Ghana visit revelation for pre-med

Los Angeles, USA -- Pouria Parsa of Studio City and 10 other volunteers traveled to Prampram, a small fishing village in Ghana, Africa, to volunteer in clinics and schools and on school construction projects.

Parsa, a pre-med student at California State University, Northridge, joined the program through Global Volunteers, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization that offers short-term service opportunities in 18 countries.

He said living in the extreme poverty of the region for three weeks was an eye-opening experience.

"In the (maternity) clinic, before the pregnant women are to be seen by the nurse, they do a traditional dance and prayer," Parsa said. "I couldn't believe it. My breath was taken away from it."

The volunteers also took part in the community's daily activities, which included watching the fishing boats return with the day's catch.

Parsa's ultimate goal is to become an obstetrician. He plans to visit Ghana again once his medical career advances.

"I learned more over there than I learned from things over here just because they need so much more help," he said. St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City was named one of 19 semifinalists for a National School of Character Award by The Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C.

Each year, the CEP recognizes several nationwide schools if they incorporate an outstanding program in character education that has been in place for a minimum of three years.

In March or April, two experts in the field of character education will visit the school. Their findings will be sent back to Washington for review. The winners will be announced in May. Valerie Hoi-Ting Lau, a student at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, was named among more than 2,600 candidates in the 2003 Presidential Scholars Program. The candidates were selected for their outstanding performance on either the College Board SAT or the ACT assessment.

The recipients will travel to Washington, D.C., in June to receive the Presidential Scholars medallion and participate in activities and events with various public officials. Union Bank of California presented a $25,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley for the organization's new Canyon Country Clubhouse, which is scheduled to open in May.

The 27,000-square-foot building on the Sierra Vista Junior High School campus will include a full-size gymnasium, additional classroom space for the school, a teen center, a learning center, a computer lab, an arts center and a recreation room. Brandon Walker of Thousand Oaks received a $100,000 scholarship from the Posse Foundation, an organization that recruits outstanding students from public high schools who might be overlooked by the traditional university selection process.

Walker received the scholarship through the Upward Bound Math/Science Program at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. He will attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison, majoring in mechanical engineering. The National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution, Chatsworth Chapter, awarded its ROTC Medal and Award Certificate to the following local high school seniors who are members of the Bryce Canyon Division, United Naval Sea Cadet Corps:

Luis Farias of Reseda High School, Benjamin Garcia of Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Matthew Marin of Canoga Park High School and Michel Pardon of Sherman Oaks High School.