Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
Cover Story
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Michael Parenteau, 18, from Fremont High School, and Tiffany Tang, 17, from Wilcox High, recently received outstanding high school senior of the year honors from their schools. Both students will be valedictorians at their graduation ceremonies and will be attending UCLA in the fall. Two of a Kind Michael Parenteau and Tiffany Tang named outstanding high school seniors By Jana Seshadri Besides their impeccable academic records and remarkable athletic achievements, two Sunnyvale teenagers, Tiffany Tang and Michael Parenteau, won outstanding high school senior awards from the city of Sunnyvale at the State of the City event on May 25. Both Tang and Parenteau have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout their four years at Wilcox High School and Fremont Union High School respectively, while excelling in a multitude of extracurricular activities, achieving much more than one normally aspires to in a lifetime. And both Tang and Parenteau have chosen to attend UCLA next fall. "There were so many deserving seniors, I was surprised and honored to be chosen for the award," Parenteau said. "I was very excited to receive it." What set Parenteau and Tang slightly apart from the other deserving seniors, besides their academic excellence, were their leadership qualities, contributions to the community and extracurricular activities. In addition to being enrolled in several advanced placement courses, 18-year-old Parenteau is involved in many volunteer activities, including building houses in Mexico for the homeless, working as a consultant to East Palo Alto High School and tutoring students in math. "Michael is extremely generous with his time, and he's such a gifted individual," said Stephen Wilde, associate pastor for youth and families at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. Wilde said he has never been around any other student who instantly volunteers to do whatever it is that needs to be done. Whenever something comes up, Michael is the only student who has volunteered "every single time," he said. Michael will join them again this summer, when the church youth group leaves for a weeklong stay in inner-city Seattle for an "urban" experience, he said. "I continue to be impressed with him and his accomplishments," said Rich Parenteau, Michael's father. "We're very proud of him." Gretchen Parenteau, Michael's mother, said their only child has always been a self-motivated individual. "If something interests Michael, he will explore it on his own and go full tilt after it," she said. Born in Detroit, Mich., Michael moved with his family to Sunnyvale in 1988 and attended Sunnyvale schools–Stocklmeir Elementary, Cupertino Middle School and Fremont High School. Michael overcame some early educational struggles. Rich said he and Gretchen have always instilled in Michael the value of hard work and good study habits. With a conflicting and extremely busy schedule, Michael manages his time very effectively. "We count our blessings that he learned his study habits early and stuck with them," Rich said. Part of his sophomore year and throughout his senior year, Michael has been working on the school newspaper, The Phoenix. "Since we really don't have editors, I do a lot of writing, photography and page layout for the paper," Michael said. Also active in sports, Michael has played soccer since he was five years old. Watching the World Cup Soccer matches currently being played in South Korea and Japan, Michael is cheering for the U.S. team. "It will be nice if the USA wins the World Cup, if they can pull it off," he said. Being on the high school team—which is predominantly made up of Hispanics—has taught him a lot, he said, especially as the only "white guy" on the team. After he graduates from Fremont, Michael is committed to coaching soccer at the Skyhawks' camp in the South Bay. Last summer, when an opportunity arose to build houses for the homeless in a small town outside Tijuana, Michael grabbed it. During a nine-day trip from the Presbyterian Church in Sunnyvale, Michael built two 10-foot-by-20-foot, two-room houses. The fact that Michael is involved in so many different activities is in itself awesome, said Jon Herzenberg, soccer coach and student advocate at Fremont. "What's more remarkable is that he's involved in so much because of genuine interest and challenge for himself," Herzenberg added. Nobody would ever know about any of Michael's achievements by talking to him, Herzenberg said, because he is very humble and does not talk about himself. If all goes well and nothing drastic happens before school closes, Michael said, he will be a valedictorian. He has decided to attend UCLA next fall and is considering either education or business as possible majors. "I'm very happy for him," Gretchen said. "We're hoping that he will follow a trail that will lead him to a totally different area–to a place he hasn't been before." While Michael is still undecided about his major at this time, 17-year-old Tang is pretty decisive about what she wants to do–become a pediatrician. What helped make up her mind was a trip she took with her family to Boston last summer, Tang said. While attending the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, for which she was nominated by her school, she had the opportunity to tour several medical facilities and even got to dissect a cadaver, she said. 
Awards: Pair maintain busy schedule
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Michael Parenteau and Tiffany Tang show off the glass awards they received in honor of being named two of the outstanding high school seniors of the year. Tang said the trip was the turning point in her life because she decided soon afterward that she would enroll in a premedicine course. mayor. Tang's love for kids is evident in the several volunteer activities and community events that she spends her extra time on. She has worked with children with disabilities at Therapeutic Recreational Services, tutored children at Millikin Elementary School in Santa Clara and taught Bible school to young kids through her church. By volunteering every single Sunday, Tang has clocked more than 300 volunteer hours at Kaiser Permanente Hospital as a candy striper. Councilman John Howe and Public Safety Director Irwin Baker presented the Public Safety Award of Valor to seven-year-old Justin Rajah for calling 911 when his father, Terence, met with an accident on April 4. Jessica Guerrero of Mountain View received the Public Safety Award of Merit for helping an elderly Sunnyvale resident. "I love working with kids because they make me feel so much younger and relaxed," Tang said. "Tiffany has always been very self-motivated and determined," said Roy Tang, Tiffany's father. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school years, Tiffany has received many Golden State recognition awards and honors, is vice president of the California Scholarship Federation and delivered the valedictorian speech during the graduation ceremony. "Out of 389 students in her class, three are ranked number 1, and Tiffany is one of them," said Ketty Arcella, a counselor at Wilcox since 1981. "She is very reliable and determined, but also caring and compassionate—a good role model for others." Linda Schweizer, career center coordinator at Wilcox for the past six years, said she nominated Tiffany for the award because "she's a fabulous and dynamic girl." "She's such a blessing—truly a gift from God," said Jennifer Tang, Tiffany's mother. Besides her academic and volunteer achievements, Tiffany has played the piano for 12 years and is on the varsity cross country team. "In elementary school she said she hated P.E and sports," Jennifer said. "But, now she excels as co-captain of her cross country team." Tiffany said her dislike for track changed when she started to run laps at middle school and realized she was a good runner. With a lot of dedication and discipline, Tiffany said, she has gotten better. "I'm honored to receive the outstanding high schol senior award," Tiffany said. |
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