It all started as an innocent suggestion courtesy of a curious high school counselor, but two San Marino High School girls had an experience last month that will be rivaled by few.

Erina Widjaja, a senior, and junior Megan Lan took a tip from college and career counselor Hiyas Mutia and attended She Leads, a two-day entrepreneurship conference for high school girls that was hosted by the Snapchat social media messaging application and held at its Santa Monica headquarters.

There, 150 likeminded young ladies actively engaged in discussions with female entrepreneurs, participated in design thinking and ideation exercises, and discussed and developed product and marketing skills.

On the second day, Widjaja and Lan pitched business ideas they had crafted to a panel of 12 potential mentors. Remarkably, the schoolmates were just two of the 12 chosen from the pool of 150 candidates to be paired with a mentor.

Lan was teamed with Anu Shukla, a Northern California businesswoman, who describes herself as “a serial entrepreneur.” 

“Anu has helped start-up a lot of health-related businesses, which I think is why she chose me,” said Lan. 

Lan’s project, Take Pride in Your Period, aims to provide affordable hygiene and feminine products to young women around the world.  

“My vision is to see a place where women can thrive without being ashamed of their bodies and periods,” said Lan. “My website will include basic necessities, such as pads and tampons, along with other essentials needed for women to feel comfortable during menstruation.”

Lan said she learned that young women frequently drop out of school because of their periods in Third World countries, such as India. 

Widjaja pitched an application dedicated to providing children in low income communities who are struggling in school with accessible resources. She was paired with Nicole Brugman, who among other accomplishments has developed an app that helps college students find jobs. 

Because they were among the dozen selected to advance, Widjaja and Lan have already begun five-month internships with their mentors. They communicate on a weekly basis to discuss progress and any challenges that might have surfaced and will be introduced to potential investors to help fund their projects.  

“It was really great,” said Lan of the experience. “Everything was very well organized and it was a great event. We received a lot of insight into the business world.”

Lan said she hopes to attend a UC upon graduating from San Marino High School to major in…business. 

“Actually, this is really helpful for me,” she said with a laugh.

Widjaja was recently accepted at USC where she will follow a similar path in the business world. 

‘I definitely learned a lot,” said Widjaja, the last of three daughters who have gone through San Marino schools. “I am going to major in business and I wanted to learn a lot more about business and entrepreneurship. The female speakers were so inspiring and we learned a lot in a short period of time. Overall, this experience was incredibly empowering to be apart of and I would recommend any future girls who are interested to attend next year.”

The post Straight to the Top appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

San Marino High School’s varsity baseball team gets a short drive but a tall task with today’s release of the CIF Division 4 playoff brackets. The Titans will travel to Alhambra on Friday, May 3 for a first round contest against the Moors, who finished 21-6-2 overall and 11-3-1 in the Almont League, where they were the runners-up. The Titans ended the campaign 10-9-1 overall and 8-4 in the Rio Hondo League, where they also ended up in second place.

The Titans traveled to Alhambra on Tuesday, February 12 and dropped a 9-4 decision to the Moors in San Marino’s 2019 opener.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

The Lady Titan softball team, which finished 3^rd in the Rio Hondo League at 14-7-2 and 7-5, will host Saddleback Valley Christian in a Division 6 Wild Card contest on Tuesday, April 30 at 3:15 p.m. The Warriors ended the season at 6-9 overall and 4-3 in the San Joaquin League, finishing third. 

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Even a year-and-a-half later, William Graham remembers the moment of his epiphany to the very day, and if you know William Graham, his tremendous power of recall is no surprise.

“November 3, 2017,” William answers quickly.

The question? When did the young man who is now a junior at San Marino High School decide he wanted to create a mascot for the Titans.

“I was hanging with some friends at our football game at South Pasadena and it was either the second quarter or at halftime and I saw a Tiger mascot coming across the field with a group of cheerleaders,” said William. “I thought, ‘wow, if that’s a boy in there, he is really getting their attention!’”

He was, and now William is, too.

Then a sophomore, Graham went to Principal Dr. Issaic Gates to further explore his idea.

“Dr. Gates said, ‘well, we have basketball too. Why don’t you do those games?’” Graham said. William knocked on Gates’s door again in August 2018, at the beginning of his junior year, to revisit the matter. William was put in touch with Assistant Principal Jorge Muñoz, who gave him a to-do list.

“William has definitely followed the rubric,” Muñoz said.

Soon, William was roaming the sidelines—and end zone, and running track—adorned in a Titan costume acting out the role of his dreams at Titan football games. When winter arrived, he moved indoors to spread his influence at basketball games and he has even made a few appearances at McNamee Field for Titan baseball contests.

His mascot character is called, simply “Titan” for the time being, but William said he is working on a better name for the 2019-20 school year. It was only a matter of days after he first made his appearance last fall before William had created his own persona and he has even crafted small dance numbers—playlets, if you will—that have quickly become fan favorites.

In “The Butterfly,” William emerges from a deep crouch, his own personal cocoon, before spreading his wings and fluttering away. He also performs “The Flower,” which he says is a reference to Jesus. A larger menu will most certainly follow.

“I come up with my own dance moves,” William told The Tribune. “They are simple stories, but they get their point across.”

He says he enjoys the new-found notoriety of being the school mascot and is already planning for next year.

“One thing that William innately understands is that he wants to be engaged more wit people, so he has consciously put himself in a position to engage more with people,” said William’s father, Jeff Graham, who seems to enjoy his son’s role as much as the rest of the community.

William says he enjoys the environment at football games more than other sports because he has “more room to do my moves.”

“I like it when the band plays and in basketball, you have to wait for the breaks. I also like to run into the end zone to high-five the football players after a touchdown.”

William is also a member of the wrestling team, a pursuit he started during his sophomore year.

“I wanted to be in a co-ed sport and wrestling offered a good opportunity,” William said. He picked up two wins during his first season—“I almost got another one at Hoover,” he interjected—and this past season collected another victory at the Rio Hondo League finals with his grandparents in attendance, a fact that elicited an expression of pride. The sport has some positive side benefits.

“I have gotten really fit and lost 25 pounds,” he beamed.

The son of Rosemary and the aforementioned Jeff Graham, William has a sister, Ella, who is a sophomore at SMHS. He recently visited Azusa Pacific and hopes to one day enter the medical field.

“I think it would be nice to help cure people,” William said.

Anyone who has ever crossed William’s path knows that he already is…

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Kimia Hassibi, a junior at San Marino High School, recently traveled to Houston, where she was honored as a Dean’s List finalist at the FIRST Robotics competition’s national championships. FIRST—which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology—is a national non-profit corporation that inspires young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills,” according to the group’s website. San Marino High School participates in FIRST Robotics competitions and Kimia was selected by team mentors Scott Barton and Keiko Hiranaka based on her dedication to the program and its mission.

“At the Idaho Regional, I was interviewed by judges, and they asked me more about what I have done,” Kimia told The Tribune. “I basically told them my role on the team in cabinet and as business president and about the events and projects I undertook.”

Kimia was one of 100 Dean’s List finalists who were invited to Houston, where 13 were eventually selected.

“I was able to meet Dean Kamen and Dr. Woodie Flowers, the founders of FIRST, and spoke to other teams to learn how they became successful,” Kimia said. “I was also able to talk to several companies which were there presenting new, exciting technologies.”

Kimia’s contributions were key to San Marino High School’s Titanium Robotics team’s winning the Entrepreneurship Award at the Idaho Regional competition in early April.

Kimia also was privy to the theme of the 2019-20 season, which will be FIRST RISE, powered by Star Wars: Force for Change.

Barton reserves high praise for the young lady he helped nominate for the highest honor.

“Kimia is a great leader,” said Barton, who also teaches Physics at San Marino High School. “She goes about her responsibilities with an air of confidence and humor and she is respected by all of the team members. Kimia is extremely well organized and keeps on top of all the things that are going on in the club. I have never once had to remind her what to do.”

Robotics is fast becoming a year-round option for students and the San Marino club will once again be holding a two-day-a-week summer camp that is open to incoming freshmen and others who are interested in the program. The camp culminates with Robotics’ presence at the city’s 4th of July parade and fireworks show. Interested students are encouraged to contact Barton at San Marino High School.

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Offering evidence to the old sports adage “it doesn’t matter where you start, it only matters where you finish,” San Marino High School’s upstart varsity softball team continued its surprising march in the CIF Division 6 playoffs on Tuesday afternoon with a 5-0 victory over Sierra Vista to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal contest at Woodcrest Christian.

In three postseason games, the Lady Titans have outscored their opponents by a combined 40-1, defeating Saddleback Valley Christian by a score of 22-0 in a wild card contest and topping United Christian Academy 13-1 last Thursday in a first round match-up.

The Lady Titans finished third in the Rio Hondo League but are the last team standing in the playoffs, with both La Cañada—the champs—and runner-up Temple City having both been eliminated.

The relatively late success could be attributed to the Lady Titans’ youth. The majority of starters are freshmen or sophomores. Sierra DuNah, a senior first baseman who will be continuing her softball career at Sterling University in Kansas, leads the team in hits, RBIs and doubles, but most of the other big guns can be slid into the “beginner” category. Freshman pitcher Claire Streeter has struck out 18 batters in the first three playoff games, but faced only six batters (and fanned them all) in the win over Saddleback. Freshman outfielder Kate Brunner is batting .429 with three homers, freshman catcher Macy Mooney has a .311 mark with 11 RBIs while sophomores Jessica VanFossan (.368), magnet-gloved Charis Chung (.390), and slap-hitting Kinu Takasugi (.436) are setting the table at an impressive rate. A relative veteran, junior Justene Huang (.474) is adept at the plate also backs up Streeter on the mound. Huang can also play just about every position on the field.

Sophomores Erin Hill (.333) and Kira Glasse (.275) are proven offensive threats and Bella Escobar is a vacuum cleaner at second base. Baseball and softball teams are often judged by their ability “in the middle,” and with catcher Mooney, pitcher Streeter, the double-play combination of Takasugi and Escobar and highlight-reel centerfielder Chung, it’s difficult to imagine anything better. And that’s three sophomortes and two freshmen, to boot.

“I keep telling the parents, this team is doing phenomenal,” said head Coach Stephanie Hernandez. “I don’t think they know there is an end to this, which I absolutely love. The defense is tight, they just keep playing and keep fighting, and I love that.”

When asked to single out a few players for exceptional contributions to the team, Hernandez smartly refused to take the bait.

“I give them all the same amount of credit,” she said. “Every single one of them. They each bring something to the table and they mesh together. The girls who don’t happen to be on the field at the time are all cheering hard and we can see that has had a very positive effect on the team. These girls get along so well and they have a lot of fun.”

If the Lady Titans can get by Woodcrest Christian on Thursday, the squad will most likely host a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday, May 14 against the winner of Garden Griove Santiago and Garey.

After that? Well, things could get very interesting. Still lurking on the other side of the bracket is a team familiar to all rostered by some very familiar faces: Pasadena Polytechnic, with five girls from San Marino. With two more wins apiece, the Lady Titans and Panthers would square off for the CIF Division 6 championship, though the fate and time are currently listed as TBA.

Is San Marino the newest softball hotbed? Time will tell.

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She promises it’s not for the publicity or to glamorize her college essay, and when you hear Lisa Lu speak about her passionate project, she simply must be believed.

Lu, a junior at San Marino High School, is the founder and president of International Youth Tobacco Control (IYTC), a non-profit organization she started in 2017 that is comprised of 200 high schoolers in the United States, Canada, China, Korea, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. More than 40 middle and high schoolers in the San Marino area have contributed to the group’s main objective, which is to prevent teenage smoking on a global level.

“I have just seen too many young people smoking,” Lu said bluntly. “You would think that in this current age when we know the dangers of smoking it wouldn’t be so prevalent among young people, but it still is.”

Lu has found some creative ways to spread her message. Her group has met with Dr. Dayi Hu, chairman of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, who has submitted a legislation proposal to the Chinese authorities to establish legal smoking age and implement stricter age verification for purchases. She has collaborated with Gay Yuen, a professor at California State, Los Angeles, to initiate “No Tobacco” weeks and educational activities to spread awareness to over 3,000 students and parents.

She has worked with Jono Polansky, a consultant at the University of San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Research, and have targeted on-screen smoking, starting with Disney’s purchase of 140 “smoke-contaminated” movies that were acquired through its purchase of FOX media. Lu is also collaborating with Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, to introduce e-cigarette education in schools.

In late March, Lu spoke to the California State Assembly on behalf of IYTC at the press conference for Senate Bill SB 38, which would ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in California.

She also provided the lead testimony at the hearing for SB39, which would require stricter age verification for online tobacco purchases. Other students testifying were Seojin Choi and Aristotle Zeng of SMHS, Joyney Lu of Huntington Middle School, Cathy Sun of Temple City High School and Franklin Cheng of La Salle High School. Senator Anthony Portantino, who represents San Marino, welcomed Lu and her cohorts into Senate chambers with the title “San Gabriel Valley Student Advocates.” Both bills were passed.

But the journey has also traveled through hostile territory. Lu and IYTC have faced heavy opposition from e-cigarette and vaping companies, consumers, lawyers, and even doctors. “But our relentless efforts convinced the committee to pass both bills,” Lu said. “This experience showed the members and I how powerful our enemy is and evoked our passion to advance our mission.”

Every teen deserves a healthy life,” she concluded.

Which which happens to be the mission statement of her group.

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Titanium Robotics finished up a fantastic 2018-19 year with its annual banquet last Saturday evening, where around forty people, consisting of Titanium Robotics team members, their family members, San Marino High School and Titanium Robotics alumni, and the team’s mentors, enjoyed an evening of fun and fond memories. Sophomore Julian Sze enjoyed “having fun with other team members,” concluding the event to have been “in general really, really fun.”

At the banquet the guests heard several speeches from mentors, former Engineering President Olivia Cameron, previous Business President Kimia Hassibi, new Engineering President Edmond Wen, and new Business President Madeleine Haddad. During these speeches, Titanium Robotics’ departing seniors were recognized and given gifts of farewell: intricately detailed models of this year’s competition robot. Ben Ung, Olivia Cameron, Stella Yao, Dina Weiss, Max Winn, Elizabeth Castreje, and William Cockrum were all recognized, bid farewell, and wished best of luck after retiring as team members—hopefully to return as future mentors.

Accompanying senior recognition, awards were bestowed upon several team members by the newly appointed engineering and business presidents. These awards were voted upon by all current members of Titanium Robotics; the categories being, most valuable nerd, most inspirational, rookie of the year, most spirited, most graciously professional, and the safety award. These titles were granted to Matthew Lee, Jack Moffat, Amanda Lopez, Taylor Suetsugu, Ben Ung, and Sophia Tran, respectively.

Besides the recognition of several Titanium Robotics team members, cabinet positions were publically announced. Initially, former presidents Olivia Cameron and Kimia Hassibi announced Edmond Wen and Madeleine Haddad as the Engineering and Business Presidents. Thereafter, the succeeding presidents announced to the entirety of the attending team members the new cabinet positions for the upcoming 2019-20 year. On the Engineering aspect of the team, engineering vice presidents are Tyler Hand and Jack Moffat; Angie Yung was appointed engineering assistant, Alec Cabalinan and Jonathan Fong were chosen to be mechanical captains. Electrical captain is Elise Hong, Justin Jang is CAD (computer-aided design) captain, design captain is Taylor Suetsugu, and programming captain is Matthew Lee. Business positions include Jeff Wang as strategy captain, Marcus Chua as webmaster, Amanda Lopez as publicist, treasurer is Victor Charle, and events coordinator is Jeff Wang.

During the few hours that the Titanium Robotics banquet took place, team members socialized and celebrated the closing of the 2018-19 year. Senior Ben Ung remarked, “It was great seeing the alumni again.” Freshman Michael Pink congratulated Titanium Robotics’ previous and current presidents, sharing that he thought they “did really good.” Anticipating a great next year, Matthew Lee mentioned, “Each year of Robotics bring[s] new and interesting challenges. I’m excited to see what comes next!”

Titanium Robotics is a team consisting of over 100 students, mainly from San Marino High School, who come together with a common interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students learn from professional engineers and mentors to build and compete in the annual FIRST Robotics Challenge with a robot of their own design. Programming, electrical work, computer-aided design, and business management are all run by student representatives, making the entire organization student-led from start to finish.

The post Titanium Robotics Puts A Ribbon On 2018-19 appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

In 2005, no less an authority than Sports Illustrated declared Long Beach Poly High School “the sports school of the century,” given its success in, well, every single athletic pursuit it attempts.

Which makes the above headline somewhat historic, as the Jackrabbits have been successful in the burgeoning sport of badminton. But that didn’t stop San Marino, who mustered all its resources last Saturday to defeat Poly by a final score of 14-7 to claim the CIF Division 1 championship, the first in the Titans’ eight seasons fielding the sport.

Not bad for a team that didn’t win its own league, as San Marino finished third behind Arcadia and South Pasadena in the Almont League before embarking on the title run

To make it all even more remarkable, San Marino collected most of the victories without the presence of…a coach. That’s correct.

Unforeseen schedule conflicts resulted in the regular coach taking a hiatus while assistants Kyle Emerick and Warren Chow stepped into the breach to lead the squad into the playoffs. Even veteran Jon Imamura, who coached the badminton team in its initial seasons, was summoned back into action by Athletic Director David Irie and the rest, as they say, is history.

Truly.

“I was most impressed that in some really adverse conditions, the team really pulled it together,” said Imamura, the man known throughout the community as simply “Mr. I.” “They really pulled it together, basically without a coach. The leaders of the team really stepped up and took charge of everything, from filling out the lineup to offering constant support and reinforcement. I credit them completely for their success. They are really super kids.”

Imamura singled out Megan Lan and A.J. Wong as the key leaders who put the team on their collective shoulders during crunch time. He was most impressed with San Marino’s unlikely playoff victory over Loma Linda.

“Loma Linda was shocked,” Imamura said. “It was their first loss of the season and the players didn’t move after the match. They couldn’t believe it.”

They do now, and SMHS has its 76th CIF championship.

Team members include Emily Thai, Meghan Wong, Megan Lan, Charisse Chow, Joanna Chou, Rachel Li, Ellie Su, Aiden Ye, Kevin Lan, A.J. Wong, Leo Chen, Andy Liu, Matthew Chen, Ben Guo and Joshua Chen.

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GIRLS’ BASKETBALL VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Chloe Wong

MOST IMPROVED – Angelina Karapetyan

COACH’S AWARD – Elaina Lee

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Elissa Beck

MOST IMPROVED – Panoz Adli & Christina Bui

COACH’S AWARD – Michelle Chen

BOYS’ SOCCER VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Dhilan Anvekar

COACH’S AWARD – Sean Walla & Justice Beck

MOST IMPROVED – Ryan Brougham

TITAN SPIRIT – Joseph Hindle

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Nathan Fajardo

MOST IMPROVED – Michael Hu

TITAN SPIRIT – James Aguilera

COACH’S AWARD – Lucas Levy

BEST OVERALL PLAYER – Leo Liren Zhang

GIRLS’ SOCCER VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Emily Boutin

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Carly Hittner

MOST IMPROVED – Chloe Leftwich

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Faye An

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER – Vivian Cardenas

BEST MIDFIELDER – Katherine Norton

MOST IMPROVED – Madison Ly

BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER – Margaret Saldebar

WRESTLING VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Luka Wick,

Tilly Garcia & Allyson Arrington

MOST IMPROVED – Kurt Trumbull

COACH’S AWARD – Beau Perez

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Sean Han

MOST IMPROVED – William Graham

COACH’S AWARD – Gavin Palenik

GIRLS’ WATER POLO VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Elizabeth Lee

COACH’S AWARD – Isabella Lee

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER – Ashley Mao

MOST IMPROVED – Hannah Collazo

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Ashley Mao

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Tiffany Pletting

COACH’S AWARD – Marlena Ketalaar

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER – Brooklyn Muhammad

MOST IMPROVED – Sarah Broderick

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Madeleine McClam

BOYS’ BASKETBALL VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Ethan Deng

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Cristian Mata

IRON MAN AWARD – Michael Baldocchi

TITAN AWARD – Eric Fu & Jason Wee

PLAYMAKER AWARD – Sean O’Brien

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Joey Fuerst

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Ron Von Oppen

IRON MAN AWARD – Andy Sutherland

COACH’S AWARD – William Keefer

FROSH

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Mason Lo

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Michael Azinge

COACH’S AWARD – Kyle Yu & Duin Kim

All information courtesy of San Marino High School

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“You never mentioned studying for AP tests or the SAT,” said San Marino High School Counselor and Senior Class Advisor Mollie Beckler during the waning moments of Tuesday morning’s Prometheans breakfast. “You talked about time spent together. I want you to remember that.”

Beckler was referring to the annual event that celebrates approximately thirty members of the senior class who are selected for—among other attributes—their character, courage and kindness. As each honoree was called forward, they mentioned their plans for college and were asked to express a special memory they will take with them from their days at SMHS.

Those remembrances were as varied as the voices speaking them, but for some reason, “dissecting” jumped to the top of the list. But there were more, including peer mentoring, serving on Link Crew, “trying to eat as much pizza as possible,” hanging out at IHOP after prom and the thrills of a drumline competition in Dayton, Ohio, of all places.

One can just imagine the kismet if they were hanging out at an IHOP…in Dayton, Ohio.

Former School Board Member Nam Jack, herself the mother of two Prometheans, delivered the keynote address, speaking about the difficulties of being a parent while delivering a “confession” that much of her parenting advice to her children was based on her love of the 22 Avengers movies and 71 episodes of Game of Thrones.

“Part of the journey is the end,” Jack said to a rapt audience in the SMHS cafeteria. “In the beginning of the Avengers: Endgame movie, Tony Stark thinks he is going to die, so he records a message for his wife. He says ‘Mrs. Potts. If you find this recording, don’t feel bad about this. Part of the journey is the end.’”

“For you as students, it is the end of your high school years and the beginning of your college ones where you start your road to independence, learning to rely on oneself, becoming more autonomous and self-reliant, all part of your journey to becoming an adult,” Jack said.

She then reminded attendees that “everyone makes mistakes.”

“In Season 8, Episode 4, a cup of coffee which looked like it was from Starbucks was left on a table next to a female character, Queen Daenerys, for more than 17 million viewers to see,” Jack said, as chuckles of familiarity filled the room. “How could someone make such a mistake when each episode costs approximately $15 million? How do you respond? In the case of HBO, producers of the show, the answer was by acknowledging the mistake and responding with humor. HBO tweeted that the ‘latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had actually ordered an herbal tea.’”

More than chuckles for that one.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” she continued. “It is how you respond to them that makes a difference. Try to respond with humor, patience and grace. In that way, people will not remember the mistake, they will remember how positively you acted in response.”

Beckler also said that she was struck by the humility of this particular crop of Prometheans, mentioning that she was impressed by the humble responses from students when notified in person that they had received the coveted honor.

“A Promethean is a student who has a positive attitude and is caring,” is what one San Marino High School teacher said when asked to define a Promethean. “In class they help to lead class discussions and are always prepared to learn. Outside of class they help to build school spirit by leading extra-curricular activities. I miss them when they are absent from class.”

The post Prometheans Marked By Humility appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

“Sweet, caring, very involved in the school community.”

“A giver, not a taker, making a difference in all they are involved in.”

“A friendly face and a joy to be around, a breath of fresh air and radiates sunshine.”

“A lovely young person with a bright smile and compassionate heart.”

These superlatives were used to describe the four San Marino High School seniors who last Friday afternoon received the inaugural Leslie Noelle LienJun Mar Memorial scholarships at the school’s senior awards ceremony. Olivia Cameron, Kyana Huang, Baxton Chen and

Hannah Huynh were the recipients of the scholarship, which the Mar Family said will be awarded annually to graduating seniors who demonstrate well-rounded excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.

Leslie lost her life in a hiking accident last summer and in her memory, the Mar Family established the scholarship fund to preserve her legacy. While at San Marino High School and on the very same Neher Auditorium stage where the scholarships were presented, Leslie once performed in the wind ensemble, had parts in the dramatic musicals each of her four years, led school assemblies as the ASB Senior Class Spirit Commissioner and rallied the school as the captain of the cheer squad. She also played varsity volleyball for the Lady Titans, but still found the time to volunteer countless hours alongside her mother in the community as a member of the National Charity League, San Marino Chapter, where she served as their Cultural Liaison.

After graduating from SMHS, Leslie attended Washington State University, graduating with a degree in Business Administration and majoring in Finance from the Carson School of Business. She began her career shortly after graduation at Fisher Investments, an international investment firm, before her tragic accident. All four of Leslie’s siblings graduated from San Marino High School, including Adrienne, (class of 2005), Stuart (2008), Kelly (2010), and Spencer (2018).

The memorial perpetual plaque, which will remain on display in the lobby at San Marino High School describes the characteristics of a scholarship recipient as having a “Zest for Life.”

“You are all an excellent ambassador for Leslie and will keep her memory alive in the best possible ways,” said Harry Mar, Leslie’s father, during the presentation ceremony.

The post Inaugural Leslie Mar Memorial Scholarships Awarded at SMHS appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Anyone who may have thought a Harry Potter-themed Grad Night might be lost on San Marino High School’s graduating class of 2018 had better think again. Though the motifs are chosen through a vote by the students themselves, some felt the franchise could be too tween for those about to head off to higher education. Proving themselves to be wise in the ways of the world as well as book-smart, however, the grads seemed to thoroughly grasp the many lessons provided by the historic works of author J.K. Rowling, which chronicle the lives of a young wizard and his friends as they meander through a highly pedigreed school.

Students strive to distinguish themselves from the tribes which precede and follow them, and while the Class of 2019 has accomplished much in the classroom and on the fields and stages, San Marino High School’s recent graduates will leave a legacy of gratitude.

Starry-eyed upon first sight of the elaborate Grad Night set, the young people spent their final eight hours wrapped in a warm embrace of a community to which they have given much, but received even more.

“Graduation and Grad Night were both such unforgettable, fun, and bittersweet events where I was so happy to spend time with everyone from the Class of 2019 for the last time,” said Erina Widjaja, who is headed to USC. “By the end of Grad Night, I couldn’t stop crying realizing that it was all over, and I just wanted to thank San Marino for shaping the person I’ve become in the past 13 years.”

Katherine Choi, who was one of three students chosen to speak at last Friday’s graduation ceremony and afterwards, told The Tribune it was “surreal.”

“Honestly I’m experiencing a mix of emotions,” said Choi, who is headed to Georgia Tech. “Sad because I’m leaving a place I called home for all these years, but also excited for the things to come.”

Boulder-bound Tommy Long said it was “a magical way to wrap up four years.”

School Board President Lisa Link started the evening’s speeches off by reminding the assemblage of this community’s special nature.

“You are fortunate to have gone to school at San Marino High School,” Link said. “You are among the best-prepared high school students in California and this country, and you will soon appreciate that advantage. You have had excellent teachers and coaches who taught you how to think and improve your skills, counselors and administrators who guided your academic and personal growth, and support staff who ensured that everything ran well and that the campus was clean.”

Link reminded graduates that “there aren’t many communities that line the streets during the Homecoming parade and the Fourth of July parade. Or where you graduate with the same people who you went to Kindergarten with. Or where you can’t get away with anything because everyone in town knows everyone else.”

“Where else do parents and community members come together for six months and donate thousands of hours and dollars to create the biggest, best, and most unbelievable party that you’ll ever attend…the Magical World of Harry Potter Grad Night?” Link said as the audience, at her behest, cheered Grad Night chairs Donna Balbin, Jennifer Giles and Helen Spitzer.

Principal Dr. Issaic Gates encouraged his grads to not be afraid of failure.

“Inherently, everyone wants to be successful,” Gates said. “However, most folks are not willing to fail at attempting to be successful because the comfort zone feels so good. In your

comfort zone, you’ve calculated the cost, you control the environment, you see the entire spectrum of potential outcomes, you know what you are capable of, you are safe. Safe.”

He then asked if there “any future dream makers out there; any world changers; any folks who can find that ‘It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.’”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Gates said, his voice dropping in dramatic anticipation. “To you, I say ‘go ahead, color outside the lines. Walk to the beat of your drum, create your own brand of SWAG, become a movement, be an energy. You’ve already realized that both success and failure fall in the same category, they are only tools to use when making your next attempt. Failure is a tool designed to move you in a different direction. Success is a tool designed to encourage you to move forward.”

Choi was joined by fellow seniors Alyssa Escamilla, who will enroll at American University, and USC-bound Grant Spitzer for their farewell address. Choi also tapped into the theme of failure as a necessary path to redemption.

“When we’re at rock-bottom, we cease to recognize opportunities, feeling flooded with despair,” she said. “We begin to see our situation as the conclusion to our story, dropping our pens in defeat after one bad chapter.”

She then invoked the teachings of Professor Dumbledore, one of Harry Potter’s most beloved characters and the headmaster of Hogwarts.

“But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light,” Choi said, quoting Dumbledore.

Escamilla, who served an unprecedented two terms as the ASB representative to the San Marino School Board, also quoted Dumbledore, reminding her classmates that “the grind don’t stop for no one, baby” before offering that “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”

“Help is valuable,” said Escamilla as herself. “Help is patient. Help is kind. No one does it alone.”

Among his brilliant contributions to the speech, Spitzer quoted “the wise words of street poet and this generation’s Shakespeare, Kanye West; ‘reach for the stars so if you fall, you land among the clouds; jump in the crowd, spark your lighters, wave ‘em around.’”

And then it was off to exactly that, minus the lighters, as the Class of 2019 said headed to Grad Night and enjoyed the final time they will all ever be in the same room together.

The post Seniors Learned Well from A Wise Professor appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

A lifetime devotee of classical music, former San Marinan Edward Judd Zobelein tuned in to KUSC Classical 91.5 FM religiously. Now, other listeners can hear his name acknowledged during regular programming in gratitude for a major gift that may inspire a similar passion in future generations. With a bequest of $8 million to the USC Thornton School of Music and KUSC, Zobelein has created a legacy of support for some of the world’s most talented music students and the nation’sWW largest and most popular public radio and nonprofit classical music radio station.

“Edward Judd Zobelein lived and breathed classical music,” said his sister Linda Zobelein Koss, a 1970 graduate from USC’s Roski School of Art and Design. “He found total solace and peace playing his flute, going to concerts at the Hollywood Bowl or Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and listening daily to KUSC. Although Ed did not attend college, the Zobelein family connection and legacy to USC spans multiple generations, which is why he chose to donate to the university.”

A longtime supporter of USC Thornton and KUSC, Zobelein died in July 2017, leaving behind a planned gift that designates $6 million to Thornton and $2 million to KUSC.

“We are truly honored to receive this gift,” said Robert Cutietta, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music. “Music holds such meaning in the lives of so many people. We are thrilled to carry Edward’s passion forward to train future generations of exceptional musicians.”

Judy McAlpine, president of KUSC, agreed.

“We are so honored and grateful that Edward Judd Zobelein chose to make this gift to KUSC after many years of constant and quiet support,” McAlpine said. “Every day we try to touch people with the transformative power of classical music. This gift to our endowment will help ensure that we are able to continue our mission for years to come.”

Bach, Beethoven and Brahms were not the only “Bs” in Zobelein’s life. America’s favorite pastime and a famous brewery rounded out his eclectic background.

The Zobelein family history in Los Angeles dates back to 1869, when Edward’s great-grandfather George Zobelein, son of a master brewer, emigrated from Germany. With business partner and fellow immigrant Joseph Maier, George established the Maier-Zobelein Brewery in 1882.

Twenty-five years later, Zobelein purchased the Los Angeles Brewing Company, which became known as the Eastside Brewing Company. In the late ’50s, Eastside Old Tap Lager sponsored Dodger games on radio and television; in 1962, it started selling its brews at Dodger Stadium. The Zobelein family remained staunch supporters of the Dodgers, as well as the Los Angeles Rams.

The family made roots in San Marino, where Zobelein graduated from high school in 1961. Zobelein’s grandmother Eva Barbara Zobelein inspired his love of classical music as a youth and took him to concerts regularly, including the Los Angeles Flute Club’s annual concerts in 1957 and 1960 in USC’s Hancock Auditorium. In that venue—now called Newman Recital Hall—USC Thornton is planning a display and plaque in honor of Zobelein’s generous gift.

Zobelein’s passion for music grew as he learned to play flute and piccolo, studying with longtime teacher Elise Baxter Moennig. He performed concerts with San Marino High School’s concert band and as a member of the San Gabriel Valley Junior Symphony under Harold Scott. He owned a Moennig silver piccolo made in 1943, as well as a Verue Q. Powell silver flute, which was made specifically for him by Powell in 1960.

For Zobelein, listening to classical music on KUSC brought a special comfort and happiness to every day. When his failing health made sleeping difficult, KUSC was the only thing that got him through the dark hours. In appreciation of Zobelein’s philanthropy, KUSC has begun running on-air acknowledgements of his major gift. Those will continue for the next two years, but Zobelein’s generosity will ensure that classical music plays on for generations to come.

The post Leaving A Musical Legacy appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Memorial Day?

Not even close.

Graduation?

We’re getting there.

July 4th?

Start making plans.

End of summer school?

Seeya.

A friend of mine refers to it as “the gradual, yet constant evisceration of summer.” Whereas San Marino families once had at least a full month for relaxation and recreation before the school re-boot after Labor Day, those associated with Titan football this year have eleven days between the final day of summer workouts and the opening of what new head football Coach Justin Mesa is calling “Camp.”

“It’s going well,” said Mesa shortly after the final day of summer school-associated practices went into the history book last week.

Official workouts begin on Wednesday, July 24—easily the earliest in school history—but with a new twist. Gone is the traditional “two-a-day” format, to be replaced by what Mesa called “a different model.” The Titans will practice from 7:45 – 11:45 from Monday through Thursday with a 9 – 11:00 a.m. workout slated for Fridays.

“We want the kids to be kids,” said Mesa of the new schedule, which meets California’s four-hours-per-day-maximum guidelines. “There is no sense in having a morning workout and then bringing them back again in the afternoon. The shorter Friday session also allows for a little longer weekend.”

The state also requires a minimum three-hour break if a team chooses to have two workouts in the same day.

Mesa acknowledged the huge coaching shoes left behind by Mike Hobbie, who retired in January after eight very successful seasons at the helm. His coaching staff is starting to fill up and the 2019 season is beginning to take shape. The Titans will field a full varsity team and a ten-game schedule, but for the first time in the history of the program there are only two levels of football on the docket, with a frosh-soph squad also slated for action. Last year, the Titans fielded freshman, junior varsity and varsity lineup, but were forced to abandon the frosh midway through the season as the rosters thinned.

“The numbers just weren’t there for us to have a freshman team,” said Mesa. “And we will be counting on some sophomores to step up at the varsity level, too.”

Mesa, 36, has 18 years of coaching and administrative experience and will also teach physical education at San Marino High School. Mesa recently wrapped up a two-year commitment as director of recruiting at the University of Wyoming, where he helped the Cowboys garner its highest-ranked recruiting class since 2011. Before his assignment in Wyoming, Mesa was a member of the staff at Dixie State University. where he coached wide receivers and coordinated special teams for the Trailblazers in 2016. In 2017, he was promoted to passing game coordinator and also recruited Southern and Central California, as well as the state of Utah.

Mesa served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Loyola High School in Los Angeles for three seasons from 2013-15.

He also spent six very formative seasons in a variety of administrative and coaching roles at USC from 2007-12, including stints as a recruiting and operations assistant, tight end and wide receivers coach, graduate assistant coach and assistant quarterback coach, where he served under current Trojan head Coach Clay Helton.

But now, his sights are set on replacing Hobbie, who guided the Titans to two Rio Hondo League championships while compiling a remarkable 33-7 record against league foes. Hobbie also compiled a perfect 8-0 mark against rival South Pasadena, a fact he cherished. As he departed San Marino for his Florida retirement, Hobbie mentioned quite humbly to this reporter that he never lost to the Tigers, picking up six more wins as the Titans’; baseball coach his final two seasons at the school. In all, the Titans were 77-25-1 overall under his watch and among his many accomplishments, Hobbie led the 2015 Titans to a 15-1 record, Rio Hondo League, CIF and Regional titles and a spot in the State Championship game.

Mesa sais he is “very pleased” with the squad’s progression under his fledgling watch.

“There is a lot of improvement going on,” he said. “The biggest positive is the kids’ commitment to technique and doing the right things. Also, the student-athletes seem to be bought-in to what we are doing here. The improvement we have seen in six weeks on the field and in the weight room has been excellent.”

Mesa was also impressed that he didn’t sense Hobbie’s shadow looming over the proceedings.

“This is a big shift for them,” Mesa said. “The kids are committed to learning and there has been no ‘Coach Hobbie did this’ or ‘Coach Hobbie did that.’ Any time you have a coaching change you might get that, but I have never heard the words ‘Hobbie did it this way.’ Coach Hobbie was very successful and for these kids to buy in and accept a new way, that is a testament to them.”

Mesa said that Hobbie was “great, very helpful” during the transition period in May when Mesa came to campus and Hobbie was packing up to leave it.

“We checked in with one another every day for that month that we were there together,” Mesa said. “Mike was awesome and made himself available, but he also gave me plenty of space to make it my own.”

Next up: Camp, but not the kind that includes cabins, hikes and skits. More like blood, sweat and tears.

“This will be all about honing in on the assignments and the techniques,” Mesa said. “We are building a foundation and first and foremost is the culture. The kids will develop that. Then it’s about putting the the Xs and Os to it. Our job is sorting through the entire process and installing what will give us the best chance of winning and being successful.”

And you won’t have to wait very long to see the early returns. The annual Blue & White Game is scheduled for Saturday, August 10 with the season opener slated for Friday, August 23 at Charter Oak.

“We have a lot to do,” said Mesa. “But when you see the improvement and the buy-in, that is why you do it. When you take a step back and see the product coming together, that is what it is all about.”

The post Calm Before the Storm appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

SOFTBALL

VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Sierra DuNah & Kinu Takasugi

OFF. PLAYER of the YEAR – Justine Huang & Jessica Van Fossan

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Charis Chung & Macy Mooney

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Peyton Diaz

TITAN AWARD – Kate Brunner

ROOKIE of the YEAR – Claire Streeter

PITCHER of the YEAR – Claire Streeter

SCHOLAR ATHLETES – Charis Chung, Sierra DuNah, Mansi Gokani & Morgan Woodward

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Kari Miller

OFFFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Katy Bell

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Elissa Beck

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Charlotte Sohl

TITAN AWARD – Charlotte Sohl

ROOKIE of the YEAR – Tiffany Pletting

COACH’S AWARD – Megan Gautereaux

MOST IMPROVED – Elizabeth Hernandez

BOYS’ GOLF

VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Adrian Chu

MOST IMPROVED – Taylor Suetsugu

LEADERSHIP AWARD – Elvin Syiau

CAPTAINS – Elvin Syiau & Adrian Chiu

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Alec Cabalinan

MOST IMPROVED – Alex Chuang

TRACK & FIELD

GIRLS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Avery Page

LEADERSHIP AWARD – Puja Balaji

MOST IMPROVED – Skyler Pak

TOUGHEST TITAN – Olivia Ruiz

COACH’S AWARD –Chadney Lim

FIELD’S FINEST – Hannah Collazo

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – Katie Kirkendall

GIRLS’ FROSH-SOPH

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Anya Tang

MOST IMPROVED – Glenda Chen

TOUGHEST TITAN – Carolyn Tao

COACH’S AWARD – Karen Lee

FIELD’S FINEST – Madison Spitzer

BOYS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Luke Jain

LEADERSHIP AWARD – Benjamin Tang

MOST IMPROVED – Rankin Repetti

TOUGHEST TITAN – Nathan Fajardo

COACH’S AWARD – Justin Wang

FIELD’S FINEST – Myles Keys

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – Matthew Le

BOYS’ FROSH-SOPH

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Trond Grizzell

MOST IMPROVED – Ryan Chan

TOUGHEST TITAN – Glover Talt

COACH’S AWARD – Caleb Lian

FIELD’S FINEST – Jonathan Fong

SWIMMING

GIRLS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Kali Villaluna

MOST IMPROVED – Anita Anand & Emily Sun

COACH’S AWARD – Sophia Yao

TITAN ELITE AWARD – Claire Chiu & Ellie Chen

GIRLS’ JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Ashley Salim

MOST IMPROVED – Christina Bui

COACH’S AWARD – Chloe Lau & Brooklyn Holden

BOYS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Tristan Lin & Maxwell Lin

MOST IMPROVED – Preston Wong

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Ethan Cheng & Joseph Ng

COACH’S AWARD – Kurtis Tsai

BOYS’ JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Randy Cai

MOST IMPROVED – Sebastian Moggio & Derek Chan

MOST INSPIRATIONAL – Ethan Cheng & Joseph Ng

COACH’S AWARD – Jinku Tang

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Eric Fu

DEFENSIVE MVP – Seth Matzumoto

MOST IMPROVED – Michael Baldocchi & Matt Harlan

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Ethan Lien

BASEBALL

VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Sean Richardson

MOST VALUABLE HITTER – Grant Spitzer

MOST VALUABLE DEFENSE – Kade Wentz

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Dhilan Anvekar

ROOKIE of the YEAR – Jazz DePerio

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Seth Ruiz

PITCHER of the YEAR – Jackson Herren

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Cole Cribbs

OFFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Nick Derrick & Andy Sutherland

FRESHMAN

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Owen Grannis

DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Derek Montelongo

OFFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR – Ethan Chan & Brendan Long

COACH’S AWARD – Andrew Hornberger

BOYS’ TENNIS

VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Zihao Wang

ROOKIE of the YEAR – Aidan Paek

COACH’S AWARD – Scott Chen, Tyler Tseng, Alex Ko & Brandon Hang

MOST IMPROVED – Austin Han, Tyler Tseng & Kyle Lee

HARDEST WORKER – Auberon Lai & Ethan Foong

PLAYER to WATCH – Kelvin Zhu

ULTIMATE TEAM PLAYER – Alex Ramsay

JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Kelvin Zhu

ROOKIE of the YEAR – Ethan Foong & Irwin Li

COACH’S AWARD – Aaron Chen

MOST IMPROVED – Dylan Lim, Jonathan Hsieh & Aidan Tran

HARDEST WORKER –Stanley Tong

PLAYER to WATCH – Kevin Rao

ULTIMATE TEAM PLAYER – Alex Ramsay

BADMINTON

GIRLS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Charisse Chow & Megan Lan

MOST IMPROVED – Gabriella Su

MOST DEDICATED – Katie Moon

BEST DEFENSE – Charisse Chow

BEST DIVER – Gabriella Su

TEAM LEADER – Megan Lan

MOST PROMISING PLAYER – Rachel Li

SILENT WORKER – Shirley Tieu & Joanne Park

BEST SPORTSMANSHIP – Emily Thai

CLEANEST FOOTWORK – Meghan Wong

FIGHTER WHEN INJURED – Amanda Lopez & Charlize Francia

BEST ASS’T MANAGER – Jacqueline Bui

GIRLS’ JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST DEDICATED PLAYER – Jacklyn Chiu

MOST PROMISING PLAYER – Sophia Tran

BOYS’ VARSITY

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Kevin Lan

MOST IMPROVED – Joshua Rose

MOST DEDICATED – Joshua Chen

STRONGEST SMASH – Max Lu

TRICKSHOT MASTER – Kevin Lan

BEST PLAYMAKER – Ben Guo

MOST PROMISING PLAYER – Leo Chen

MOST POSITIVE ATTITUDE – David Castellanos

MOST VERSATILE PLAYER – Aidan Ye

BOYS’ JUNIOR VARSITY

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Dion Wong

MOST PROMISING PLAYER – Brandon Lok

All information courtesy of San Marino High School

The post SAN MARINO HIGH SCHOOL – 2019 SPRING SPORTS AWARDS appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The football flew out of Carson Glazier’s hand as if it was a bird he was returning to its natural habitat after years of being nursed back to health as so often happens in one of those old movies or episodes of the Andy Griffith Show.

“He is a quarterbacking savant,” I would say to anyone who would listen, and many were, when the lean left-hander debuted in the fall of 2012 as the quarterback for San Marino High School’s freshman football team.

Glazier’s prowess at throwing a football was so far-reaching that in the first half of one game during his senior year, he threw a pass that landed about twenty-five yards downfield but nowhere near an intended receiver. What was astonishing about this otherwise routine high school football occurrence-a routine incomplete pass-was the response of the crowd. Not a sound was uttered, nothing, as the fans packed onto the home grandstand of Titan Stadium looked around as if a meteor had fallen out of the sky and settled on the 35 yard line, just west of the fifty.

All can be forgiven, because in the three-plus previous years—and for the remainder of the season that followed—Glazier had been and was laser accurate. In fact, four games into that magical 2015 season, Glazier had thrown more touchdown passes than incomplete passes. Now take a sip of coffee and read that again: four games into the 2015 season, Glazier had thrown more touchdown passes than incomplete passes, and both numbers were well into the double digits.

Little reminder is needed that the Titans finished that campaign with a 15-1 overall record while collecting Rio Hondo League, CIF Southern Section and State Southern Region championships. San Marino suffered its only defeat in the State Small Schools title game, but many believe the result might have been different had Glazier not suffered an injury the week before that kept him on the sidelines up in Sacramento.

His statistics had been so dizzying during his two-plus years as the starter that head Coach Mike Hobbie retired the jerseys of Glazier (#7) and the #81 worn by classmate J.P. Shohfi, who snagged the majority of Glazier’s offerings. During that span, Glazier completed 436 of 639 passes (a .682 completion percentage) for 8,507 yards and 110 touchdown passes with an astronomical quarterback rating of 154-the best in the nation according to one evaluating service. While those numbers alone will turn plenty of heads, perhaps the most impressive stat is that he threw only nine interceptions in that time period.

Shohfi caught 54 of those touchdown tosses while accumulating 4,285 receiving yards in just his junior and senior seasons.

But although Glazier and Shohfi filled San Marino High School’s trophy cases, record books and highlight reels, major college football coaches weren’t quite as impressed. Both received little interest from Division I schools. One intrepid SMHS student went so far as to create a meme that featured photos of Shohfi jumping over and running past numerous defensive backs who had received full football scholarships to D-1 colleges.

In the end, Glazier enrolled at Stetson while Shohfi headed for Yale.

With a Division 1 football program that attracts some of the finest talent in the nation, Stetson is located in football-heavy Florida and frequently serves as a stopping off point for athletes looking to catch on in the SEC. Glazier redshirted his freshman year and found himself in a pitched battle for playing time with several other recruits. By the holiday break of 2016, Glazier was looking elsewhere.

“I knew I was probably going to leave about four or five months into the season and once December rolled around I let the coaching staff know that I wasn’t going to play there,” Glazier said recently from Washington DC, where he is interning for an investment research firm. “I really liked the program and all the guys on the football team, but I just came to terms with the fact I was never going to play there. That was tough to realize because it was always a dream of mine to play Division 1 football.”

While at San Marino High School, Glazier had been recruited by Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, so the sophomore-to-be sent an email.

“I wanted a better academic institution that would give me a better chance at life,” Glazier recounted. “I feel I had overlooked Amherst. I had attended several football camps on the East Coast where I had me their coaches. And I have been to Maine every summer of my life so I enjoy and appreciate that part of the county.”

In retrospect, Glazier admits he was at the time “big-headed.”

“I just saw that Amherst was Division 3 and I said ‘no thanks.’ Looking back, that is one of the many lessons this situation has taught me: if someone shown interest in you, don’t turn your nose up and walk away.”

Although he was in a new environment when he showed up at Amherst in August, 2017, Glazier found himself in a familiar traffic jam at the quarterback spot, jockeying for reps with a senior, junior and fellow sophomore. He remained fourth on the depth chart and took just two snaps the entire season.

Glazier entered his junior year in the fall of 2018 refreshed and renewed.

“I had every intention of competing for the job,” he said. “The guy who was also a junior was the starter and I was third string as we headed into camp and I thought I would move up. Then I got the call to the coaches office.”

And a moment of silence during our call.

There was no silence, however, during the moments Glazier soon explained as he reflected on the meeting that ended in August 2018 with the record-setting quarterback being told his services were no longer needed for Amherst College’s football team.

“I argued for 45 minutes,” Glazier recalled. “I wanted to do everything I could to stay on the team. The game of football means a lot to me.”

Glazier said he was “devastated” by the transaction.

“They cut a few guys every year but a quarterback, that is different,” Glazier said. “I was surprised that any quarterback was cut. A quarterback swallows the playbook and to see one go is very rare.”

He soon found himself at “rock bottom.”

“During my freshman and sophomore years at college I had gone through a lot in my personal life but that was the lowest I ever felt,” Glazier said, his voice slightly projecting a memory of the pain. “Coming from such a great team in high school with such a great coach, I was on Cloud Nine all the time, and you just want to keep climbing. That wasn’t the way it worked out. I lost my touch, and that is a double entendre. It was a sad tale.”

Another long conversation quickly followed, but this one was with his father, not his coach.

“I called my dad right after I met with the coach,” Glazier said. “I was devastated, distraught. I was screaming on the phone.

Carson’s father, Guy Glazier, is the father of three San Marino athletes and as an attorney, knows a thing or two about negotiation. He had the right words for his youngest son.

“My dad said “what are you going to do?’” Carson remembered. “We spoke for an hour and a half and he gave me the best advice possible. He told me I should play baseball. He said ‘you are a good athlete, why don’t you give it a try.’ It was one of the most touching conversations we ever had.”

Both of Carson’s brothers had a history in college baseball. Garret played at the University of Colorado and Miles at UC Irvine. Initially, Carson wanted nothing to do with returning to the pitcher’s mound.

“I didn’t want to hear it,” he said. “After transferring and then going down two divisions, it was the last thing I wanted to do. Garret and Miles reached out to me and told me I needed to put something in the void. It took me a week before I realized it was the right decision.”

Carson’s football prowess had previously overshadowed his considerable baseball skills. At San Marino High School, he was three-year varsity letter winner who pitched and played first base, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to predict his baseball ability wasn’t up to college standards.

So this past February, Glazier dusted off his ball glove and returned to the diamond.

“I knew I couldn’t hit at the college level but a left-handed junk ball pitcher can go anywhere,” he said, explaining his return to the mound.

Glazier had literally lost a little from his fastball, but his extreme enthusiasm was quick to make a return.

“I was absolutely thrilled about making the tam,” he said. “I started in the bullpen and stayed there all season.”

Glazier impressed his coaching staff enough that he was just the second pitcher to make an appearance during the 2019 season.

“We fell behind in the first inning of our first game of the season by a score of 10-0 and I got the call,” he said. “I struggled a little bit, gave up a home run and and a triple, but overall it was a success. In another game I was brought in during the third inning and pitched until the ninth. I happened to have my stuff that day. They were impressed and began to rely on me. If it wasn’t the ninth inning, it was either myself or another lefty who was brought in until we got to our closer.”

Glazier survived a mid-season slump to make 15 appearances in the Mammoths’ 35 games. He finished the season with a 1-0 record, 3.2 ERA, led all relievers in innings pitched and led all pitchers in strikeouts as Amherst finished with a 16-14 record. The most important statistic, however, is that Glazier is once again among the team leaders in mojo. And during the process he has learned or had confirmed an interconnected series of valuable lessons.

“It is truly how you respond to adversity that defines you,” Glazier said. “Enjoy the good moments and you will definitely have setbacks, but never let anyone take away what you want to do. I wasn’t going to let football take away the joy of competing. There is nothing like competing and I think we should compete as long as we can. We don’t have an expiration date and there is a time when we won’t be able to do anything, so just keep going.”

The son of Wendy and Guy Glazier is majoring in Economics and true to his mantra, wants “to go compete somewhere” after graduation.

“I am a results-driven guy and this experience was very valuable,” Carson concluded. “It was really difficult to come to terms that I was going to come back to my hometown after not having success in football. But in the end it just made me refuse to give up on my dreams.”

The post The Best of A Bad Situation appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The interior of the two-story building seems to stretch as far as the proverbial eye can see and much more resembles a bustling Casablanca marketplace than the headquarters of one of the world’s largest, most influential corporations. All manner of peoples stride in unison, many appearing to be headed for an important meeting (because they are) while others seem to be out for a Saturday stroll (because they are).

This being Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, some are doing both, it soon seems apparent, as the line between recreation and commerce is not merely blurred, it’s are indistinguishable.

Welcome to the work environment of the 21st century, where management seems to serve at the pleasure of the rank-and-file.

A hair salon.

A string of “quiet rooms.”

A transportation and bike rental station.

A dry cleaner.

The occasional work station.

And food.

If there is one defining aspect of Facebook, it’s the food. Full-service restaurants, countless ice cream and frozen yogurt stands, endless rows of snacks and beverages and what our hostess refers to as “micro-kitchens.”

Every manner of cultural food and drink is available free of charge. Yes, free of charge, for employee and guest alike. There isn’t even a register where your selection is memorialized. It’s “grab-and-go” in its purest form. I felt like a thief when i was encouraged to help myself to an energy bar.

Gliding happily and effortlessly through this marketplace of activity is Ariana Harvey, a 2018 graduate of San Marino High School who has the distinct privilege of spending eight weeks this summer reaping the spoils of one of the most successful enterprises in the history of the planet.

San Marino High School’s 2018 Senior Awards Assembly could have been subtitled “The Ariana Harvey Show,” as the then-soon-to-be-graduate was acknowledged for being a Promethean and California Scholarship Federation Life Sealbearer. She also received the Yun-Chung W. Chang Award for Excellence in Science, a National AP Scholar Award, the Andy and Avery Barth Scholarship for Excellence in Visual & Performing Arts, the Chinese Club of San Marino Scholarship for Excellence in Community Service and she was also singled out for Outstanding Achievement in Math.

She also finished in 1st place at the Rotary Club of San Marino’s Art competition and topped San Marino High School’s 50th Annual Art sweepstakes. Ariana is also nominated to receive a Rotary Global Grant scholarship and served as a captain on the Lady Titan tennis team, where she was a four-year member of the varsity squad.

But despite that impressive dossier, her new title as Facebook University Engineer (software engineering intern) might pack the most punch with her contemporaries. A rising sophomore and Computer Science major in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering, Ariana technically works (yes, works) for Instagram–which is owned by Facebook–where she is developing an application that would be suitable for use on an Android device.

She sent in her application for the internship just a day before the December 2018 deadline, was interviewed in early February and later that month was among the 3% who are selected for the internship program.

And it’s easy to see why Facebook’s inbox is flooded with hopefuls. Along with the benefits listed above, Ariana is also eligible to receive health insurance, with on-site doctors, dentists and mental health specialists; free corporate housing, fully furnished with kitchen items, linens, television, internet, electric, gas, water, and free cleaning service; on-site pick-up and delivery for laundry, dry-cleaning, shoe repair and film development; a stipend for public transportation and bike purchase or rental; use of a company-furnished MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, IBM ThinkPad and Apple iPhone for Android device; access to company-wide social events, including barbecues, a wide selection of day trips every weekend and tickets to concerts and sporting events; and participation in Facebook clubs, which include ultimate frisbee, soccer, running and game nights.

If all that isn’t attractive enough, there is also a housing stipend.

And a paycheck.

Trust me, you don’t what to know how much the “interns” are paid.

“Facebook is known for paying interns the most compared to other big tech companies,” Ariana says with an understandable smile.

But the self-described foodie seems most impressed by the culinary offerings. Her biography in the program for the Yun-Chung W. Chang Award for Excellence in Science mentions her affection for ice cream far before her academic accomplishments.

That, and the casual atmosphere. Ariana mentioned that she typically eschews her contemporary “desk” and often often totes her laptop to one of the many outdoor recreation areas (replete with yoga and tai-chi offerings) where she completes her tasks while drifting in a hemp swing.

“In broad terms, it’s Disneyland for engineers,” Ariana said of her work environment, “and those who enjoy top-quality free food.”

The post Summer In the Real Magic Kingdom appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

The outdated television production studio located on the west side of San Marino High School’s campus is a long way from the world-famous Cannes Film Festival that is held annually in the south of France—10,000 miles, to be semi-exact–but if your name is Steve Gute, you can see it from there. It just might have taken a little while for him to pick it out from amongst all the clutter.

The film business has been a life-long labor of love for the San Marino native and 2001 graduate of San Marino High School, but after almost two decades of diligence, the finish line is right around the corner, if indeed he hasn’t already sprinted across.

Most recently, Gute (pronounced “GU-tee”) was a camera operator, production coordinator and 2nd unit director for “Ice On Fire,” a critically acclaimed documentary that was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and debuted at Cannes in May. The film is a sure bet to receive interest at next year’s Academy Awards, but it has hardly been a smooth path from Gute’s days as staff member for Channel 19—this city’s since-defunct local cable access station—to his current status as a highly regarded filmmaker.

“My first documentary was a project for a World History class during my freshman year,” Gute explained. “I was teamed up with a group of overachievers and we were assigned to make a film about the European theater of World War II. Instead of making a silly short project like everyone else in class and having recently watched ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ we decided to make a feature film re-enacting the entire story in Europe starting from the invasion of Poland and annexation of Czechoslovakia up to D-Day and ultimately V-Day and the fall of the Third Reich. We recreated battle scenes in our backyard using whatever war props we could pull together.”

Most students find at least one happy place on campus and for Gute, it was that production studio, which twenty years later looks strangely, strikingly and sadly similar.

“[Former station manager] Jon Bell saw my willingness to learn and took me under his wing and I basically co-ran the channel with him while I was in high school,” Gute said. “From 1999-2001 I filmed just about every event imaginable, from theatrical productions, sporting events, and anything that pertained to community origination. This is what probably prepared me better than anything for a career as a documentary filmmaker. I produced the official senior video twice, which led to years of making Grad Night videos and basically a feature film about every graduating class for ten years.”

Gute matriculated to Chapman University’s renowned Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where he, at least initially, encountered few challenges.

“I was so well prepared from my experience with San Marino High School’s video production program that film school at Chapman was largely a waste of time and money,” Gute told The Tribune. “It was a massive review session with other students who were not nearly as ready for the industry as I was.”

Gute and Bell occasionally took Channel 19’s production truck–a discarded, repurposed ambulance from the San Marino Fire Department–on late-night sojourns, listening to a police scanner and “nightcrawling,” trying to be the first to a crime scene to capture and sell footage to Los Angeles news stations.

During his senior year, Gute produced, directed and shot what he called his “first serious short film” called “Brotherly Love” with schoolmate Andrew Duncan that starred SMHS stage veterans and icons Ian Mills, Kevin Smith and Allie Wucetich.

“It was a dark comedy about two bickering brothers who come to a tragic end,” Gute said with a hint of pride.

Even after leaving SMHS, Gute was a constant fixture at Channel 19, filming community events and pretty much operating the station.

“I’ll never forget former teacher, coach and Athletic Director Mickey McNamee once told me, ‘Mr. Gute, when you were at school here we never could get you to come, but now that you graduated we can’t get you to leave,’” Gute recalled with a hearty laugh.

He also took the occasional Saturday film class Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design.

“That taught me a more narrative minded style of filmmaking,” Gute said. “I really wanted to be the next Steven Spielberg, so it was surprising in the end to focus mainly on documentaries.”

While at Chapman, Gute collaborated with classmates Christopher Duffer (of “Stranger Things”) and Justin Simien, who made “Dear White People.”

He and Duncan then reunited to create a feature film called “College Bound,” a social commentary and comedic look into the college admissions process. The film was an homage to “Damn Yankees,” where a student sells his soul to get into Harvard. It premiered at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and placed at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers annual student film festival. The film included a large group of young people from San Marino who had major parts in the cast and crew and even included a rather forgettable cameo from this reporter.

His first post-Chapman project was a documentary about corruption associated with the Iraq War called “Beautiful Europeans” and marked his entrance into the feature film world. San Marino residents and filmmakers Howard Kazanjan and Craig Darian then helped Gute get a gig at Warner Brothers, where he worked on a host of narrative films. He also found time to help on “The 11th Hour,” another DiCaprio documentary.

“It was a beautiful film about the environment that put me on a different trajectory,” Gute recalled. “I was brought in as an editor, but wound up directing and producing all the social media campaign content in the early days of Facebook and MySpace. I got to work intimately with Leo and was a pivotal part of the production. We interviewed some of the smartest people in the world, including professor Stephen Hawking.”

Simultaneously, Gute produced an improvisational comedy series that was a social commentary of college fraternity life called “The House,” again with Duncan.

“The whole series was shot in a real frat house, which was a challenging work environment,” Gute said. “While the production was crazy, we did something right and predicted that long-form, high quality entertainment was ultimately destined to move from cable television to the internet. The first week of the self-release, we had hundreds of thousands of views around the world and were ultimately picked up by National Lampoon. They released the series on one of their smaller channels and we were about to make a $5 million feature film version of the series.”

But the project was sidelined by the writer’s strike of 2007.

“That threw my career a big curveball,” he said. Channel 19 was also shelved and Gute was left to “re-invent myself.”

“The journey ultimately led me to Europe, where I lived in Scandinavia for several years,” he said. “I enjoyed a good life as an ex-pat directing music videos and shooting stock footage for a company that would sell the materials to the BBC, National Geographic and Getty Images, among others. During that time I made a short film in Estonia called ‘Igatsus,’ [Yearning] that put me in the middle of the Estonian film scene and to this day is the only film I’ve ever directed in a foreign language.”

He kicked around The Industry for several years, bouncing from a project called “Project Los Angeles” that included San Marino High School graduates Reza Mir (Class of 2003), Eric Medina (2005) and Nick Kanelos (2002).

The Occupy Movement brought Gute back to the United States permanently in 2011. Gute and Medina produced and edited a documentary about income inequality, police brutality and the right to protest.

“I was not happy with the economy and government at the time and wanted to make a series that told the real story of the protest without a manipulative voice over,” Gute said.

That led to a documentary series about water pollution called “Confluence.” Originally an investigation of the Missouri River, the series evolved into a massive five-year look at all of America’s watersheds. Gute ended up visiting 48 states to create the film, which is highlighted by an investigation into the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and living in a tent with Native American tribes in Standing Rock, South Dakota.

“During that time we were getting three million visitors a week on our Facebook page,” Gute said. “I have seen everything making that film.”

He also reconnected during the shooting of the film with Kanelos and Eddie Mnoian, a 2005 graduate of San Marino High School and revered drone operator.

Gute was working with Tree Media when he got the call for “Ice On Fire.” After hiring the majority of the crew, Gute led the initial journey to the Arctic, where the team “bounced around on snowmobiles for hundreds of miles in -50º weather while trying not to be eaten by polar bears and filming the receding glaciers” in Gute’s parlance.

“‘Ice On Fire’ ultimately started in the Arctic, but we bounced all over the world highlighting technology that can help reverse environmental pollution,” Gute explained. “We spoke with scientists in Norway, Germany, Costa Rica, and everywhere in America.”

“Ice On Fire” is currently in the rotation on HBO, but Gute has moved on to “Young Turks,” where he contributes as producer, director, camera operator and reporter. Some of Gute’s memorable contributions to that show include exposing “corruption in the 2016 United States Presidential election and misappropriation of FEMA money in post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico.

Steve is the son of Wendy Gute and Rick Gute. He has two sisters and a brother and attended St. Edmund’s, Valentine Elementary and Huntington Middle Schools before receiving his diploma from SMHS. In 2005, he graduated from Chapman with a degree in Film with an emphasis in writing and directing & cinematography and a minor in Political Science.

Gute reserved special thanks for Kazanjian, whose glittering film CV includes such American treasures as “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”

“Mr. Kazanjian was a big influence and helped me realize I wanted to pursue film for a living,” Gute said. “Before that, I had been focused on marine biology most of my childhood and had an obsession with saving the oceans and under-appreciated animals, like sharks. I also wanted to learn how to communicate with whales and dolphins via sonar instead of sign language.”

At the rate he’s going, only a fool would bet that he won’t accomplish it all.

Gute provided some words of advice for those who might find themselves in the position of self-doubt he once occupied.

“Listen to your intuition and carve your own path despite what external advice others may give you,” Gute said. “The landscape of media is in constant flux, there’s no right or wrong methodology and it is inevitable you will need to improvise and reinvent yourself. Develop your own voice, multiple skill sets, and understand all aspects of production and post-production. What is needed more than ever in this era or remakes and replications is authenticity and honesty; stay independent, never compromise your integrity, and lastly… never sell out or give up on your dreams.

The post To the Head of the Class appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

Most loved ones would counsel against such an interaction, but for San Marino High School graduate Angela de Silva, the moment was, as she says, pure “serendipity.”

“I was walking across campus one day and I was stopped by a guy on campus who said he was a talent scout,” de Silva told The Tribune. 

Plenty of cringe worthy stories start with those or similar words, but for de Silva, it was the beginning of a dream, and she hasn’t woken up yet.

It was 2003 and de Silva was studying Sociology at the University of California, Irvine, when her life drastically changed.

“In the back of my head I wanted to minor in Film and was considering becoming a teacher, but I always had this dream of acting,” de Silva said. 

She had been bitten by the stage bug at an early age and attended an outside performing arts program during her days at Huntington Middle School that eventually led her to dance. At San Marino High School, de Silva concentrated on cheerleading and dance, qualifying for the esteemed Dance Company her sophomore, junior and senior years while performing in the annual musicals. Away from the stage, she served as vice president of the Amicians Club and helped organize the winter formal dance as a senior. There, she left a little hint of her aspirations.

“I made sure there was a red carpet at winter formal to honor my Hollywood dreams,” de Silva said with a laugh. 

It worked. 

The talent scout turned out to be legit and over the next several years, de Silva starred in commercials for products such as Honda, Verizon and GE, and appeared in print campaigns for Apple, Canon and Coca Cola. 

“I then started to get some guest-starring roles on network television  shows,” she said. Currently in her late 30s, de Silva still looks half that age, a phenomenon that actually helped propel her career. 

“In my late 20’s I was still playing high school roles on shows such as ‘10 Things I Hate About You,’ ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager,’ and ‘Awkward,’” she said. “I then moved on to shows such as ‘Happy Endings’ and ‘2 Broke Girls.’ Though there were slow periods, the work progressed steadily. I also produced and acted in two online series that did well in festivals and on online streaming platforms.”

Her career plateaud a few years ago and though she had screen-tested with big-named stars for major roles, de Silva was “yearning for stability” when she fell into a lucrative personal shopping/event coordinating job. 

“I stayed for a couple years, and even went to Pepperdine to continue my studies in Business Management, but after some time my anxiety grew and I knew it was because my heart still only wanted to be an actress,” de Silva explained. “That was when I started learning to trust my intuition more, which is what I rely on heavily in every decision I make.”

After fully refocusing on acting, the auditions picked up quickly as de Silva already had groundwork and had forged good relationships with casting directors. 

“I shot a few independent films, and a series for the former network, Go90,’ de Silva said. “I most recently filmed the Halloween special of the number one Nickelodeon Show, ‘Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,’ which will air this October.”

Conscious of her expanding role in the entertainment business, de Silva realized she was as passionate about activism as she was acting. A resident of West Hollywood, she was appointed in June by its city council to serve on the Women’s Advisory Board for the City of West Hollywood. 

“Activism work has always been important to me,” she said. “We help plan many women’s events, leadership conferences and give input to the city council about women’s issues to be addressed to Congress. We also co-sponsor many ‘Women in Film’ Events, and have our annual Women’s Equality Day this Sunday, August 25.”

She also oversees a monthly women’s empowerment group and is in the process of starting a non-profit organization which aims to feed the homeless and provide jobs for people just out of community training programs. But de Silva feels she has reached the pinnacle of whatever political career may exist.

“People joke that I should run for city council or for mayor,” she said with a hearty laugh. 

“But I am not a fan of the election process. I like being involved but I don’t think I want to run at this time. I’m excited to continue to watch everything unfold, and the more I remember to come back to the present moment and have gratitude for what is around me, the more I am able to see all the everyday miracles and really enjoy the journey.”

Her parents, Ann & Jay de Silva, still reside in nearby Chapman Woods. She has a sister, Sandra, and brother, Dinesh, and still considers San Marino “home.”

“I never take for granted how fortunate I am to be following my passions so close to my parents, brother and sister’s families, and hometown of San Marino,” de Silva concluded. “Having gone to kindergarten at Valentine, then all they way to graduating from San Marino High School in 2001, I always feel nostalgic driving through the neighborhoods and on Huntington Drive. Though so much has changed, I’ll never forget the numerous Homecoming and 4th of July parades, visits to the Huntington Library, and so many other wonderful memories. I know that what I learned in those years in San Marino helped shape the person I am today.”

The post Appearing On de Silva Screen appeared first on San Marino Tribune.

On his first official day at San Marino High School, Adam Millan wore a polo shirt from Cooperstown—home to the Baseball Hall of Fame—so he clearly knows how to dress for the part. And if he is able to live up to his impressive resume, the rest of the job might be a walk in the (ball)park as well for the man who will replace Mike Hobbie as the Titans’ varsity baseball coach.

Millan was interviewed and hired at the beginning of the month and was cleared by the San Marino Unified School District earlier this week.

“I am honored and humbled,” Millan said shortly after spending a few minutes Wednesday morning on dewy McNamee Field. “I really can’t explain it any different than that. I am looking forward to the days ahead. I am excited to be a part of the high school and to be the next head baseball coach. Personally, this is the perfect time for me to accept this position and it is perfect timing for San Marino as well. It’s a great opportunity for everyone.”

This past spring, Millan served as a volunteer coach at both Garfield and Roosevelt High Schools while he substitute taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Millan comes to San Marino with over 25 years of experience as a teacher, instructor, coach and player. He prepped at Schurr High School, Cerritos College, and Cal State Fullerton. While at Cerritos, he was a two-time all-American, South Coast Conference Most Valuable Player and a two-time team MVP.

At Cal State Fullerton, Millan played on the 1994 Big West championship team that advanced to the College World Series. He was also an all-Big West Conference selection.

After being selected in the 28th round by Philadelphia, Millan played from 1994-99 in the Phillies’ minor league organization, where he was a three-time organizational player of the month recipient, a 1995 team MVP, and a Major League non-roster invitee between 1995-99.

After his stint with the Phillies, Millan went to play for the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds (1999) and the Long Beach Breakers in 2002. He was selected to all-star teams while a member of those squads.

Millan later coached in the Hawaiian Collegiate Baseball League in both assistant and head roles. He also spent six seasons as an assistant at East Los Angeles College and Claremont McKenna College. His experience as a coach includes all facets of the game as he has instructed pitchers, catchers, batters and has served as a recruiter, as well.

At the high school level, Millan has coached at Bishop Amat, Montebello High School and Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. He has also helped out with school curriculum and non-baseball coaching positions. References describe Millan as “a calm coach who has a mind for baseball,” according to San Marino High School Athletic Director David Irie.

Millan is well aware of the school’s rich baseball legacy as the Titans have won 14 Rio Hondo League championships and five CIF titles. Mickey McNamee, the man for whom the baseball field is named, is enshrined in the CIF Hall of Fame for his baseball coaching exploits.

“I feel like I am inheriting a solid baseball program, one that people really care about,” Millan said. “I want that challenge. It is right up my alley.”

Hobbie went 10-10 overall and 8-4 in the Rio Hondo League this past spring. Under Hobbie, the Titans finished in second place both of his years at the helm as he compiled an overall record of 22-19-1 before retiring from teaching and coaching.

“This is like a professional stadium,” Millan said as he glanced towards the pristine baseball facility. “I am ecstatic to be a part of this. I can’t wait to get started.”

The post Millan Named Titans’ New Baseball Coach appeared first on San Marino Tribune.