Clockwise from top left: Mason Bruce (Seton Catholic College Preparatory High School), Jessica Ekeya (Columbia River High School), Blake Johnston (La Center High School), Daniel Rodricks (Union High School), Sophie Shoemaker (Camas High School), Ryan Sturdivan (Woodland High School)Photo Gallery
Tomorrow is June 1. Thus begins graduation season. At high schools across Clark County, seniors are preparing to cross the stage to collect their diplomas and commence their next chapter. To mark this journey, The Columbian is profiling six outstanding seniors from the Class of 2015, as recommended by their teachers, counselors and principals.
Mason Bruce, Seton Catholic College Preparatory High School
When Mason Bruce signed up for his school’s website design class, he kicked it up a notch. He designed the required website, but he kept going. He began learning computer languages. Then he learned to write code.
Eventually, he designed a grading app called A+ that calculates grades based on various grading sales. Bruce’s app took first place in the Southwest Washington division of the 2014 Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Academic Competition.
Last October he released his app on the Apple Store. That success led to another opportunity. The day after Apple announced it would be releasing the Apple Watch, Apple invited Bruce to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to test his app on the Apple Watch.
Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity at the Apple campus when he became severely ill during spring break. His brain was bleeding and he was hospitalized in the neurological intensive care unit for three weeks.
In the hospital he was so unsteady that he needed a walker. But then someone handed him three stress balls and he began juggling. Then he found his footing.
Bruce first learned to juggle at the Clark County Fair, and attends a circus camp in Vermont every summer.
“Juggling is calming. It’s very conducive to being calm and balanced,” he said.
He visited a dozen college campuses, but when he arrived at Santa Clara University, he knew he’d found his school. Not only were the students and staff friendly, but the school requires students to complete an internship in their field.
“Google, Apple and Facebook headquarters are really close,” Bruce said, grinning. “I’d like to go into software development. Maybe I’ll be the person who writes the code that makes your phone work.”
The Mason Bruce File
• Studies: Advanced Placement.
• Extracurricular: National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, Mock Trial, Leadership Team.
• College: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif.
• Career plans: Computer science, specifically software development.
— Susan Parrish
Jessica Ekeya, Columbia River High School
Jessica Ekeya traveled to Alayi, Nigeria last summer with her mom, Agnes. Mother and daughter spent nearly a month visiting relatives and immersed in the culture. Although Ekeya was born and raised in Vancouver, both of her parents are from Nigeria.
“Being there in the culture was the most life-changing experience I’ve ever had,” Ekeya said.
It whetted her appetite for travel. She’s studied Advanced Placement Spanish for four years, and hopes to have an opportunity to study in a Spanish-speaking country during college.
She has the drive and study skills to thrive in the full International Baccalaureate program. Doing homework for the rigorous program takes about 10 hours a week.
In her freshman year, Ekeya was so enthusiastic about extracurricular activities that she said yes to everything. Soon she found herself overcommitted and not having fun.
“The moment I learned to say ‘no’ is when I really started to enjoy myself,” Ekeya said.
An avid soccer player since she was 3, Ekeya plays both soccer and tennis at Columbia River High School. She spends about 15 hours a week playing sports in season.
But Saturdays, she purposely does no homework. It’s her down time. She hikes, hangs with friends and shops in Portland. Thrift stores are a favorite destination.
Growing up, she hung out with her two older brothers and watched classic kung fu movies.
“My family is a strong support. My parents instilled that love of learning since I was little. My teachers cultivated it,” she said.
In the fall Ekeya will be studying at Harvard University. Although she’s leaning toward pursuing pediatric medicine, she plans to start with general classes and sample classes to see what interests her.
“Do what you enjoy. What you’re passionate about,” she said. “Not what you think college admissions directors want to see.”
The Jessica Ekeya File
• Studies: International Baccalaureate, full program.
• Extracurricular: National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, Spanish Club, Model United Nations, tennis, soccer.
• College: Harvard University.
• Career plans: Pediatric medicine.
— Susan Parrish
Blake Johnston, La Center High School
Blake Johnston’s budding career in rock music began with a little karaoke and the high school jazz band.
Now, the 17-year-old La Center High School senior has his mind set on a much bigger platform: the world stage.
Unlike most who dream of reaching rock stardom, though, Johnston may get there someday. After graduation, he’ll ship off to Boston to study in the most selective of guitar programs at the most prestigious contemporary music school in the country: Berklee College of Music.
“Ultimately, my goal is to be an international performing and recording artist,” Johnston said, “which is basically just fancy terminology for being a rock star.”
The multi-instrumentalist and singer is off to a strong start after he and a handful of peers in a high school jazz combo made the jump to rock music, forming a bluesy alternative band called Pull For Fire. The band has released an album of 10 original songs and played all over the Northwest, beating dozens of performers in battle of the bands competitions.
When he leaves La Center, Johnston’s old classmates and teachers will remember him for much more than his music, though. In a class of 119 seniors, Johnston ranks second with a 3.9 GPA.
This year, he also served as student body president and a co-captain on the football team, where he’s a middle linebacker and an offensive lineman. Johnston said it was an honor to lead his peers, but the most meaningful leadership position he’s had is on the stage at the front of the band.
“Music really allows me to relate to other people and write songs that help them with whatever they’re going through,” he said. “That’s my main goal, to be on the world stage with my music and affecting people in ways that I wouldn’t be able to do behind a desk.”
To say that Daniel Rodricks is an accomplished high school senior is an understatement.
In Mumbai, India, he spent two weeks volunteering with slum children during the summer after his sophomore year.
At Oregon Health & Science University last summer, he completed a 300-hour research internship focused on virus vector gene therapy.
As a winner in the prestigious Young Artists’ Van Buren Concerto Competition in Portland, he recently performed a piano solo with an orchestra comprised of musicians from the Oregon Symphony and Oregon Ballet Theatre. He’s played piano since he was 6 and practices 13 to 14 hours a week.
Rodricks has taken 17 Advanced Placement courses. This year his six AP courses include multivariable calculus and Physics 3. His weighted grade point average is 4.605.
The AP National Scholar spends between 10 and 15 hours per week doing homework.
“It’s something you learn how to balance,” Rodricks said.
A career in medicine has been his goal since he was 13. He job shadowed an ophthalmologist and an interventional radiologist and hopes to pursue one of those career paths.
He has volunteered more than 300 hours at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and more than 160 hours at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center.
Rodricks plans to study medicine at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he’s been named a McDermott Scholar. Being part of the distinguished program means all his educational expenses are paid for four years, including study abroad.
“One thing I constantly tell myself is that expectation equates reality,” Rodricks said. “That drive to succeed pushes you to new levels.” That is, he added, “if you believe in yourself and put in the work.”
• Career plans: Medicine, particularly ophthalmology and interventional radiology.
— Susan Parrish
Sophie Shoemaker, Camas High School
When it comes to lab experience, Sophie Shoemaker has a leg up on other students pursuing careers in medical science.
The 18-year-old Camas High School senior has had a number of research-based internships at Oregon Health & Science University. She recently lent a hand in a study at the Oregon National Primate Research Center on the placental response in rhesus macaques exposed to nicotine.
Before moving on from high school, Shoemaker’s work with OHSU has already given her a chance to co-author an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
“My name’s on a published paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, which I thought was kind of cool,” Shoemaker said.
This fall, she’ll continue her journey, studying among the best scientific minds in the United States at Johns Hopkins University, the oldest research institution in the country. The National Science Foundation has long ranked Johns Hopkins the top institution in the nation for medical research and development.
“I really hope that whatever field of medicine I become involved in, I’m able to do research, as well,” she said. “That’s a really important part of medicine, to help develop the field.”
Throughout high school, Shoemaker has excelled as a science, technology, engineering and math magnet student. Next month, she’ll graduate with a 4.0 GPA and several more credits than needed.
“I genuinely find most of the subjects in school interesting and I like competing with myself to see how well I can do,” she said.
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Outside the classroom and the lab, Shoemaker has also served as a student government leader and a member of the Camas Youth Advisory Council. The experiences have given her many opportunities for service and a passion for civic issues.
• Extracurricular: ASB leadership, internship at Oregon Health & Science University, Science Olympiad, Camas Youth Advisory Council.
• College: Johns Hopkins University.
• Career plans: Medical professional, likely in women’s health.
— Justin Runquist
Ryan Sturdivan, Woodland High School
The highlight of Ryan Sturdivan’s high school years is the kind of happenstance that makes him the envy of professional sports stars.
In December, the 18-year-old Woodland High School senior stunned his teammates and fans alike when he sunk not just one but two buzzer-beating half-court shots in one game to edge out Kelso High School’s basketball team 49-47. To his surprise, the astounding feat became the talk of ESPN sports analysts and viewers across the country.
Footage of the two shots edited into a short video sat atop Sports Center’s list of Top 10 Plays the next day. For Sturdivan, it took a moment for reality to set in after making that second shot with slightly more than a second left on the clock.
“It was probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” he said.
Sturdivan’s high school days will come to an end this month with his graduation. But his mark extends far beyond that legendary day on the court.
He’s graduating eighth in his class with a 3.93 GPA. In the fall, he’ll head off to Pacific Lutheran University, where he plans to continue his hard work studying math and actuarial science. Actuaries are people who calculate risk; they often work for insurance companies.
“I look to my parents a lot, and I’ve always seen them work so hard in everything they do,” Sturdivan said. “I’d probably say it’s my No. 1 goal to be a hard worker in pretty much everything I do.”
Perhaps most exciting for Sturdivan is that he’s also going there to play his favorite sport. No, not basketball: golf.
In the past few years, Sturdivan has become one of the best young golfers in Washington. In 2013, he finished first in the district and third in the state. Last year, he took second place in the district and fifth in the state while playing on a team that won the state title.
The Ryan Sturdivan File
• Studies: Advanced Placement.
• Extracurricular: Golf, basketball, church service, catering work.
• College: Pacific Lutheran University.
• Career plans: Become an actuary.
— Justin Runquist
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