Page 4 May 30, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
School Spotlight
Sports
Student Athletes Sign Spring
Letters of Intent
By Gregg McMullin
The chances of getting an athletic scholarship
to a college are pretty slim. About two
percent of high school seniors earn scholarships
every year and that’s at the national
level. Six very special El Segundo High
School seniors signed their spring letters of
intent and will continue their education in
the fall. These students aren’t special because
they are going forward to college for higher
education. No, they’ll join hundreds of other
El Segundo High seniors who’ll continue the
next step in their yearning for higher education
-- but with one added element: These
students happen to be athletes too and will
be playing a sport in college besides keeping
a grueling academic life in the classroom.
These last four years are the culmination of
hard work in both the classroom and on the
field of play and it has paid off in the form
of a scholarship.
Sean Lee, Kenyon College
(Pole Vault)
Sean is believed to be the first Eagle to
earn a scholarship that focuses on the pole
vault event in track and field. He is a twotime
Ocean League runner-up and recently
won the Ocean League title. This will mark
his third year to qualify for the CIF prelims.
Sean chose Kenyon College, a private liberal
arts college in Gambier, Ohio, because
he believes it will challenge and prepare
him for life’s obstacles. It also validates the
sacrifices he and his family have made to get
to this point. He says his parents were a big
influence and is thankful his mother pushed
him academically while his dad urged him
to be better athletically.
He has many fond memories of his journey
during high school, but will forever remember
the Saturday morning workouts. “We ordered
pizza and donuts at 10 in the morning while
blasting ‘80s music,” he said.
Jenna Olson, Sonoma State
University (Women’s Water Polo)
Jenna is a three-year starter for the girls
water polo team. All she has done is lead
her team to three straight CIF playoff appearances,
three Ocean League championships,
while earning All-CIF honors all three years,
All South Bay three years in a row, Cal Hi
All-American twice and All-SoCal Team.
She also holds the school record for singlegame
scoring.
Jenna chose Sonoma State for its childhood
education program and to continue
playing water polo. Her favorite moment in
high school was being teammates with her
best friends. She said the biggest influence
for her success in and out of the pool have
been her coaches and her parents. “They
pushed me to work harder on and off the
pool deck,” she said.
Nikki Fulcomer, UC Irvine
(Cross Country-Track)
Nikki is another highly decorated athlete
who is benefiting from both her athleticism
and her classroom work ethic. She has
excelled on the cross country team and has
won the XC Coaches Award, ESHS CIF
Female Scholar Athlete of The Year, while
twice being named Most Valuable Runner
for her XC team.
Nikki said her time in high school has
been great and that her coaches and teammates
have been her biggest influence. Her
fondest memories are the XC training trips
to Mammoth and the meets in Washington
and Oregon. She’ll always treasure the trip
to the XC State finals with her team and
standing on the podium with her best friends.
Gabriella Lee, Chapman College
(Cross Country-Track)
You could sense that Gabriella (Gaby) was
a special runner when she was younger. She
would routinely finish before everyone else in
grade school and middle school. She was an
All-Ocean League top seven finisher all four
years and helped her team win three Ocean
League titles as well as qualify for the CIF
State meet three consecutive years. She was
awarded the XC Earned It award and the
Cross Country Coaches Award and helped
her team win various XC Invitational meets
and place third at the 2018 CIF State meet.
She chose Chapman College to continue
her cross country running because of the new
coach who is rebuilding the program. Gaby
said her hard work over the past four years
with her teammates have meant everything
to her. “Traveling with the team to different
meets was fun, but the experience of running
races in Portland and Seattle was amazing
and running at the State Championships for
the last three years was absolutely amazing,”
she said.
Gaby added that she has been most influenced
by her coach who pushed her limits to
their highest level. “He has always believed in
me from day one and never failed to inspire
not only me, but everyone,” she said.
Maximilian Shultz,
UC San Diego (lacrosse)
Max is not only an athlete to the highest
degree, but a standout in the classroom too.
He has been playing lacrosse since his father
introduced him to the sport as a young boy.
“My dad has been the biggest influence on
my playing the best sport out there,” he said.
Max, who earned All-Ocean League honors,
selected UC San Diego for the amazing
El Segundo High Selected as
California Democracy School
El Segundo High School (ESHS) has earned
recognition as a 2019 California Democracy
School from the Los Angeles County Office
of Education (LACOE) for creating and
institutionalizing an effective civic-learning
program. ESHS is one of only two schools
in the South Bay to receive this honor.
Craig Gast, ESHS political behavior teacher,
was instrumental in applying for the designation.
“Often, government and civics are not
always recognized by the public as being
as important as some of the other areas of
study,” said Gast. “Many students do not even
take government class until second semester
of their senior year. By that time, they have
already applied to college and have tentative
fields of study chosen—all before ever being
exposed to the field of study known as
political science. I wanted to change that.”
The California Democracy School Project
is designed to institutionalize civic learning in
high schools to prepare students for college,
career and citizenship in the 21st century.
Key factors contributing to ESHS’s selection
included the collaborative Annual Civics Day
program and the District’s partnership with the
City of El Segundo, as well as adoption of
the new ESUSD Graduate Profile. In addition
to the application process showing evidence
of ESHS’s related curriculum, LACOE conducted
an interview with a selected community
panel made of up El Segundo civic leaders
and ESUSD representatives.
Part of ESHS’ curriculum includes a mock
congress where students take on national issues,
conduct research and come up with their own
solutions which they present to their classmates.
Students then vote on the issues. Students also
participate in mock elections, and all are given
the opportunity to register to vote.
– Content Abridged from
ESUSD Press Release •
ESUSD
Student athletes signed their spring letters of intent. Back row from left: Sean Lee, Maximilian Shultz and Lukas Roscoe. Front row:
Nikki Fulcomer, Gabriella Lee and Jenna Olson.
ES School Board Honors Retiring
Teachers and Engineering Stars
By Duane Plank
Tuesday evening’s meeting of the El Segundo
School Board, initially graced by an
overflow crowd, featured presentations from
school site PTA administrators and high school
faculty spotlighting the Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) program.
The Board also honored El Segundo Unified
School District (ESUSD) retiring teachers and
El Segundo High School (ESHS) engineering
students. The latter group received recognition
for their recent first place selection in the
Aerospace Corporation’s Robert H. Herndon
Memorial Science Competition.
ESHS Principal Dr. Melissa Gooden, in
concert with AVID Coordinator Branka Cvejic,
Assistant Principal Dr. Logan Fox and
multiple teachers and students, updated the
Board members on the strides made in the
program. AVID is a college readiness program
that aims to prepare students for matriculation
into college and foster the development
of myriad skills -- including writing, critical
thinking, teamwork and organizational skills.
The AVID program, first implemented
at ESHS in the 2006/7 school year, allows
students to spend one period each school day
with the same instructor for all four years
of their high school tenure. Board President
Nancy Cobb feels that the program fosters
“in-class tutoring on all core subjects” and
helps the students “effectively study, both
independently and in groups, how to organize
and manage their time, and how to stretch
themselves independently with confidence.”
The presentation highlighted how the AVID
program tumbles barriers to higher education,
including systemic, financial and personal
roadblocks. The speakers also discussed the
See School Board, page 8
See Sports, page 11