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)

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

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.

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

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 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

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.

The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality (CAH) took part in the California Restaurant Foundation’s 2024 CA ProStart Cup presented by Wienerschnitzel – a culinary arts and restaurant entrepreneurship competition held at the Long Beach Convention Center. Listed below are the CAH students who participated in the events. Students from First to Fifth Place teams were awarded a variety of scholarships from colleges across the nation.

Culinary Team - 2nd Place, BJ’s Restaurants Culinary Cup
Cooked a three-course meal, featuring seared halibut with sea buckthorn berry sauce, five spice maple duck breast, and chocolate bliss with matcha custard and mango puree
Mia Horiguchi (CAH, ‘26)
Stella Mulholland (CAH, ‘26)
Jaren Tseng (CAH, ‘25)
Trinity Wiideman (CAH, ‘24) - Captain

Management Team - 1st Place, BJ’s Restaurants Management Cup
Conceptualized a college sports-themed restaurant, Teddy’s – serving breakfast all day
Emily Leo (CAH, ‘25)
Max Madsen (CAH, ‘26)
Tira Smith (CAH, ‘24) - Captain
Cynthia Zhou (CAH, ‘26)

Individual - Wienerschnitzel’s “Dress Your Dog” Hot Dog Topping Competition
Camila Acevedo (CAH, ‘27)
Declan Davey (CAH, ‘27)

Individual - Loaded Idaho Baked Potato Competition
Dani Park (CAH, ‘27)
Scarlett Schmitt (CAH, ‘27) - 2nd Place

ProStart Executive Mentor Program Winner
Received a one-year mentorship with a restaurant executive and a scholarship for Blanchard Institute’s Student Self Leadership Training
Jaren Tseng (CAH, ‘25)

The following students attended the National History Day (NHD) Awards Ceremony. Five students advanced to State and were given the opportunity to compete in Sacramento with nearly 1,600 other talented students nationwide. Samantha Bailey (VA, ‘26) and Emily Yi (VA, ‘26) won the National Qualifier for their research, titled “Nauseating a Nation: How the Jungle Turned the Stomach of America Into Legislation,” and will represent California in the National Championships at the University of Maryland.

Advanced to Nationals
Samantha Bailey (VA, ‘26)
Emily Yi (VA, ‘26)

Advanced to State
Samantha Bailey (VA, ‘26)
Jamie Jung (CW, ‘24)
Aarav Putrevu (CAH, ‘26)
Julianne Wu (DM, ‘27)
Emily Yi (VA, ‘26)

Runner Ups
Harlo Cozzens (ACT, ‘25)
Harah Lee (VA, ‘26)

Emily Leo (CAH, ‘25), Max Madsen (CAH, ‘26), Tira Smith (CAH, ‘24), and Cynthia Zhou (CAH, ‘26) were crowned 2024 National Restaurant ProStart Invitational Champions in Baltimore, Maryland. They were coached by Chefs Paola Costa (Conservatory Instructor) and Daniel Mattos (Conservatory Director). The restaurant management team went up against 48 other teams from across the country and presented the winning concept of Teddy’s – a sports-centered restaurant that serves breakfast all day. Each member earned $10,000 worth of scholarships from Nationals, including other prizes such as books, journals, cutting boards, Yetis, and more. The event was also covered in an article by “Restaurant Business”, which can be read by visiting: https://bit.ly/3VeOB0T

The following OCSA Taekwondo students successfully tested to higher level belts in April. Spearheaded by 8th degree black beIt Stephen Amsler (Elective Teacher), it was the largest graduation to date of OCSA students.

3rd Degree Black Belt
Chili Sloop (VA, ‘24)
Luke Stark (FTV, ‘24)

2nd Degree Black Belt
Jenna Ho (VA, ‘26)
John Kuli (ACT, ‘26)
Nikun Liu (CV, ‘26)
Eleazar Reiner (CW, ‘26)
Luke Sakurai (IM, ‘26)

1st Degree Black Belt
Milan Albert-Holty (CW, ‘25)
Roman Elson (ACT, ‘26)
Grace Fleischmann (VA, ‘25)
Jaya Gandhi (CW, ‘25)
Tristan Gude (ACT, ‘26)
Carissa Hahn (IM, ‘27)
Yein Han (CW, ‘25)
Ksena Eve Jenkins (IA, ‘26)
Micah Kay (PD, ‘26)
Brendan Knox (PM, ‘25)
Ruby Lau (CW, ‘27)
Alana Liang (CV, ‘26)
Emma Nevell (PM, ‘27)
Erica Park (FTV, ‘27)
Nino Raimondo (IA, ‘27)
Cole Schulein (CAH, ‘25)
Thomas Song (IM, ‘25)
Dylan Spence (VA, ‘26)
Amina Straughn (VA, ‘27)

The following OCSA students, representing 13 conservatories, raised over $30,000 for Maui Wildfire victims by volunteering and sharing their talents at the Music for Maui Benefit Concert and Pop-up Events.

Ella Mortensen (CV, ‘25)
Leah Navarro (CV, ‘26)
Elysse Nguyen (MT, ‘26)
Saya Nishimura (IM, ‘26)
Kai Orozco (JS, ‘26)
Alec Ortega-Fosado (CV, ‘25)
Caroline Risk (VA, ‘26)
Xavier Saenze (PM, ‘29)
Zaid Salazar (CV, ‘26)
Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘24)
Haley Scott (CW, ‘26)
Nikki Smith (CV, ‘25)
Teresa Smith (MT ‘26)
Adam Strychaz (CAH, ‘26)
Heather Torres-Cancino (BR, ‘26)
Alessandra Venegas (CAH, ‘26)
Sophia Vernon (MT, ‘26)
Lavinia Watkins (CV, ‘26)
Aniya Wilkins (ACT, ‘26)
James Williams (BR, ‘26)
Jack Wilson (CV, ‘25)
Paxton Wong (CV, ‘25)
Cynthia Zhang (BR, ‘27)

The following OCSA students were recipients of the 2024 Dragon Kim Foundation Fellowship. The Dragon Kim Fellowship program includes six months of training, mentorship, and hands-on leadership to help students launch community-changing project ideas from start to finish. Some OCSA students worked together for their projects, while some worked alongside students from other schools. See below for the project names and their OCSA fellows.

Community Canvas
Luke Shin (VA, ‘25)
Olivia Yun (VA, ‘25)

Heart-to-Art
Vedant Dayal (CW, ‘25)
Ashima Sharma (CW, ‘25)

Little Steps
Samantha Bailey (VA, ‘26)
Maiya Leung (DM, ‘26)
Emily Yi (VA, ‘26)

Malama
Ava Villacorta (MT, ‘27)

Meal Mentors
Elizabeth Bancroft (BR, ‘26)
Stella Mulholland (CAH, ‘26)
Talia Rosenblatt (AE, ‘26)

The Joy of Dance
Aaron Chang (CMD, ‘26)
Devin Vo (IA, ‘25)

The following OCSA students, representing 13 conservatories, raised over $30,000 for Maui Wildfire victims by volunteering and sharing their talents at the Music for Maui Benefit Concert and Pop-up Events.

Katie Baker (IM, ‘25)
Carleigh Beckner (CV, ‘26)
Hank Braverman (PM, ‘26)
Olivia Bullock (CV, ‘26)
Natalia Campos (ACT, ‘27)
Natalia Caraveo (CV ‘25)
Tiffany Carr (CV, ‘26)
Cosi Chekardzhikov (BR, ‘25)
Trent Chickering (PM, ‘26)
Grant Conroy (CV, ‘25)
Ashwin Desai (PM, ‘26)
Kira Efimenko (DM, ‘26)
Hayden Ficht (PD, ‘25)
Caitlin Francisco (PM, ‘25)
Gianna Gourley (MT, ‘27)
Reese Guenther-Clark (CV, ‘27)
Evani Gulati (MT, ‘26)
Julian Gwin (MT, ‘26)
Claire Harmsen (PM, ‘26)
Hanna Heger (CW, ‘26)
Matthew Henderson (CV, ‘25)
Zane Hermann (PM, ‘25)
Lucy Hunter (FTV, ‘26)
Sky Keyoung (CV, ‘25)
Alyssa Kim (MT, ‘26)
Avni Krishnamoorthy (PM, ‘26)
Emma Ladisky (MT, ‘26)
Ayn Liu (CAH, ‘26)
David Liu (CAH, ‘25)
Liam Majerus (BR, ‘27)
Sydney Malone (CV, ‘26)
Rylee Miyoshi (BR, ‘28)
Paige Morgan (CV, ‘25)