Students lauded for hard work

Michael Miller

Emily Birchfield was chosen as one of Newport Beach’s top 31 students

this year. But her education hasn’t taken place only in Orange

County.

Twice in the last four years, the Newport Harbor High School

senior has traveled with a St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church group to

Egypt, visiting slum cities and leading Bible schools for the local

children.

After visiting the Middle East the summers before her freshman and

senior years, Birchfield never saw Newport Beach the same way again.

“It really taught me how to be grateful,” Birchfield said. “One

time we walked into a school and there was this one little girl who

was praying out loud. Our translator said she was thanking God for

all the things he had blessed her with.”

Students in Newport Beach may be among the nation’s most

privileged, but as the 44th Annual Scholarship Awards Breakfast on

Tuesday showed, outreach is the first thing on many of their minds.

The event, sponsored by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce,

spotlighted students’ community service as well as their academic

achievements.

Every year, Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high schools select

15 seniors with the highest grade-point averages to be recognized at

the ceremony. This year, the schools honored 31 total students, as

Corona del Mar had a tie.

The winners, who received certificates as well as complementary

laundry bags, included Girl Scouts, Hoag Hospital volunteers, and

members of Newport Harbor’s Student Political Action Committee. Some,

such as Newport Harbor senior Tami Alkosser, have given back to their

own schools.

Alkosser, an Action Committee and lacrosse team member, also

serves as a mentor for struggling freshmen at Newport Harbor. Every

second period, Alkosser meets with a group of first-year students who

have had difficulties adjusting to high school.

“We help them with areas where they’re struggling, and we

encourage them to take part in activities -- sports, dances, the

battle of the bands,” Alkosser said. “We want them not to be those

kids who fall through the cracks.”

Among the honorees at Corona del Mar were Ahlia Kattan, president

of the Newport Beach Youth Council; Nathan Punwani, president and

founder of the Young Democrats Club; and Kristin Collins, vice

president of Youth Against Hunger.

“Commitment is the key word for these young people,” said Corona

del Mar Principal Bob Metz. “To achieve at the level they’ve

achieved, their commitment to instruction is outstanding.”