2004 Lombardi Scholars Announced

EIGHT STUDENTS SELECTED FOR LOMBARDI SCHOLARSHIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2004

Contact: Sheila Dickison or Jeanna Mastrodicasa (352-392-1519)

(GAINESVILLE, Fla.)--The University of Florida is pleased to announce the selection of eight additional participants in the Lombardi Scholars Program. Each year, eight students who exemplify John V. Lombardi's commitment to academic excellence, community service, leadership, and public responsibility are selected as recipients of this prestigious award program. Eight students have accepted this scholarship beginning the 2004-2005 academic year and will be traveling to Mexico at the end of June as part of the program. Lombardi Scholars will receive a substantial scholarship for four years of study at UF; they will also be matched with a faculty mentor in their field and will receive support for several overseas study and internship experiences. Florida high schools were invited to nominate one student, and winners were selected from 163 nominees and 18 finalists.

Students in the first year of the program spend six weeks participating in an overseas study program in Merida, the capital of the Yucatan in Mexico during the summer before they begin at UF with Dr. Allan Burns. All the students will participate in the Honors Program at the University of Florida. The eight Lombardi Scholars who have been offered the John V. Lombardi scholarship beginning with the 2004-2005 academic year are:

Ben Friedman: A senior at Suncoast Community High School from West Palm Beach, Friedman is in dual International Baccalaureate and Math, Science, and Engineering magnet programs. Friedman ranks first in his high school and in Palm Beach County. In his spare time, Ben enjoys designing and building rockets and radio controlled avionics. Ben is a five-year member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, was captain of the Team America Rocketry Suncoast division, and volunteers as an attorney in the Youth Court of Palm Beach County. He is involved in the chess, math, and chemistry clubs and enjoys playing tennis, bowling, golf, and fishing. During the past two summers, Ben attended the prestigious Engineering Scholars’ Program at Florida Atlantic University and worked as a web designer and electronics technician for AB Electronics.

Ashton Grosz: A senior at Miami Country Day School, Grosz plays piano, the violin, the viola, and dances ballet. She has also excelled academically, for which she has been recognized as an AP Scholar. Grosz is the president of Key Club and vice-president of Amnesty International, and is involved in TANG (Teenagers Administering Nutrition through Giving) and Right Trak, for which she tutors boys from Miami’s inner city. She is a varsity swimmer, and has earned a Princeton Book Award and a Rochester Award for excellence in social sciences and humanities. A gifted writer, she works on the school’s glossy literary magazine, Amused, and plans to major in English.

Shani K. Isaac: Isaac is in the International Baccalaureate Program at Winter Park High School, and is a National Achievement Finalist. Isaac was born in the Canadian province of Alberta, moving to Florida seven years ago. She is the current President of the Interact community service club, an elected representative in the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board for the City of Winter Park, and a member of the Social Studies, Math, Spanish, and National Honor Societies. Isaac won the national “Is All Ears”, essay contest sponsored by the Inverness Corporation in 2003. She works at Neurology and Electromyography Consultants and volunteers with the Artist-In-Residence program at Florida Hospital and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando, building affordable housing for low-income families. Isaac plans to major in microbiology.

Kyle Lokuta: Lokuta is an Advanced Placement Scholar and attends King High School in Tampa, where he is an International Baccalaureate student. At King, he participates in sports year round, is distinguished as a varsity captain for three sports teams and has been awarded 11 varsity letters. He runs Cross Country, plays for the school and in a competitive soccer team, and is a pole vaulter for the Track and Field team. In his spare time, Kyle is an avid painter and sculptor, likes to compose music, and enjoys playing drums and singing in a rock band with his friends. Over the summer of his junior year, Kyle was invited to participate in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (NASA SHARP) where he interned at the research facility of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School. Lokuta plans to major in integrated biological sciences and go to medical school.

Lari McEdward: From Gainesville, McEdward is currently a senior in the Eastside International Baccalaureate program and is a National Merit Finalist. She has always been interested in science and spends every summer on the west coast at a marine science station, where she has been involved in several research projects. She is active in a tutoring program at her school, not only as a coordinator but also as a tutor in math, biology and physics. She has been a Girl Scout for thirteen years and she earned both the Silver and Gold Awards. Lari also teaches a pre-Kindergarten Sunday school class at her church and still finds time to read almost constantly. She plans to pursue a Ph D. and teach at the college level in some area of science.

Sarah Martin: A National Merit Finalist, Martin is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Martin moved from Mumbai, India to Florida in 1996. She holds leadership positions in several honor societies, including math, English, Spanish, social studies, and the National Honor Society. She plays the clarinet and has been recognized as the “Best Section Leader” in a highly competitive marching band that has performed in parades such as the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. In the summer of 2003 she attended the College of William and Mary’s Chancellor Academy where she conducted research on shellfish pathology at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. She plans to major in integrated biological sciences and attend medical school.

Stavros Moysidis: A National Merit Finalist, Moysidis is the valedictorian of Miami Killian Senior High School. Moysidis was born in Miami to Greek parents and has spent many summers in Greece; he speaks Greek fluently and has become proficient in Spanish. Stavros has played soccer since he was five and has been the captain of the varsity team for two years, as well as playing competitive club soccer. He has been the president of Mu Alpa Theta for the past two years, and has tutored students in and out of school and has aided many in passing the FCAT math. He is a member of National, English, Social Studies and Science Honor Society. He has won the Harvard Book Award, National Merit Finalist, Silver Knight Nominee for Mathematics, Scholar-Athlete Nominee, and first Place in the Fairchild Tropical Gardens Everglades Poetry/Rap competition. He plans to major in biomedical engineering and attend medical school.

Laura Thayer: A Tampa native, Thayer attends Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton. She has participated in varsity cross country, track, swimming, and weightlifting, and was captain of the cross country and swim teams. She is president of Mu Alpha Theta, and has been named a Sunshine State Scholar. She is also a member of the Blood Drive Committee; Lakewood Ranch has won awards for most donations and highest student participation rate the past two years. Thayer has also been involved with Habitat for Humanity and gone on two mission trips to help build houses in Florida. A National Merit Finalist, Thayer intends to major in engineering.

These eight new students will join the previous two classes of Lombardi Scholars. The second class consists of Taylor Gilliland, Omar Ishaq, Karly Jacobsen, Raechel Steckley, Jeffrey Swindling, Hunter Williams, Joseph Wilson, Jeffrey Wong. The second year Lombardi Scholars will be traveling to Greece this summer with a two-and-a-half week program organized by Dr. Barbara Barletta in the Department of Art History.

Todre Allen, Jennifer Bonds, Casey Furman, David Kennedy, Michael Lane, Robert Mack, Ryan Smith, and Trang Tran are students selected in the first class of the John V. Lombardi Scholars Program. Their international experience this summer will be to Japan with Dr. Joseph Murphy from the Department of African and Asian Languages