From the desk of Dr. Tuin
Working hard doesn’t always guarantee accolades, honors, and high achievement. However, those things don’t happen without them. Three Tiller students achieved particularly impressive results this week worth noting, and we also found out about a fourth.
We learned this week that one of our seniors from last year, Gabriel Samcam-Vargas received a Beckman Legacy Foundation Award, placing second in this competitive program and receiving $12,000 for his work in designing an experiment using a spectrophotometer built from Legos. The title of his investigation was: "Concentration of L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) between organic vs. inorganic produce using UV-Spectrophotometry." This year, Nahomi Raymundo will compete in the same program hoping to receive a scholarship as well. Ms. May Sung, Physics and ELDAS teacher, took over the mentorship role for this scholarship program taking over for Lindsay Fay.
For anyone more interested in learning more about the program and our winner, here are some links:
https://www.beckman-foundation.org/people/gabriel-samcam-vargas/
Harshini Mahesh, who happens to be a sophomore, continued her dominance in Tennis this year capturing the Empire League title. She moves on to CIF now as one of the premiere players in Orange County. Joining her in the League title category is a freshman Tiller, Mason Nguyen, who attends Legacy Academy in the day and participates on the Tiller Cross Country Team. It is amazing to see his growth and dominance in only his first year of high school, and now he will move on to CIF. Kuki Neru who competed in CIF this week and qualified for the next round, Joined the CIF club. Although she has gone to CIF in each of her four years, this is her first time moving on to the second level.
The CIF conversation doesn’t stop with some of our outstanding individuals. Despite a heartbreaking loss last week in the final two seconds, football is in position this afternoon to qualify for CIF with a win. In the unusual 3:00 game today, we can improve our league record to 3 and 2 and enter CIF as the third-place team. That would be a testament to them for hanging in there and competing despite many challenges.
In addition to the accomplishments this week, there were four meaningful events I participated in this week. In a given week, there are often a couple of moments when I am reminded of how special this place is for so many different reasons. This week four come to mind.
The first was FAFSA night held in our library and cafeteria. More than 150 parents and students filled both spaces to get to work on completing the FAFSA process. It can be overwhelming and intimidating so we were grateful for the expertise IVC people brought to walk our parents and students through the application. It was an all-on-work session, where people did real work that resulted in a submitted FAFSA. This is the document required for a student to receive any financial aid. When the FAFSA is submitted, the family receives an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) that goes a long way in determining how much college will cost for that family. We provide outstanding services for students and families, and this was one of the most important. I am grateful to the guidance team and Ms. Bojorquez for making this happen.
Another moment for me was walking up and down the plaza yesterday during the Food Fair. About 25 clubs set up a table and offered all kinds of interesting food and treats. Most of it was highly cultural in nature and very intentional based on the theme of the club. It provided students an opportunity to raise some funds for their club and showcased the many opportunities for students to get involved and connected. I appreciated the diversity of clubs and how students embraced the whole experience. I felt the community vibe throughout the experience.
That brings me to Senior Sunrise which happened this morning. A couple of hundred seniors got up early and gathered in the stadium to watch the sun come up. While the sunrise was beautiful, I was touched by the connectedness of the students. They huddled together in various friend groups to keep warm (not that it was that cold) and just enjoyed each other’s company with a doughnut and hot drink. Several students shared how special it was to be together, keeping in mind that not that many more months of high school remain for our seniors. I appreciate Ms. Hughes, Mr. Miguel, and ASB for putting on the event.
Finally, I was reminded of the Mr. Tustin event that will occur tonight at the Elks Lodge. This was because even though the event is still to come, I participated in three official practices in preparation for the big night. I will perform a dance number with some Dance Team seniors. While I am not a dancer by any means, the girls, the coaches, and I have created some special memories in just the practices alone. They have been so helpful and encouraging making me want to do my very best, even though it is just a fun event. It raises money for the Miss Tiller Scholarship Pageant and will also raise money for a charity of Mr. Tustin’s choice. My charity will be the Tustin Public Schools Foundation in the not-so-likely event I “win”.
Reflecting on the special moments this week and the outstanding accomplishments, I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a special community of people. Tustin High School is a unique place where diversity is not just a buzzword, but a lived-out value. We are blessed to be a part of it, and it was another great week to be a Tiller.
Go Tillers!
Dr. Jon Tuin
Tustin High School Principal