– In April, flutist Pavitra Rengarajan, Gr. 9, had the opportunity to perform a solo with the San Jose Wind Symphony at San Jose State University. Rengarajan was the first prize winner of the symphony’s annual Young Artist Solo Competition, and received a $500 prize in addition to being granted the honor of per forming with the seasoned musicians of the SJWS.

No stranger to winning music competitions, Rengarajan has also taken first place in the International Areon Chamber Music Competition, Junior Division; the Flock of Flutes Competition, Junior Division; and the El Camino Youth Symphony Concerto competition. She is also the principal flutist for the El Camino Youth Symphony, the youngest member of the South Valley Symphony and the San Jose Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra’s youngest flutist.

– Harker News has been keeping tabs on Anteneh Daniel, Gr. 12, who was named a semifinalist and then a finalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program’s (NASP) competition for outstanding Black American students. We have now been notified that Daniel has indeed won a prize. He will be awarded a $2,500 scholarship, an award supported by the not-for-profit National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the NASP.

– Christina Ma, Gr. 11, recently won the “Essay” portion of the Asian Pacific Fund’s 2009 Growing Up Asian in America Art & Essay Contest. For the contest, entrants chose one thing they would change to make the world a better place as the basis for their work. For her efforts, Ma will receive a $2,000 savings bond.