STATE OF THE ART

Congratulations to the members of OCSA’s Mock Trial Team, who competed this year against more than 35 teams from across Orange County, advancing to the semifinals. The primary competition team was victorious against JSerra, Brea Olinda, Foothill, Santa Ana, Beckman, and Yorba Linda, while the secondary competition team defeated Portola and Mater Dei.

Primary Team:
Sophia Abiera (ACT, ‘24)
Sruthi Alle (CV, ‘21)
Catherine Boland (IA, ‘24)
Charlotte Brandman (MT, ‘23)
Riley Bryant (FTV, ‘21)
Edward Chen (IA, ‘24)
Gabriel Chen (PM, ‘22)
Ethan Gray (ACT, ‘22)
Sasha Herthel (ACT, ‘23)
Ashley Hodge (IA, ‘23)
Melanie Huq (CW, ‘21)
Toby Izenberg (CW, ‘23)
Milo Karnes (IA, ‘24)
Emma Kay (ACT, ‘23)
Regan Mading (IA, ‘23)
Mehra Marzbani (ACT, ‘23)
Morgan Milam (IM, ‘24)
Gaby Mikhail (CW, ‘21)
Daisy Noh (IA, ‘22)
Jess Perez (ACT, ‘21)
Paris Lases-Perez (ACT, ‘21)
Colin Root (ACT, ‘22)
Jocelyn Wang (PM, ‘23)

Secondary Team:
Ally Artavia-High (CW, ‘24)
Zabby Bagnol (PD, ‘24)
Daniel Grossgold (IA, ‘24)
McKenna Guldner (IA, ‘24)
Courtney Hines (CW, ‘24)
Darian Hojreh (CAH, ‘22)
Claire Karr (VA, ‘23)
Annabelle Kim (CW, ‘23)
Emily Kim (CW, ‘24)
Nathaniel Kim (DM, ‘22)
Sky Lu (IA, ‘23)
Kendall Phanco (VA, ‘23)
Mia Rinaldi (PM, ‘23)
Aryan Simhadri (ACT, ‘24)
Elora Sparnicht (CW, ‘23)
Luke Stark (IA, ‘24)

Sammie Gee (CAH, ‘24) was recognized for culinary excellence, artistry, presentation, and service for original handcrafted hors d'oeuvres at OC Wonderland.

The following students placed in the California Restaurant Foundation’s Prostart Cup Competition and competed against 27 other high schools and 194 students.

Culinary:
Wienerschnitzel's Dress Your Dog Competition
1st place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)
2nd place: Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)

Taco Throwdown
2nd place: Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)

Cupcake Bake-Off
2nd place: Natalie Dixon (CAH, ‘22)

Management:
Create + Curate: Original Menu
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)

Branding Challenge: Logo + Marketing
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)
3rd place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)

Design Challenge: Floorplan + Decor
1st place: Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21)
2nd place: Madison "Star" Lu (CAH, ‘22)

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) has been ranked by Niche as the #1 Best Charter High School in California for the third year in a row, as well as the #6 Best Charter High School in America for 2022! We would like to express our gratitude to all the students, teachers, and staff who continue to make OCSA an exceptional institution. To view all rankings for OCSA, please visit: https://bit.ly/3D8R02u

The OCSA VEX Robotics Team competed in their first-ever tournament at the VEX OC Robo Bonanza, hosted by Beckman High School, and received the Judge’s Award. The following students participated in the tournament:

Sumin Cho (IM, ‘24)
Vivienne Ho (IA, ‘22)
Justin Hong (IM, ‘24)
Chelsea Lee (VA, ‘23)
Kara Syn (IM, ‘23)
Jeffrey Tadeo (IA, ‘21)
Ryan Yoo (CAH, ‘24)

The following students from The Mekjian Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory were invited to participate in the MaxLove Project Farm to Fork Dinner at Tanaka Farms, which raises funds to fight childhood cancer.

Marie Acalin (CAH, ‘24)
Alexis Arvizu (CAH, ‘24)
Lindsay Bae (CAH, ‘23)
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23)
Dong Won Chang (CAH, ‘23)
Aveline Chauchereau (CAH, ‘22)
Hazel Ciufo (CAH, ‘24)
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Naya Garg (CAH, ‘24)
Samantha Gee (CAH, ‘24)
Kim Ha (CAH, ‘24)
Darian Hojreh (CAH, ‘22)
Megan Hughes (CAH, ‘24)
Sam Johnson (CAH, ‘22)
Samuel Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Lexi Layne (CAH, ‘24)
Bree Lew (CAH, ‘23)
Madison (Star) Lu (CAH, ‘22)
Kyleigh Nielson (CAH, ‘23)
Mia Octavio (CAH, ‘23)
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23)
Kim Paige (CAH, ‘22)
Noga Raz (CAH, ‘24)
Brieanna Samaniego (CAH, ‘24)
Tira Smith (CAH, ‘24)
Jordan Spence (CAH, ‘24)
Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23)

Teren Shaffer, President and CEO of Orange County School of the Arts, was voted to serve as 1st Vice President of Arts School Network (ASN) for a two-year term. As the 1st Vice President, he will support the annual conference and assist in the program management of various ASN objectives.

U.S. News & World Report released its 2021 national rankings for Best Elementary and Middle Schools, and Orange County School of the Arts was named the No. 3 Best Charter Middle School in the State of California. For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/3rnvyEv

Lana Sawalha, an OCSA history teacher, was offered the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Fellowship in Scott, KS. The fellowship is awarded annually to educators who have distinguished themselves in teaching understanding and respect through project-based learning.

Orange County School of the Arts was featured in an article by KTLA about our recent Niche ranking as the #1 Best Charter High School in California for the third year in a row, as well as the #6 Best Charter High School in America for 2022. To read the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3Iy3N1k

Cole Schulein (CAH, ‘25) cooked a full meal for 35 women at WISEPlace, a domestic violence shelter, for his Mitzvah project.

Elective and Conservatory Instructor Cameron Shim received his Level 1 Teaching Certification for Aerial Silks from Aerial Physique.

The following Culinary Arts & Hospitality students were selected to compete in the 2022 CA ProStart Cup.

Culinary Team:
Captain: Madison (Star) Lu (CAH, ‘22)
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23)
Max Gilbert (CAH, ‘22)
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23)
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24)

Management Team:
Captain: Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23)
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Sam Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Willie Yao (CAH, ‘24)

Individual Competitor:
Mason Vair (CAH, ‘23)

Daniel Mattos, Chef Director of the Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory, was featured in an article by the Orange County Register about OCSA’s culinary Throwdown competition. For the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3q7yWC3

The OCSA Robotics Team qualified for the 2022 Southern California VRC High School State Championship held at Damien High School, where they will compete for a chance to go to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

The following students were selected as 2022 Dragon Kim Fellows and earned $5,000 community service grants from the Dragon Kim Foundation. These students were chosen from over 300 applicants across California and Nevada and went through a rigorous interview process to earn the fellowships. Along with the project funding, these five students will receive three weekends of leadership training and hands-on mentorship from local business professionals.
Teachers Aid+: Camila Balanta (CAH, ‘25) and Sara Balanta (IA, ‘22)
Coding Campers: Tane Kim (IM, ‘24), Abbi Park (CW, ‘24), and Joshua Ta (IM, ‘24)

The OCSA VEX Robotics Team won their last three matches and finished 23rd at the 2022 Southern California VRC High School State Championship. They competed in the Southern California region which has hundreds of teams and is said to be the toughest in the country. The following students are members of the team and competed in the championship:

Sumin Cho (IM, ‘24)
Vivienne Ho (IA, ‘22)
Justin Hong (IM, ‘24)
Chelsea Lee (VA, ‘23)
Kara Syn (IM, ‘23)
Jeffrey Tadeo (IA, ‘21)
Ryan Yoo (CAH, ‘24)

The following students competed in the ProStart Cup Culinary Competition among the top 16 teams from Southern California and received the following awards. The Management Team was also invited to the National ProStart Invitational in Washington, D.C. The following Culinary Arts & Hospitality students were additionally featured on Spectrum News 1 for their participation in the ProStart competition. To check out the full story, please visit: https://bit.ly/3uJ85O7

First Place:

Wienerschnitzel's Dress Your Dog Competition
Mason Vair (CAH, ‘23)

Management Competition
Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23), Captain
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Sam Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Willie Yao (CAH, ‘24)

Fourth Place:

Culinary Competition
Madison (Star) Lu (CAH, ‘22), Captain
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23)
Max Gilbert (CAH, ‘22)
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23)
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24)

The Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory was featured in an article by the Orange County Register regarding their recent Culinary Throwdown competition and benefit. To read the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3ISJGul

Marlene Hall, Elective Dance Instructor, received an official government patent for her new and original exercise method that uses a rotator disc to help improve dancers’ turns, strength, and stability.

The Middle School Science Olympiad Team qualified for state championships for the first time.

The following students participated in the National ProStart Invitational in Washington, D.C., competed against the top 40 management teams from all over the nation, and received ninth place.

Chef Paola Costa, Coach
Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23), Captain
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Sam Laven (CAH, ‘23)
Willie Yao (CAH, ‘24)

Hannah MacDonald (CAH, ‘18) was selected to work as a project coordinator for Jacobs Doland Beer, the largest food service design firm in the United States.

Geena Meyhoefer (CAH, ‘17) was hired as the meetings & events manager at The Colonnade Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.

Katie Derr (CAH, ‘16) was recognized as one of University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ (UNLV) outstanding graduates and competed on UNLV’s Solar Decathlon team where she was able to work on projects that educate people about sustainable sourcing and food waste. She also opened Rebel Grounds, an environmentally friendly coffee shop at UNLV. Katie was honored with Sigma Kappa Sorority’s 35 Under 35 Award, which recognizes 35 women under the age of 35 who are making a difference.

Chemistry Instructor Heather Jonson was the recipient of the 2022 Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Educator of Distinction Award.

President & CEO Teren Shaffer was featured in “Modern Luxury” magazine’s “The Power List,” which features the top 50 trailblazers in leadership from Orange County. To read his feature, please visit: https://bit.ly/3Occmlf

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) has been ranked by Niche as the #1 Best Charter High School in California for the fourth year in a row, as well as the #6 Best Charter High School in America! Please visit https://bit.ly/3D8R02u to view all the 2023 rankings for OCSA. We would like to express our gratitude to all the students, teachers, and staff who continue to make OCSA exceptional.

Da Yea Sue (CAH, ‘21), Isabella Vegh (CAH, ‘21), and Mckenna Voisin (CAH, ‘19) received 2022 California Restaurant Foundation Scholarships.

MONTAGE! was featured on the front page of the “Los Angeles Times Daily Pilot” for their performance in the annual Tree Lighting performance at South Coast Plaza. To read the full article, please visit https://bit.ly/3F2gIZ3.

Orange County School of the Arts was featured in the Orange County Register for the OCSA Thrift event, where students hosted a pop-up thrift shop on campus. To read the full article, please visit https://bit.ly/453LFIG

Congratulations to OCSA’s Mock Trial Team, faculty advisor Whitney Coates, assistant coach Courtney Harper, and attorney coaches Justice Halim Dhanidina, Melissa Brandman, J.D, and Ethan Feng, J.D. for advancing to state finals and receiving fourth place in California after competing against rigorous competition. In addition to this group effort, Sabrina Aguilar (DM, ‘23) received first place in the state for “Courtroom Art” and Emy Pardo (MT, ‘24) also received “Outstanding Cleo Shafer” for her excellent portrayal of that witness. Leadership Teacher and Mock Trial Advisor Whitney Coates was named Teacher Coach of the Year for OC Mock Trial.

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) has earned the College Board's AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles.

Anaya Green (CAH, ‘26) was featured in a Daily Pilot article where she spoke about her battle with cancer, experience working with the MaxLove Project, and The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory. To read the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/41FGYlf

The OCSA High School Science Olympiad Team attended the Regional Science Olympiad Competition, hosted by University of California, Irvine. The team took third place overall and advanced to the Statewide Science Olympiad competition held at CalTech in Pasadena.
They medaled in 20 of the 23 events, coming in first place for four events and beating the reigning National Champion team. The team also received the following individual awards:

First Place:
Codebusters, Fast Facts, Green Generation, Solar System

Second Place:
Experimental Design, Road Scholar, Sounds of Music

Third Place:
Anatomy & Physiology, Disease Detectives, Dynamic Planet, Forestry, Roller Coaster

Fourth Place:
Storm the Castle

Fifth Place:
Bio Process Lab, Bridge, Can't Judge a Powder, Meteorology, Rocks & Mineral, Wheeled Vehicle

Sixth Place:
Write It Do It

The OCSA High School Science Olympiad Team attended the Statewide Science Olympiad competition held at CalTech in Pasadena and received third place overall, medaling in 16 of the 25 events. The team also received the following individual awards:

First Place:
Codebusters, Dynamic Planet, Solar System, Microbe Mission

Second Place:
Meteorology, Sounds of Music

Third Place:
Fast Facts, Road Scholar

Fourth Place:
Write It CAD It

Fifth Place:
Crave the Wave, Experimental Design, Write It Do It

Sixth Place:
Can't Judge a Powder, Crime Busters, Disease Detectives, Forestry, Store the Castle

The OCSA Robotics Team competed at the US Open Robotics Championship in Iowa and ranked 35 among 160 teams from across the country.

Orange County School of the Arts was named a finalist in the second annual Building Hope IMPACT Awards in the Model Charter category. The finalists were selected for having exceptional impact on community engagement, educational innovation, student empowerment, and for being model charter schools.

The following students competed in the California Restaurant Foundation’s 2023 ProStart Cup and received the following awards. The Culinary Team was also invited to the National ProStart Invitational in Washington, D.C. The following Culinary Arts & Hospitality students were additionally featured in an article by the Los Angeles Times Daily Pilot for their participation in the ProStart competition. To check out the full story, please visit: https://bit.ly/3WcAQ2U
Wienerschnitzel's Dress Your Dog Competition – First Place
Ryan Yoo (CAH, ‘25)

Loaded Idaho Baked Potato Competition – First Place
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24)

Culinary Competition – First Place
Aurelia Carrie (CAH, ‘23): Co-Captain
Ryan Okajima (CAH, ‘23): Co-Captain
Hannah Dromgoole (CAH, ‘25)
Christian Lopez (CAH, ‘23)
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24)

Management Competition – Second Place
Evelyn Wu (CAH, ‘23): Co-Captain
Willie Yao (CAH, ‘24): Co-Captain
Lanna Gale (CAH, ‘23)
Brieana Samaniego (CAH, ‘24)

Hailey Heren (CAH, ‘25) was featured in an article by the Orange County Register highlighting her record-breaking Girl Scout cookie sales. To read the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3My2kNk

Orange County School of the Arts was awarded the Exemplary School designation by the Arts Schools Network (ASN). This five-year designation is awarded in recognition of a commitment to excellence based on a strategic evaluation that dives into the school’s purpose, operations, and educational programs. ASN will acknowledge OCSA’s achievement at its annual conference and awards ceremony this October in Birmingham, Alabama.

OCSA's award-winning Mock Trial team was recognized for their successes this school year by former Mayor of Santa Ana and current OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento.

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) was voted the Best Charter School in Orange County for 2023 in the 21st Annual Reader’s Choice Award from Parenting OC Magazine. To view all of the Reader’s Choice Awards, please visit: https://bit.ly/3GBmORe

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) was named one of the Best U.S. High Schools for 2023-2024 by US News & World Report. OCSA was ranked #38 in California and #264 in the nation. For full rankings, please visit: https://bit.ly/2SMHqQZ

Science instructor and Science Olympiad coach Heather Jonson was invited by NASA to attend the launch of their Psyche mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The goal of the Psyche mission is to send a spacecraft to a unique metal asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.

Science instructors and Science Olympiad coaches Jessica Daniel and Heather Jonson were featured alongside their Science Olympiad students in a promotional television spot sponsored by L’Oreal Paris, which premiered during “LEGO Masters” on FOX. The video spotlights women in STEM. To watch, please visit: https://bit.ly/3sYs9zc

Social Studies instructor and Model United Nations club advisor Lana Sawalha was named an Outstanding Educator by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. Ms. Sawalha received this honor due to her excellent educational leadership skills and her efforts to enter multiple OCSA student projects in the 2023 National Discovery Award Competition, which gives students in grades 4-12 the opportunity to use their creative talents to tell the remarkable stories of unsung heroes who have inspired change.

Ballet, Pilates, & Yoga instructor Lauren Farris was accepted into the American Ballet Theater (ABT)’s invite-only Teaching Training Intensive at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. In the program, Ms. Farris will learn the theory and principles of the National Training Curriculum within the five levels of ballet.

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) was featured on KCAL News’ Class Act series. The morning news segment featured what makes OCSA so special – specifically highlighting the Acting, Ballet Folklórico, Culinary Arts & Hospitality, Integrated Arts, and Popular Music Conservatories, in addition to showing off OCSA’s talented student artists. To view the video, please visit: https://bit.ly/3NhTd37

Members of the OCSA Robotics Team were invited to compete at the One World Showcase Event at University of California, Berkeley. Five teams from OCSA competed against 115 other teams from around the country. One of the five teams, Z Squared, was composed of Olivia Lee (VA, ‘25), Sunny Li (IM, ‘24), and Samantha Park (IA, ‘25), making them one of the less than 5% of teams that were made of all female members. Z Squared placed 7th out of 115 in only their second year of robotics. Below is the full list of the OCSA students who participated in the One World Showcase Event.

Shining Chen (CW, ‘26)
Sumin Cho (IM, ‘25)
Evan Choe (VA, ‘25)
Rhea Dayal (VA, ‘28)
Juneau Foxlin (IM, ‘26)
Justin Hong (IM, ‘25)
Peyton Hsu (AE, ‘27)
Jason Lee (IM, ‘27)
Olivia Lee (VA, ‘25)
Sunny Li (IM, ‘24)
Edward Luna (IM, ‘24)
Danny O’Grady (IM, ‘24)
Samantha Park (IA, ‘25)
Taven Rong (IM, ‘28)
Paul Seo (DM, ‘26)
Kaya Simsek (CAH, ‘26)
Kara Syn (IM, ‘24)
George Weichel (PD, ‘27)
Ryan Yoo (CAH, ‘25)
Beatrice Yu (PM, ‘28)
Jojo Yu (CMD, ‘25)

Christian Lopez (CAH, ‘23) won the Aaron Sanchez Scholarship through the Emeril Lagasse Foundation. The opportunity includes full tuition to a Culinary Certificate Program at New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), as well as an internship with paid housing, food and travel stipends, and mentorship from Chef Aaron Sanchez and other star chefs.