2005 Lombardi Scholars Announced

EIGHT STUDENTS SELECTED FOR LOMBARDI SCHOLARSHIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2005
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 2005-2006 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 146 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. At the national meeting of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in March 2005, the John V. Lombardi Scholars Program was recognized with an honorable mention in the International Exchange category of Best Practices for the International Education Knowledge Community.

The eight Lombardi Scholars who have been offered the John V. Lombardi scholarship beginning with the 2005-2006 academic year are:

Alexia Ash: A senior at Winter Springs High School, Ash has been recognized as both an AP Scholar and a National Merit Finalist. Born in England, she devotes most of her life to the WSHS Debate Team, of which she is Vice President and Public Forum Captain. She will be attending Debate Nationals in June, and is ranked first in her district for Public Forum Debate. Outside of academics and Debate, Ash presides over the WSHS Young Democrats, and has played first-string singles for the Varsity Tennis Team for four years. She also tutors in all levels of math and English. Ash participated in the D.A.R.E. High School Role Model Program, giving her the opportunity to educate fifth graders on the opportunities available to responsible students, and was named the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen for 2005. Ash intends to major in mathematics.

Jake Gipson: Gipson ranks number two in Niceville High School’s International Baccalaureate Program. He leads his senior Group IV project, part of a local collection for a global biodiversity initiative directed from Japan. As a result of his role in the project, he received a Fulbright Memorial scholarship to travel to Japan for cultural and scientific exchange. He has performed extensive independent research and participated in various internship programs, specifically the selective High School Apprenticeship Program at Eglin Air Force Base. He established the Student Project Management Organization, a team that assists in the planning and execution of local events. He has been involved in Boy Scouts since he was five, and as an Eagle Scout he aids his troop as a Junior Assistant Scout Master and has led many high adventure treks. He plans to major in industrial and systems engineering and later earn a master’s degree in operations analysis.

Christopher J. Matthews: A resident of Tarpon Springs, Florida, Matthews is valedictorian at East Lake High School and an AP Scholar with Honor. Fluent in Spanish, Matthews serves as Vice President of the National Honor Society and a member of the Spanish National Honor Society, Academic Team, Television News Team, and Model United Nations. In the community, he is a hospital volunteer, assists homeless pets, and organizes collection drives for the underprivileged. For the past six years Matthews has been involved in training and competition with his border collies in the canine sports of agility, where dogs demonstrate versatility by following cues from their handlers through a timed obstacle course, and flyball. He competes in local and national tournaments and has had a national television appearance. Matthews intends to study biochemistry and molecular biology.

Gabriel Miller: From Miami Beach, Miller is valedictorian of Miami Country Day School. He has played violin since he was seven years old and has also learned to play other instruments such as guitar, drums, trumpet, and viola. He participated in the Caltech Young Engineers and Science Scholars Program, is fluent in Spanish, and is editor of the school literary magazine, Amused. A National Hispanic Scholar, Miller has spent significant time advocating about issues related to the environment, cleaning up the Everglades, minority exploitation, globalization, and war. Miller has a wide range of interests, including genetics, neurobiology, architecture and literature. Miller is undecided about a major.

Joshua Miller: Miller is from Parkland, Florida, where he is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Endorsed and funded by Governor Bush, Miller developed reading/mentoring programs that have been implemented in local elementary schools, as well as in other schools throughout Florida. He has also traveled to the inner-city of New Orleans to mentor and to hand-deliver backpacks filled with school supplies to the city’s most destitute students. Furthermore, working with Free the Children, an organization based in Canada, Miller helped to raise funds to reconstruct a schoolhouse in the impoverished San Juan Parrish, Ecuador. Miller is undecided about a major.

Anna Prusa: Prusa is a senior at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, where her emphasis is music. An Advanced Placement Scholar and National Merit Finalist, she has played the piano for twelve years and she also plays the clarinet. During the past five summers she has participated in West Palm Beach’s ocean lifeguard program for those under age 18, and competed in the Junior Regional Lifeguarding Championships held each year; she has earned professional lifeguard certification. Prusa is also involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Prusa intends to study history and political science.

Gloria Tavara: Tavara is a senior at Lake Mary High School in Central Florida, where she is a National Hispanic Scholar as well as an Orlando Sentinel Academic All-Star and AP Scholar. At Lake Mary, she is editor in-chief of Essence, the school’s award winning literary magazine, which received the highest award from Colombia University’s board of review. She is also highly involved in her competitive school band where she plays the oboe and percussion. She has participated in the National Aeronautics Space Administration’s Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (NASA SHARP), where she worked with environmental scientists to track the migratory patterns of endangered sea turtles. Currently, she is a teen movie reviewer for the Orlando Sentinel. As president of Spanish Club, member of Mu Alpha Theta, and both National and Spanish Honor Societies, she plans to study neuroscience, pursuing a career in medical research.

Vu-Anh Thai: He is a senior in the International Baccalaureate Program at Land O' Lakes High School, and plays competitive tennis and is a volunteer coach for Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Thai immigrated to the United States when he was three years old. Thai also serves Lead Counselor and Advisory Board Member of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) Tampa Bay Region's Anytown, which fights bias, bigotry and racism; to create an America where all individuals are treated with dignity, respect, and understanding. He plans to study civil engineering.