as a second language. Since middle school, Samantha has been an American Red Cross volunteer at blood donations. Due to her interest in sciences, Samantha has volunteered at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) Benthos Lab since her junior year and currently continues her work there as a part time employee. As a senior, Samantha is an intern in the Kotov Lab in the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Michigan, where she conducts research on gold nanoparticle synthesis.
Plans After Graduation: Samantha will continue her education at the University of Michigan, where she will major in Chemical Engineering with a focus on alternative fuels research.
Claire Roos
Activities and Awards: Claire ran on the Huron Women's Cross Country Team from her sophomore through senior year. She also swam with the synchronized swimming team her junior year and joined the tennis team her senior year. Claire played cello with the Huron Concert and Symphony Orchestras during her four years and was selected for the Orchestra Student Board her senior year. She was also a member of National Honor Society and Key Club. Claire enjoys playing the piano, volunteering in the local parks and tutoring music and academics at the middle schools.
Plans After Graduation: Claire has not yet selected a college for next year. Currently, University of Michigan and College of Wooster are among her top options.
Parents: Ramesh Kushwaha and Anita Kushwaha
Activities and Awards: Kunjan was a member of the National Honor Society and was a member of the tennis team for 3 years. He is also a board member of the Huron Interact Club and helped start the Huron Cricket Club in 2011. He won the EMU Society of Physics Students Excellence in Physics award in the Southeast Michigan Science Fair in 2010. He has volunteered at Vishal Bharat Sansthan in India, the University of Michigan Hospital, and Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.
Plans After Graduation: Kunjan will be attending the University of Michigan to study Computer Engineering.
Parents: Ramesh Kushwaha and Anita Kushwaha
Activities and Awards: Kushal was a member of the National Honor Society. He was a board member of the Huron Interact Club and helped start the Huron Cricket Club in 2011. He was also a 3-year member of the tennis team. Kushal received the University of Michigan Regents Merit Scholarship. He has volunteered at the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and Vishal Bharat Sansthan in India.
Plans After Graduation: Kushal will attend the University of Michigan to study medicine.
Stephen Toner
Parents: Pam and James Toner
Activities and Awards: National Honor Society Member, National Merit Finalist and AP Scholar with Honors. Stephen is a member of the Men's Varsity Soccer team at Huron. In addition, he has played for the advanced Community High School Jazz program.
Plans After Graduation: Stephen will attend the UM Honors LSA as a BBA pre-admit.
Yunhan Wei
Activities and Awards: Yunhan was a member of the National Honor Society, Business Professionals of America, Mu Alpha Theta (a competitive math club), Interact( a volunteering club) and others. He had a 4.0 unweighted GPA through his high school career, with high standardized test scores as well. Yunhan is also an avid fan of music, playing piano since he was in elementary school, eventually becoming a semifinalist in the MMTA piano competition. He was also involved and successful in a wide range of other extracurricular activities, becoming a finalist in the AADL "It's All Write" short story competition, 1st place in States for Chess for the Huron reserve team, and 4th Place at BPA States with the Economic Research Team. He volunteered as a coach for Science Olympiad at Clague Middle School, and as a tutor for other middle and high school students. Yunhan was a member of the Huron Cross Country team, and enjoys playing tennis and basketball with friends.
Plans After Graduation: Yunhan will be attending the University of Michigan Engineering School, and his major is undecided.
Rongyan Xu
Activities and Awards: Rongyan was a member of the National Honor Society. She was the president of the International Friendship Club. Rongyan was a member of the Business Professionals of America. Her Global Marketing Team placed the first in the regional competition. One of her photograph works represents Huron High School exhibit in downtown Ann Arbor. Rongyan has volunteered in the local Red Cross donor center. In addition to the schoolwork,she has two jobs which gives her family financial support. She is the recipient of EMU's 2012-2013 Emerald Scholarship.
Plans After Graduation: Rongyan will be attending Eastern Michigan University, majoring in Business or Teaching.
Rujia Zha
Activities and Awards: Rujia has served as the co-captain of the Huron Science Olympiad team for her junior and senior year. She is an officer of Mu Alpha Theta and has competed and placed in its national convention. A board member of Key Club and an active member of the community, Rujia tutored math, coached Clague Science Olympiad, and volunteered for organizations including the Hands-On Museum. Rujia draws in her spare time and has received several art distinctions by placing first in the Michigan Junior Duck Stamp Competitions and the Humanitarian Law Art Contest. Rujia is also a National Merit Finalist and Scholarship winner.
Plans After Graduation: Rujia plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Parents: Jay and Jane Zhou
Activities and Awards: Jonathan was a member of the National Honor Society. He was a National Merit Finalist and Scholarship Winner. Jonathan was a four-year member of the men's varsity tennis team. He was voted co-captain of the tennis team in his senior year. He has volunteered his time at his church.
Plans After Graduation: Jonathan will be attending the LS&A Honors program at the University of Michigan.