The Brentwood Community Council just made its annual Student Achievement Awards.
honoring six high school students who go either to Palisades Charter High School,
Archer School for Girls, University High, or Brentwood School.
One of Brentwood’s early members of the BCC board was Loretta Ditlow, now long
gone. It was her idea to start this annual tradition 21 years ago. Loretta, you are missed but not forgotten!
This year’s award ceremony, held May 14, was especially impacted by the Palisades
Fire, which closed down Pali High.
Many of Pali High’s students – 40% of whom lost their homes – are now attending
classes at the old Sears Building, in Santa Monica. The new location is referred to as
“Pali South.” What a great way to repurpose this empty building! And it all came together so quickly. Bravo to all involved!
So let’s start with the Pali High honorees.
Alessandra Santini started “Pali Strong” in the immediate aftermath and raised
$40,000 for impacted families in the Palisades. Alessandra, who is fluent in four
languages, will serve as student body president at Pali High this coming school year.
Yasmine Santini is Alessandra’s twin sister. That makes Alessandra Yasmine’s twin
sister. Yasmine also attends Palisades Charter High School. Yasmine started
Welcoming Hands LA, a nonprofit that helps immigrant students get settled in at school.
She is on the varsity water polo team and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Pali High
student newspaper.
Ocean Silkman of Pali High is quite the entrepreneur. His auto detailing business
netted a profit of $76,000 last year. He started Build Back Pali, a business-focused
organization helping Palisades businesses recover. His group raised $100,000.
Oona Seppala goes to Archer School for Girls. She started an organization, “Rhythm
for Residents,” which connects student musicians with the elderly, who very much enjoy
the music. Rhythm for Residents wants to help bring about a reduction in loneliness,
which many say is an epidemic. Oona is the multimedia editor at the Oracle, Archer’s
student website.
Amelia Sarkisian attends Brentwood School. Her family’s home in the Palisades
burned down. She has a perfect GPA, is the CIF champion in girls’ cross country, and
she tutors students in STEM. She recently rounded up 1,000 booksthat she will be giving
Away.
Brendon Bowman also goes to Brentwood School. Like Ocean Silkman, he has a car-washing business. He also developed a mobile app called “Lookout,” which gives individuals a way to report coyote sightings. He is a student athlete and boasts a 4.0 GPA.
Carolyn LoBuglio, Amir Ebtehadj, Jane Davis, and Carolyn Jordan presented the
awards. Amir Abtehadj, a Brentwood resident and a recipient of the same award several years ago, emceed the Student Awards portion of the Brentwood Community Council Meeting.
Representatives from the offices of local elected officials – Traci Park, Ben Allen,
Lindsey Horvath, Karen Bass, and Jacqui Irwin presented certificates of recognition to the students.
As I say every year at this time, students like these offer great hope for the future.
Students: Keep us posted in the coming years. We look forward to learning of your continued progress. Congratulations and good luck!
