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Del Norte and Rancho Bernardo High’s top grads talk about past, future

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Del Norte and Rancho Bernardo high schools said farewell to a combined 967 members of the Class of 2015 as they crossed their campus stadium stages to receive their diplomas.

Del Norte’s ceremony, which began at 3 p.m. on June 11, included recognizing its top two graduates among the 435 Del Norte seniors. Flora Li was named valedictorian after earning a 4.5 G.P.A. and Kevin Ma was named salutatorian after earning a 4.49 G.P.A.

The same day during Rancho Bernardo’s 5:30 p.m. ceremony, among the 532 seniors, Mariah White was named valedictorian for earning a 4.6818 G.P.A. and Allen Gao was named salutatorian for earning a 4.6522 G.P.A.

Li, daughter of 4S Ranch residents Ming Wa and Qing Yun Li, is headed to Harvard University. Li said she is undecided about her major, but is considering government economics or computer science. Her career aspiration is to become a lawyer.

While at Del Norte she took 14 Advanced Placement classes and said AP computer science was her favorite because “it was so different and the format was really challenging.”

Prior to Del Norte, Li attended Creekside Elementary and Oak Valley Middle School. Her high school activities included Academic League, Science Olympiad and being vice president of the Mock Trial Team, which she helped found. Other extracurriculars included seven years in the San Diego Youth Symphony, where this year she was concertmaster and first chair violinist.

Besides her graduation ceremony, Li said her favorite high school memories were helping other people and the first day of senior year because she knew her high school days were near their conclusion.

As for advice to underclassmen, Li said, “Definitely work hard because it pays off in the end.”

Ma, son of 4S Ranch residents Qing Du and Qianghua Ma, is going to the University of California Berkeley to major in electrical engineering/computer science. His career aspiration is to work at a tech startup or major software company.

Ma took 13 AP classes, all at Del Norte except for AP physics II, which was at RB High. He said AP physics was his favorite because “we got to do hands-on stuff that was applicable and fun.” Ma mentioned one such project was building a boat out of paper that could hold a person and float across Del Norte’s pool.

Prior to Del Norte, Ma attended Creekside Elementary and Mesa Verde Middle School. His high school activities included Science Olympiad, Quiz Bowl, CyberPatriot, National Honor Society and Robotics Club.

Ma said his advice to underclassmen is “Don’t procrastinate.”

White, a Rancho Bernardo resident, is the daughter of Sherry White and Robert White. She will attend the University of California Berkeley on a Regents’ Scholarship, plans to study applied mathematics and economics and perhaps be on the premed track. White said she would like to eventually go to graduate school for a business or medical degree and maybe work on Wall Street as a stocks math analyst.

At RB High she took 15 AP classes, with AP art history being her favorite due to teacher Paul Messerle who “made it a lot of fun and interesting. It opened my eyes to a different way to interpret art,” White said.

She previously attended Chaparral Elementary and Bernardo Heights Middle School. During high school she ran hurdles on the varsity track and field team and in Academic League, Science Olympiad, Peer Counseling and Catalysis for Success. The latter is a science club where members visit elementary and middle schools to put on magic shows and lead hands-on activities to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

White said her favorite high school memories were beating Torrey Pines in the league track and field finals for the past three years since RB and Torrey Pines are big rivals.

As for advice to underclassmen, White said, “Learn how to manage your time. It’s a very useful skill. ... (Also), work hard.”

Gao, son of Rancho Penasquitos residents Qiao Lu and Kevin Gao, is going to the University of California San Diego to major in computer science.

He took 15 AP classes and said his favorite was honors humanities during sophomore year because of “the people in the class and the curriculum.”

Prior to RB High, Gao attended Creekside Elementary and Meadowbrook Middle School. His high school activities included Science Olympiad, Quiz Bowl, Academic League, tennis team, Key Club and Catalysis for Success.

Gao said his favorite high school memories are a trip to Chicago his junior year for the National Quiz Bowl tournament and winning CIF in tennis last year, both of which he called “a lot of fun.”

His advice to underclassmen is “Do what you want to do as much as possible, try different things and learn time management, which is very useful.”

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