2 Presidential Scholars From Camarillo and Granada Hills

Two students from the San Fernando and Conejo valleys were among 141 winners chosen as Presidential Scholars, the highest honor the U.S. awards graduating high school seniors.

Mark L. Paskowitz of Northridge, Granada Hills High School, and Lynn L. Chen of Camarillo, Adolfo Camarillo High School, were honored along with other recipients by President Bush and Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos at a Tuesday afternoon ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House.

Each student received a $1,000 scholarship from the Morristown, N.J.-based Geraldine P. Dodge Foundation, a philanthropic group which independently provides the awards each year to the Presidential Scholars. A bronze Presidential Scholar Medallion also was awarded at the ceremony.

Paskowitz will attend the University of California, San Diego in the fall to study math and finance. Chen will attend the University of Michigan’s Inflex Program, a six-year medical program that annually accepts 40 students, eight of whom are chosen from out of state.

The 1,500 students who scored highest on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Test for the 1988-89 school year were identified as candidates and invited to apply for the honor. Applicants submitted an essay, self-assessment and transcripts of past academic work. The essay topic was a conversation with any American, dead or alive. Five hundred semi-finalists were chosen based on the essay submissions and academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities and community involvement.

The finalists were chosen by a group of 50 appointees to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

Each student was allowed to invite one instructor to the capital.

The local group left Friday and spent four days touring the capital. Travel expenses were paid by the awards program.