MiraCosta College to Honor Top Students

Editor's note: The following is an announcement from MiraCosta College:

MiraCosta College is proud to announce the recipients of the Medal of Honor for 2013. The Medal of Honor is the college’s highest academic honor, and will be presented to the students at a reception to be held May 10, 4:30-6 p.m. in the college Concert Hall. The presentation will be part of the Scholarship Awards Celebration. The event is free and open to all.

This year, Medals of Honor for Academic Excellence were awarded to five students nominated by the teaching faculty who earned a minimum G.P.A. of 3.5 in degree-applicable courses. Each recipient receives a scholarship of at least $500 provided by community members, businesses and service organizations. The Medal of Honor is sponsored by the MiraCosta College Foundation.

The following Medal of Honor students will be honored at the ceremony:  

• Christopher Berthelet: Faced with having to fund his education on his own, Berthelet chose MiraCosta College for its quality and affordability. But despite receiving scholarships, he had to work to pay for tuition and books. A MiraCosta College Honors Scholar, Berthelet plans to continue his studies in mechanical engineering at a UC.

• Maryam Ghorbani: Ghorbani found it difficult to pursue a higher education in her native Iran. After immigrating to the U.S. in 2009, Ghorbani enrolled at MiraCosta College. A chemical engineering major, she plans to transfer to UCSD and then to UCSF to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist.

• Sinta Jones: A native of Switzerland, Jones is a reentry student who returned to college after 17 years. Despite a medical condition that left her struggling for energy to complete her MiraCosta College education, with the help of her instructors she has now made plans to transfer to Cal State San Marcos to pursue a nursing degree. She is currently involved with a project that will fly the first piloted solar-powered plane (no fuel) from the West Coast to New York. 

• Shayna Yong: While just a junior in high school, Yong began her studies at MiraCosta College to get a head start on her higher education. She then attended SDSU’s Business Honors Program, where she graduated in just two years at the age of 19. Yong has since re-enrolled at MiraCosta College, her preferred college-level class destination, majoring in pre-med studies. While awaiting the start of medical school in fall 2014, Yong is holding down two jobs: an internship at Palomar Medical Center and a position at the UCSD School of Medicine. 

• Elton Yu: A MiraCosta College Honor Scholar, Yu has focused on physics and mathematics and plans to transfer to a UC campus as a computer science and engineering major.