As in past years, the foundation honored one senior from each of the FUHSD's five high schools and one from the district's alternative programs.

Katie Chapman,
Cupertino High School

Because neither of her intestines function, Katie, 16, must get all her nutrients and fluids intravenously. She does this through a parenteral, or PTN, pump.

"In the morning, I have to take my PTN pump to school," Katie says. "I have to carry it around for my first few classes, and in between classes, I have to find my mom to take it off for me.

"When I get home, it's going on the pump and doing my homework," she adds.

Katie has used a pump since she was a baby, so the routine is normal for her, even if it can sometimes interfere with her activities.

"It's kind of hard because being a yearbook editor, I have to do a lot of work before and after class," she says.

On the other hand, having to keep such a strict regimen has helped Katie develop the ability to focus on the task at hand. She underwent five surgeries during her first three years of high school and was always able not only to make up her schoolwork but maintain an A average. This is all the more remarkable considering her coursework, which this year includes advanced-placement classes in English, calculus, economics and biology.

Katie says it's been a struggle sometimes to catch up, particularly after she was out of school for a couple of months during her junior year, but it looks as if she'll graduate with her class come June.

"I'm pretty happy about that because I wasn't so sure about last year," she adds. "Whenever I get sick, it's always pretty hard because I miss a lot, but my teachers are really supportive and are always willing to help me out.

"In classes like math, you can't just jump right in, so they're willing to give me work over the summer," Katie says. "It's really helpful to have people willing to help me get back on my feet."

Because her mother is so involved in her care, Katie is looking at colleges in the University of California system as well as Stanford University, where she hopes to enroll as a pre-med student.

"My mom's going to come with me when I decide where I'm going," she says.

Despite her medical condition, Katie sees her glass as half-full.

"Whenever something happens, I want to get myself together as soon as possible," she says. "I can't let setbacks affect me if I want to go on to college and do the things I want to do."

Brian Cramer,
Lynbrook High School

Brian Cramer's dad used to think that special education classes were for less intelligent students, but his son disabused him of that notion. The elder Cramer, also named Brian, speaks with pride of his son's scholastic and athletic achievements.

"His processing skills are a little slower, so he gets extra time on tests, but he's been on the honor roll since his freshman year," Cramer says, adding that the 17-year-old maintains a 3.0 grade point average in Lynbrook's alternative education program.

"He worked his butt off for that," says his dad. "Lots of times on weekends, he's home studying. Girls are a distraction, so it's kind of good that he doesn't have a girlfriend yet."

Despite his son's stutter, Cramer says, Brian is looking at a career in politics.

"He's got lots of goals," Cramer adds. "The sky's the limit at this point."

Brian's academic record has made him eligible for several scholarships, his dad says, and his prowess on Lynbrook's football team, where he plays on the offensive line, might open the door to several more.

"He's the fast kid on the team," Cramer says.

Cramer is grateful that a middle school teacher identified problem areas for both Brian and his younger brother and set out to help correct them.

"If she hadn't picked up on my kids' learning disabilities, they might not be doing as well as they are," he says.

Cramer is pleased that the FUHSD foundation recognized the same qualities he sees in his son.

"He was honored for having a great all-around attitude," says the proud father.

While Brian credits his father, a single parent, with helping him learn the importance of being a good person and applying effort to achieve goals, he downplays his own accomplishments.

"I know that I have been able to consistently get good grades, but that is something that should be expected," he says. "I believe my major accomplishments are going to be later in my life, depending on the choices that I make. These years are just the catalyst to my future. The things I'm doing now will either make me or break me.

"I am a long way from where I want to be," Brian adds. "Once I graduate from college, I'll go from there."

David Lewis,
Homestead High School

For David, moving from the special education program to mainstream classes at Homestead was "all-around hard work." The 18-year-old uses the mythology and folklore class he took last year as an example.

"Myths are hard to understand," he says. "You have to read over it so many times. I'm not really good at English."

With a little help from special education teacher Ken Flanagan, David's persistence paid off.

"We read a lot in his class," David says. "That's how I got better. If we misunderstood something, we'd go back over it."

His father's diabetes made it more difficult for David to stay focused on his studies. He helped his family provide home care for his father, who recently passed away. David also did maintenance work on a San Francisco apartment building his family owns.

"It added a lot more pressure and stress," David acknowledges. "It's hard, but you've just got to get through it. I knew I wasn't alone, and that's what kept me going."

David's family continues to be a source of support and inspiration. He says he'd like to follow in his brother Ishmael's footsteps and work at a car dealership. With that goal in mind, he'll enroll in the automotive technology program at De Anza Community College next fall.

Scott Marshall,
Monta Vista High School

Given that his interest in computer science dates back to elementary school, it's not surprising that Scott wants to major in the subject in college. At Monta Vista, Scott helped maintain the school's computer labs and upgrade its Internet servers. One of those upgrades keeps his fellow students from accessing inappropriate software from school computers, something the 18-year-old says he did to lighten his own workload.

"It was a benefit to me because I didn't have to eliminate other students' downloads anymore," Scott adds. "Most students don't know I'm the one who runs the computer lab, so I didn't hear any complaints directly."

Scott has few complaints about his health despite being born with only one kidney, which was damaged. When he was 8, his mother donated one of her kidneys for a transplant. Aside from being hospitalized with pneumonia as a sophomore, Scott says he hasn't had any major health problems since the surgery.

"I have to take medication every day so I don't reject the kidney," he adds. "I'm more prone to getting sick, and it's harder for me to get over stuff."

Scott says he'd like to continue offering technical assistance at whatever college he attends, perhaps in his dorm's computer lab. He intends to study computer engineering.

"While I do enjoy programming," he says, "I don't think I want to spend my entire career writing code. I'd rather develop hardware and integrate it with software."

Scott says he has no problem working with the adult computer technicians at Monta Vista to overcome setbacks.

"I'm usually pretty good at communicating with other people," he says. "I'm able to share the knowledge I have so that everyone can come up with a solution pretty quickly. I'm interested in making sure it works today and after I leave high school."

Filip Novachkov,
Fremont High School

He knew just a few words of English when his family moved to Sunnyvale from Bulgaria two years ago, but Filip found common ground with his peers on the wrestling mat at Fremont High School.

"It was a little hard for me in the beginning," Filip says, "but being on the wrestling team helped me make friends."

Filip, 18, and his younger brother, Boris, had each won a couple of freestyle wrestling titles in their native country, and they've continued to excel on the Fremont team. Filip, a two-time Central Coast Section champion, narrowly lost his match in the state finals this year.

Filip plans to study engineering in college, and his wrestling skills and 4.0 grade point average have attracted the attention of Stanford University and Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, among others.

Before he starts college next fall, Filip will spend the summer in Bulgaria. He says the honor from the FUHSD foundation will be a nice thing to share with family and friends there.

"It felt great," he says. "I didn't expect to get this recognition."

Holly Nyple,
Lynbrook High School

As a third-grader, Holly read a Nancy Drew mystery in which one of the characters was raising a guide dog. The idea so inspired Holly that she began volunteering at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael when she was in sixth grade. She has since raised two guide dogs and edits a newsletter for her guide dogs group.

One of the dogs Holly raised is working with a visually impaired man in Los Angeles. The other ended up as her pet, thanks to a temperament that kept him from becoming a guide dog.

"He was never one to always listen," Holly says. "Our teacher told us that smart dogs graduate [from the program], but the very smart ones don't."

Holly's involvement with Guide Dogs for the Blind led her to volunteer at two organizations that assist blind youth: Palo Alto's Vista Center and San Francisco's Blind Babies Foundation. The 17-year-old, who has performed with the California Theatre Center's youth conservatory since third grade, wants to introduce acting to visually impaired teens at the Vista Center.

"I'm hoping that happens before I graduate so I can get my high school drama buds to help me," she says.

Holly is helping direct some of her drama buddies in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Lynbrook's fall play. She says she prefers being on stage to being behind the scenes.

"I really enjoy performing," she says. "As a director, you have to figure out how you perform and tell the actors how to connect with their characters."

Holly would like to combine her two passions in college, majoring in speech pathology or blindness rehabilitation for infants at a school with "a semi-large drama department."

Holly manages to balance all her activities with her schoolwork, maintaining a 3.9 grade point average with a course load that includes honors classes in chemistry, physics and Spanish and advanced-placement classes in English and government.

"I try to work out ways to include what I love the most," she says of her schedule. "Although I'm busy, I don't regret participating in any of the activities I've done so far, except the SAT."