Rancho Alamitos High

11351 Dale St.

Garden Grove 92841-1598

(714) 663-6415

* Enrollment: 1,603

* Established: 1958

* Team name: Vaqueros

* Principal: Thomas Robins

* Student president: Bettina Enriquez

* Famous alumni: Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva; former state Assemblyman Curt Pringle; Garden Grove City Councilman Mark Leyes; Olympic swimmer Gary Hall

* Winning moments: Orange County Academic Decathlon; Super Quiz award; UCA/Las Vegas Jackpot Classic and USA regionals cheer awards; first senior victory in the annual senior-faculty basketball game; wrestlers Raul Ramirez and Nathan Freitas advanced to Masters meet; cross-country champion Jeremy Van Tress

* In the works: New varsity sports banners; homework center; two new computer labs; classroom Internet access; Parent Institute

* Graduation: 5 p.m. June 20 at the quad

SENIOR STANDOUT

Thao (Sandy) Thanh Nguyen of Garden Grove

* Achievements: Valedictorian; earned a 4.28 weighted grade-point average; top score on Advanced Placement test in biology and U.S. history; Xerox humanities/social science award; Golden State exams awards in algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry and U.S. history; Academic Decathlon medals in fine arts, social sciences, language arts and literature; named ecology club president; Spanish club secretary; recycling team leader; National Honor Society; California Scholarship Federation; Student of the Month; speaks Vietnamese and Spanish

* Connections: Member of the Key Club; science club; badminton team; enjoys reading novels; watching gymnastics and figure skating; the supernatural and metaphysical; art history; volunteered at food banks and soup kitchens; Tuoi Hoa newspaper; tutored in Spanish

* Ambitions: Attend UC Irvine, major in biological sciences to become a surgeon or forensic pathologist; “inspire someone as I’m trying to do with my tutoring”

* Family: Mother is Diane; twin brothers are Danny and David

* Claims to fame: “Nominated--by friends out of sheer jest--for Senior Class Teacher’s Pet, and won; known for incessant problem of collecting and picking up recyclables--glass, plastic, aluminum, bottles--and guess what? There’s no shame in it at all!”

THE SENIOR CLASS: 295