Saratoga News

On Campus

Exchange students looking for homes

AYUSA International is searching for families to host high school exchange students from more than 50 nations. Exchange students stay with host families for one year. "We want these kids to become a member of your family," said Orleen Sebesta, local AYUSA coordinator.

AYUSA is an accredited organization which follows USIA guidelines. Host families choose their own student from personal and academic profiles filled out by the students and provided to AYUSA. Students arrive with their own insurance and spending money and generally have received instruction in English. The exchange program runs from mid-August to late June.

For information contact Orleen Sebesta at 1-888-626-6499.

College scholarships currently available

The Auxiliary of Community Hospital of Los Gatos is offering $2,000 college scholarships for local high school seniors interested in pursuing careers in medicine and the health sciences.

To qualify, applicants must be accepted by a four-year college with a major in one of the following disciplines: medicine, nursing, dentistry, radiology, medical technology, pharmacology, physical therapy, social services or dietetics.

The deadline for applications is May 1. Interested students should contact Ethel Ballard, auxiliary scholarship chairwoman, at Community Hospital of Los Gatos, 815 Pollard Rd., Los Gatos, 95030.

Spots open for local volleyball players

Local students with an interest in and talent for volleyball have an opportunity to travel to Europe and represent the United States in the Goodwill Ambassadors Boys & Girls Volleyball Tour to Europe: Summer 1998.

The Sports for Youth Foundation Inc. is currently accepting applications from volleyball players aged 15-21. Those chosen will join this year's tour and play for the U.S. in London, Paris, Venice and Rome. The tour is both an athletic and a cultural enrichment program, in keeping with the Sports For Youth philosophy of promoting healthy lifestyles through sports.

Interested athletes should contact the Sports for Youth office by calling 425/251-6675 or writing to info@volleyballnw.com via email or 18475 Olympic Ave. S., Tukwila, WA 98188 via conventional mail. The registration deadline is March 31.

SHS Health Fair was a success

Saratoga High School held a health fair on Monday, March 9. The theme of the fair was "Just Say Know," intended to reflect an attitude about drugs and good health in general. Brandon Silvera, a Los Gatos High School alum, was the keynote speaker and addressed attendees on the dangers of drunk driving. He was joined by some 15 other speakers on a variety of health-related topics.

"We tried to make it as interactive as we could get it to be," said Lenay Taylor, a SHS mother and event planner. The fair included food and entertainment as well as numerous information booths dedicated to a variety of topics, such as skin care, massage, cancer treatment, self-defense and living with dying. All of the topics were chosen by Saratoga High School students ahead of time. American Medical Response brought an ambulance, which students were invited to inspect, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department displayed drugs confiscated by deputies.

Local alum makes college dean's list

Saratoga High School alum Katherine Berardo made the dean's honor list at Northwestern University for the fall quarter. Berardo is in the college of arts and sciences, with a major as yet undeclared. "She wants to keep her options open," says her mom, Lynn. Berardo entered Northwestern with five advanced placement classes to her credit and had to score at least a 3.7 grade-point average to make the dean's list. Aside from her academic work, Katherine has been engaged in philanthropic work including Dance Marathon, an event which raises money for children's hospitals. She and Lynn also work with the National Charity League, which makes donations to soup kitchens for the homeless and to the Special Olympics.

"I think that Saratoga High School prepared her very well for Northwestern," Lynn said. "But more than that, she prepared herself."

Saratogan set to travel with choir

Irene Hsu, a former Saratoga student now attending the Phillips Exeter Academy, will tour Florida this spring with the Academy Concert Choir. Hsu, daughter of Saratoga resident Joyce Hsu and Ta-Lin Hsu of Taipei, is a senior at the academy. Hsu has been a member of the choir for two years and is now participating in her first tour. She will visit five Florida cities and Boston, performing a program including Durufle's Requiem; three works for choir and drummers by Nigerian composer Babatunde Olatunji; and songs by Viadana, Rachmaninoff and John Tavener.

Saratogan earns a place on honor roll

Saratogan Ann Birenbaum was recently named to the fall semester dean's list at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

History major Birenbaum, daughter of Lazar and Janelle Birenbaum of Saratoga, had to maintain at least a 3.2 GPA to be named to the dean's list.

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