Science
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Hillcrest High School
Parents: Steve C. and Martha Castilla-Felton
Sandy
"Like all little children, my favorite word was 'why?' Unlike most children, however, I was never satisfied with the answers I was given. My curiosity always made me wonder what would happen if I mixed one thing with another. Persistence and determination have served me well in pursuing my interests. I dislike deadlines, not because of an inability to meet them, but because, in my opinion, the research is never complete. I answer my original question only to discover two or three others somewhere in the course of the experiment, which I want to explore. As with all science, unexpected things happen when I do research. It takes determination to be willing to go back to the drawing board with an experiment for the 'nth' time.
"I can think of no activity that will have a more powerful, direct effect on our lives in the future than scientific research. Research being done today is causing political policies to change to accommodate it. Social norms are transformed with each new discovery. I hope to be involved in future research that will have just as dramatic impact. I love to be able to say I contributed in some meaningful way to something larger than myself."
SCHOLARSHIP: Ranks 25 out of 478; overall GPA is 3.9; 34 composite ACT.
AWARDS AND PROJECTS: Honor Roll; Academic Letter Award; IB Program; AP Scholar with Distinction; National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist; National Hispanic Scholar; Model United Nations; President's Award for Educational Excellence; Certificate of Outstanding Performance on the Iowa Tests; Science Olympiad; Oceanography Summer Camp; Key Club; Ballroom Dance Club; peer tutoring; Youth Leadership Award; LifeStart Village; MESA.