--- title: "Meet the Elite 2014 Students of the Year | Elite Prep" description: "Meet the Southern California students honored with Elite scholarships for their love of learning, work ethic, and attitude, and see where they're headed." url: "https://eliteprep.com/blog/meet-the-elite-2014-students-of-the-yearhtml/" image: "https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-66-webp-card.jpg" language: "en" datePublished: "2014-08-25T21:16:27.000Z" source: "eliteprep build" --- # Meet the Elite 2014 Students of the Year August 25, 2014 2 min read [Find a center](https://eliteprep.com/locations/) ![Smiling student with long dark hair and black-framed glasses in a portrait against a plain background](https://eliteprep.com/media/image-asset-66-webp-w800.webp) This post is 12 years old. Test formats, deadlines and admissions policies may have changed since it was published. [See the newest posts](https://eliteprep.com/blog/) Each year, Elite USA awards scholarships to a few of our students who most notably demonstrate the qualities we are committed to: a sincere passion for learning, an exceptional work ethic, and a great attitude. Our 2014 Elite Students of the Year have worked hard, overcome obstacles, participated in countless extracurricular activities, and excelled academically. On June 7, Elite students and staff assembled at the Elite Teacher Convocation 2014 to celebrate the successes of the past year and recognize the efforts and achievements of this year's outstanding Students of the Year. Congratulations to all our 2014 Southern California Students of the Year! ## 2014 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STUDENTS OF THE YEAR ![Smiling student with long dark hair and black-framed glasses in a portrait against a plain background](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-66-webp-w800.webp) ## Aisli Valencia Aisli is a graduate of the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, where she was a member of the [Elite Community Scholars Satellite Program](https://eliteprep.com/community-scholars/). Aisli will be studying Biochemistry at [Occidental College](http://www.oxy.edu/) this fall. ![Smiling student with curly dark hair and glasses in a cream top against a light background](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-190-webp-w800.webp) ## Raquel Matamoros Raquel attended John Marshall High School and [Elite's Community Scholars Satellite Program](https://eliteprep.com/community-scholars/) there. She'll be attending [UC Riverside](http://ucr.edu/) and majoring in Global Studies starting this fall. ![Poster: "The Road to Success: A College Admissions Strategy Seminar — May 13 Irvine, May 13 Fountain Valley, May 20 San Jose"](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-62-webp-w800.webp) ## Christina Chu Christina attended Centennial High School and is this year's Student of the Year from [Elite of Anaheim Hills](https://eliteprep.com/locations/). Christina looks forward to attending [Brown University](https://www.brown.edu/) in the fall, where she'll be studying Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. ![A sharpened pencil resting on paper with handwritten math, including a circled "x = 5"](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-75-webp-w800.webp) ## Michael Carter Michael attended [Elite of Arcadia](https://eliteprep.com/arcadia/) and Maranatha High School. He will be heading east to attend [Johns Hopkins University](https://www.jhu.edu/) where he'll be studying Biology (Pre-med). ![Smiling young woman with long dark hair wearing a beige collared shirt, in a portrait against a plain background](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-132-webp-w800.webp) ## Lucy Choi Lucy is a graduate of Cerritos High School and plans to attend [UC Berkeley](http://www.berkeley.edu/) to study Public Health in the fall. She is this year's Elite Student of the Year from [Elite of Cerritos](https://eliteprep.com/cerritos/). ![Chalkboard with "Think outside of the box" written in chalk across a drawn square](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-32-webp-w800.webp) ## Steven Truong Steven is an [Elite of Fountain Valley](https://eliteprep.com/fullerton/)’s 2014 Student of the Year. He's a graduate of Fountain Valley High School and plans to study Chemical Engineering at [UC Berkeley](http://www.berkeley.edu/). ![Close-up of two students holding yellow pencils and writing on papers at a desk](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-71-webp-w800.webp) ## Helen Kirkby Helen is a graduate of University High School and attended [Elite of Irvine-Newport Beach](https://eliteprep.com/irvine/). She looks forward to starting at [UC Berkeley](http://www.berkeley.edu/), where she'll be majoring in Political Science. ![Smiling young man with glasses wearing a striped shirt and yellow patterned tie](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-70-webp-w800.webp) ## Kang Min Daniel Lee Kang Min graduated from the LA Center for Enriched Studies and attended [Elite of Los Angeles](https://eliteprep.com/los-angeles/). This fall, he will be heading to [Dartmouth College](http://www.dartmouth.edu/). ![Title graphic over a dim bedroom: "Sleep & Nutrition: What Your Brain Needs to Ace the SAT & ACT"](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-109-webp-w800.webp) ## Gilbert Bao Gilbert is this year’s [Elite of Northridge](https://eliteprep.com/northridge/) Student of the Year. He graduated from Agoura High and will be attending [the University of Chicago](http://www.uchicago.edu/) to study Economics. ![Smiling student with glasses and dark hair pulled back, wearing a patterned top, against a pale background](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-176-webp-w800.webp) ## Gloria Seo Gloria attended [Elite of Irvine-Northwood](https://eliteprep.com/northwood/) and is a graduate of Foothill High School. Gloria will be heading to [Pomona College](http://www.pomona.edu/) to major in Chemistry. ![Smiling young man with short dark hair in a white dress shirt and navy patterned tie](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-146-webp-w800.webp) ## Ben Cohen Ben attended [Elite of San Diego-Rancho Bernardo](https://eliteprep.com/locations/) and is a graduate of Rancho Bernardo High School. He looks forward to attending [Princeton University](http://www.princeton.edu/) this year. ![Poster: Elite CHINA Summer Boot Camp Jun. 13th–Aug. 26th, with Drama, Youth, SSAT, ACT and SAT courses, 400 822 0728](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-43-webp-w800.webp) ## Jessica Cao Jessica attended Centennial High School and is [Elite of Rowland Heights](https://eliteprep.com/rowland-heights/)’ 2014 Student of the Year. She will be starting at [Brown University](http://brown.edu/) this year. ![Smiling young man with short dark hair and a light blue collared shirt against a plain background](https://media.eliteprep.com/SOY2014_Ashwin_Rao_2014_8.webp) ## Ashwin Rao Ashwin attended [Elite of San Diego](https://eliteprep.com/san-diego/) and Carlsbad High School. He will be a freshman at [the University of Michigan](https://www.umich.edu/) this fall. ![Smiling young woman with long black hair dyed blue at the ends, wearing a sleeveless black top](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-114-webp-w800.webp) ## Dahnby Jun Dahnby attended South High School and was will be attending [UC Berkeley](http://www.berkeley.edu/), where she'll study Integrative Biology. Dahnby is this year’s [Elite of Torrance](https://eliteprep.com/torrance/) Student of the Year. ![Study center interior with tall bookshelves, armchair, long table and chairs by a window, and exposed wood beam ceiling](https://media.eliteprep.com/image-asset-84-webp-w800.webp) ## Sharon Lee Sharon is a graduate of Valencia High School and is [Elite of Valencia](https://eliteprep.com/locations/)’s 2014 Student of the Year. Sharon is looking forward to attending [Stanford University](http://www.stanford.edu/) starting this fall and studying Art Practice with tangents in Business and Communications. [Back to top](https://eliteprep.com/blog/meet-the-elite-2014-students-of-the-yearhtml/#top) ## Ready to Discuss Your Options? Each Elite Prep center sets its own class schedule and hours. Find the center nearest you and contact its staff for current schedules. [Find a center](https://eliteprep.com/locations/) [Browse programs](https://eliteprep.com/programs/)