Four El Sereno arts school students nominated to be Presidential Scholars

LOS ANGELES, CA — Eleven students from Los Angeles-area schools were nominated Thursday as 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Four of those students are enrolled at Los Angeles County School For the Arts, while another three attend Harvard-Westlake in Studio City.

A total of 60 students from 19 states across 10 artistic mediums were chosen as nominees by the National YoungArts Foundation. Next, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars will select 20 honorees, acknowledging “academic and artistic accomplishments, demonstrated leadership, community service and outreach initiatives, and overall creativity.”

“National YoungArts Foundation is proud to nominate these 60 extraordinary artists to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars,” foundation Executive Director Jewel Malone said in a statement. “This past year has brought great challenges to us all, but seeing these artists persevere and overcome such immense uncertainty, change and upheaval has given us all hope. We look forward to seeing what each of them accomplish next.”

The full list of Southern California nominees are:

— Shaman Magic Aponte, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts;
— Ella Fields, Charter High School of Arts;
— Oliviana Marie Halus-Griep, Laurel Springs School;
— Chloe Hoffman, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts;
— Joseph Karz, Brentwood School;
— Kacey Kim, Harvard-Westlake School;
— Michelle Lu, Orange County School of the Arts;
— William Lula, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts;
— Chiemeka Offor, Harvard-Westlake School;
— Allison Park, Harvard-Westlake School;
— Charlotte Sedaka, Viewpoint School; and
— Theodore Taplitz, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.