Issue 2: Summer 2005 Quarter - June 2005

EEP Names in the News

Congratulations Graduates!

Congratulations to the 2005 graduates! Fifteen EEPsters received diplomas on June 11th: Katherine Chuang (19, computer science), Siraj Gibani (19, biology), Andrew Greene (19, computer information systems), Mindi Hillman (22, liberal studies), Jesse Hsieh (19, psychology), Jordan Kubicki (19, psychology). Karen Kuo (19, business administration), Geoff Lancaster (23, history), Nina Lu (20, biology), David Nguyen (19, biology), Brandon Pancost (19, computer science), Dominique Roberts (18, political science), Jonathan Roberts (19, electrical engineering), Frank Sy (18, biochemistry), and Jackson Vane (21, biology). A hearty congratulations to you all, best wishes in the coming year, and please stay in touch! Click here for the complete article, with information on their future plans.

EEPsters in the News. Congratulations to all the EEPsters in the news!

• Andre P. was tapped as "Senior of the Year" by the Alumni Association at CSULA. What a fantastic honor! There will be a formal presentation of this honor October 10th!
  
• GE Honors 2005-2006 Board of Directors: President Catherine T, Vice President-Internal Swapneel P., Vice President-External Chris L, Treasurer Jennifer C, Recording Secretary Claire W. and Social Secretary Winny S - all EEPsters! Congratulations.
  
• David Nguyen has been awarded a Phi Kappi Phi Graduate Fellowship for the 2004-2005 academic year -- one of only 60 students nationwide to receive the $5,000 Graduate Scholar Award! Click here for complete article.
  
• Michelle M. and Geoffrey Y. were selected for an undergraduate research internship at Cornell University School of Medicine. Natasha S. and Ron M. were selected to join a CSULA environmental research team heading to Alaska for data collection. Helen N. was selected to an internship in Senator Barbara Boxer's LA office.
  
• Jackson Vane was named the Joyce Bourke EEP Graduate of the Year with a $150 dollar award and will attend the Roseland Franklin School of Applied Medicine in Chicago
  
• Charissa S. was awarded the Michael Roffe Scholarship for $500 as the outstanding Psychology student of 2004-2005
  
• Chris H. has been honored as a Phi Beta Kappa inductee, named to the National Deans List and to the Who's Who Among American College Students! Congratulations!
  
• Myle O. was granted early acceptance to the doctoral program in computer sciences at UCLA, is a Phi Beta Kappa inductee, named to the National Dean's List, and won a CSULA Alumni Association Certificate of Honor.
  
• Vanessa Sheldon (CSULA '01) received a doctor of musical arts degree in harp performance, becoming one of the youngest students to ever receive a doctorate from the University of Arizona. Click here for the complete article.
• James Walker (CSULA '01) received a master's degree in environmental hydrogeology, Jon Rheuben (CSULA '03) received a master's in biology, and Joe Viola (CSULA '03) received a master's in mathematics and will be attending UCLA's mathematics Ph.D. program in the fall. Click here for the complete article.

Provies and Mentors. Thirty amazing EEPsters have signed up as mentors this summer -- several returning mentors, and many new ones as well. A hearty thank you to all (and their supportive parents), for all the time and effort you will be spending with the 88 Provies. Special thanks are extended to the Head Mentors: Herbert L., Samantha H., Jackie L-Z and Winny S and the Mentor Team leaders Laura P., Cat T., Kevork A., Joyce H., Lei Z., Chris H., Clare K., Leslie C., Amanda J., and Justin P. A sincere thanks is also due to the PEEPs who organized our 2005 Orientation meeting: Chris Greene, Laurie O'Brien, Ron Masson and Kathy Miller -- click here for highlights of the May 19th orientation evening.

Foreign Studies. Paisley K. will be attending Oxford University in England next year and Alegra L. will be attending the American College at Dublin in Ireland. Both promise to be lifetime experiences, and we look forward to hearing all about it when they return! CSULA has an "International Programs and Services" department (click here) with study-abroad opportunities at 150 U.S. colleges and in 17 foreign countries.

Rich Maddox - Again Named to Who's Who. Director Rich Maddox was nominated for the CSULA Outstanding Staff Award 2005 and was again named to the Who's Who Among America's Teachers list. Congratulations, and well-deserved!

Office Volunteer Still Needed. In August, Rich will begin his three-year quest for his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at USC. The plan calls for his leaving early one day a week (~2:30 pm) and coming in late the next day (~9 am) with PEEP volunteers serving as the responsible adult presence in the Lounge, late afternoon hours. He will be going to classes in the evenings and will be in the EEP Lounge as usual as much as possible, Monday-Thursday, 6:30 am-4:30 pm. To volunteer to help, email Rich directly.

Still Looking for a parent volunteer for the EEPC. Is there a PEEP who is interested in volunteering to serve on EEPC's Judiciary and Disciplinary Committee? The parent member would correspond with the committee via email or telephone so the position isn't too time consuming. If any parent is interested and wants to volunteer or get more information, please email Samantha L. directly, EEP Club Vice-President. Thanks!

EEF Website with Alumni Database and PEEP Yahoo Group. Check out the EEF website continuously updated with tons of useful links and information -- news articles, future events, summaries of meetings you had to miss, links to past newsletters, gifted resources, fun photos, EEP newsclips and more! The website will soon link to the new EEP alumni date base too (thanks to recent graduate Drew Greene), which will allow alumni to stay in touch with each other and report on important events in their lives -- expect this new feature to be operational this summer! You will especially enjoy our new private Yahoo PEEP group, also linked from the EEF website, which contains a private PEEP roster -- email directory and city -- so you can form a carpool or just get in touch with other PEEPs!

EEF Financial News

Three new extra-sturdy tables and 18 chairs!!

New furniture and lockers too! Besides the new computers we bought and installed over spring break, the annual giving donations are being used for new furniture and lockers too. Check out the new extra-sturdy just-arrived tables and chairs! Now we are working with Rich to buy some of the new lockers he wanted with the balance of this year's donations. Many generous parents participated this year and our donations have reached 50% of our optimistic goal -- we've now reached over $14,000 for the year. It's never too late -- our fiscal year ends June 30th -- so you can still put that check in the mail (Early Entrance Foundation, 16311 Ventura Blvd. Suite 1298, Encino, CA 91436). We really would like a contribution from EVERY family, whatever the amount, so we can show a great level of support when we ask for grants. Oftentimes, the amount of funds granted are based on the level of parent participation, so every gift is very important. With questions, email PEEP Ned Fenton. Thanks to all!

Foosball too!!

Electronic Scrip Update. It's also never too late to sign up your grocery cards (not charge cards, just grocery club cards), for your family or even your friends and relatives too, and EEP gets a percentage back on all the grocery purchases. If you have no charitable organization specified on your cards, the stores just keep all the money. We would love to add this money in for Rich's wish-list, so if you haven't done it already, you can sign yourself up online (click here) or call PEEP Donna Hay at 818/905-6249 or PEEP Shelley Kadison at 310/246-9060 for more information.

Upcoming Events for EEP Families

Summer Quarter begins Monday, June 20th! Dates of interest for this quarter are:

Annual Catalina Island Camping. Summer's hardly begun and it's already time to start planning for the end-of-summer Catalina trip?! Send your $140 ($125 trip costs and $15 security deposit -- payable to PEEP/EEP) in soon (by Monday, August 1st - revised date) to reserve your EEPster's spot, and click here to get that handy reference sheet on what to pack, maps and specific times! September 8th will be here before you know it!

New Parent Welcome Brunch. Calling all PEEPs! We hope all PEEPs will join in on this special annual event on Sunday, October 9th, 11 am - 1:30 pm at CSULA's Golden Eagle Ballroom, to welcome the new PEEPs. A delightful buffet brunch, prepared by Golden Eagle chefs at a cost of $20 per person, will be served. We will need to provide a final count to CSULA a week before the event (October 3rd), so please put the event on your calendar now, and watch out for the formal invitation which will be mailed in September. A guest speaker is planned for this informal mixer where all our PEEPs will get a chance to mingle, to renew old friendships and make new ones.

Winter WPCT. It's never too early to update your calendar! The annual WPCT and PEEP meeting will be Sunday, December 4th. The meeting is 10:00-11:30 am, followed by the 1:00-4:15 pm testing for prospective EEPsters. Did you miss the last PEEP meeting on April 17th? Don't feel left out -- click here for a summary of the highlights! And, if you know of potential EEP candidates, please refer them to the EEP office 323/343-2287 or to the EEP website. More details will follow in the next newsletter. And we will plan to accept donations for ebay sales too -- if you're doing any summer or fall cleaning!

EEΠX Store

Yearbooks, Sweatshirts, T-shirts and More! We have it all! You and your EEPster can even order these items by email from home:

Lemonhead t-shirt, yearbook and license plate frame

• Lemonhead T-shirts - just send your EEPster in with $10 cash or check ("EEP Club"). Want to check out sizes available or have a question? Email the EEΠX or call 323/343-5488 and leave a message for April E. or Catherine T.
  
  
• License Plate Frames - Show off your EEP pride on your car! The top part says "Early Entrance Program" and the bottom part says "We're Better Than You!" The frames are black with bright yellow lettering, and cost only $5 each. Where else can you have so much fun for just $5? Buy for the front or back for all your cars!
  
  
• Yearbooks - Wow! The amazing EEP yearbooks sold out in just two days! Your EEPster certainly won't want to miss out on this heirloom! But don't fret with worry over missing the boat -- it is available on dvd, and the EEPC may be able to yet order some more hard-copies -- $35 for the yearbook, and only $15 for the dvd of everlasting memories of the 2004-2005 school year, with a special combo price of just $40 for both. Email the yearbook editors April E. or Catherine T. ASAP for hard-copy yearbooks, or for more information.
  

  Just a few EEΠX sweatshirts left, so hurry!

• Sweatshirts in June? Yes, it will get chilly before you know it! Only $20 for this black-that-goes-with-everything sweatshirt with the oh-so-cool-EEΠX-logo available in S, M, L and XL sizes. You know the drill -- just send your EEPster in with cash or a check made out to "EEP Club." Hurry, hurry, hurry -- while quantities last! And this is for high-quality one-of-a-kind sweatshirts! What a bargain!
  
  
• Rings - EEP class rings, available for 4th year students and graduates, have an EEP logo (pdf drawing) designed by April E. and the insignia of the student's major and year of CSULA graduation. You can get an idea of what the rings will look like at the Jostens website or come to the EEP office and see one! The rings cost $398 for the women's 10K white or yellow gold, and $451 for the men's 10K white or yellow gold (expensive, but actually slighter lower than the national average class ring cost).

Upcoming CSULA Events of Interest for EEP Families

Popsicle & Snow Cone Days All EEPsters will love to cool off on campus with free snow cones and popsicles:

Enjoy discount tickets at the Luckman

Very Early Pictures. For those of us who have ever looked at a work of art and thought, "my six-year old could do that," comes a large group exhibition of drawings by famous and not-so-famous artists made between the age of 2-16 years. Very Early Pictures examines the relationship between the creative work of children and the activity of adult artists, a subject first posed by Baudelaire and explored by artists such as Picasso, Klee, and others. Now through July 23rd at the Luckman Gallery.

Free concerts! Students in CSULA's three-summer Master of Music degree program in Choral Conducting will perform in these programs. Music by: William Byrd, Henk Badings, Franz Joseph Haydn, Johannes Brahms. This event is part of a three-summer Master of Music degree program in Choral Conducting. Admission to the concerts is free. Call the CSULA Music Department at (323) 343-4060 for more information. Saturday July 30th, Friday August 5th and Saturday August 6th at 7 pm in the Music Hall.

The Luckman is quiet during the summer months, but many exciting events are planned starting in the fall. Visit the CSULA online calendar of events to see all offerings on campus.

Articles of Interest

Early Start - Gifted Education Communicator, Fall/Winter 2003, by Richard S. Maddox. An article for the CAG Journal describing the EEP Program at CSULA. "It is reasonable, if not absolutely necessary, to understand that such a program is not the right choice for all highly gifted students but it is viewed by the majority of EEP alumni as the only choice that would have allowed them to reach their potential as scholars and as people." Click here for complete article.

Over 50 and Out of Favor - LA Times, May 10, 2005. Advertisers and thus tv networks are fixated on 18-49 year olds, but aging baby boomers say they shouldn't be taken for granted. Click here for complete article.

Our Kids Are Not Doomed - LA Times, May 9, 2005. For the last 30 years, rising rates of youth violence, substance abuse and suicide have been blamed on two social pathologies: divorce and unwed motherhood. We have been told that unless we can reverse the tide of family dysfunction, these trends will engulf us. Click here for complete article.

At 50, Disneyland Boots Up Its Quest for the Fountain of Youth - LA Times, May 1, 2005. Disney scientists and designers are working overtime to appeal to the Internet generation. The goal: to make the park's next half century as profitable as its last. Click here for complete article.

We need cure for 'senioritis,' governors say - USA Today, April 18, 2005. Governors in at least nine states are pushing broad-based initiatives to overhaul the senior year of high school. They say the second half of the year in particular wastes students' time and taxpayers' money. Click here for complete article.

For a link to all articles Rich has clipped, to learn about serendipity, "crispies," the meaning of life, identity theft, teens' brains and more, click here!

Links of Interest, Past Issues, Contact Information