GARDENA — The Greater Los Angeles JACL held “Let’s Dance,” a scholarship and chapter fundraiser dinner/dance, on July 27 at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute.

The scholarship was established in 1992 as a memorial to chapter member Hana Uno Shepard, who passed away in 1987. She was active in the campaign to obtain redress and an apology for Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II.

This year’s scholarship recipients:

Kylie Ngof Mark Keppel High School will be majoring in human biology in order to pursue a career in physical therapy or athletic training at UC San Diego. She has been involved with the National Honor Society throughout high school. For four years, Kylie has been on the Varsity Basketball team, where she was captain for three years and earned CIF Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Gianna Matreauxis a graduate of North High School. She will be majoring in cognitive sciences at UC Irvine. Gianna has been involved in the North High School Saxon Regiment and has earned the 2023 statewide champion title through the organization. She has also been active in her community, volunteering and tutoring with the California Scholarship Federation and the English Language Multicultural Advisory Committee.

Kane Kikunoof Torrance High School will be majoring in business finance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Throughout high school, he was involved in numerous clubs, including CSF (California Scholarship Foundation), JCC (Japanese Culture Club), and Maroon Monsoon. He was also involved in high school soccer while qualifying for CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) for all four years.

Sean Shibasakifrom Bonita High School in La Verne will be an undeclared major at UC Irvine. He has been involved with basketball and golf throughout high school. Sean has also volunteered at a foster home for seven years since he was in fifth grade. He got an internship during the summer before his senior year with the Superior Court in Norwalk, where he got to work with judges and lawyers.

Aoi Takaharaof South High School will study business management and finance at El Camino College and intends to transfer to the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. She has been competing in karate for 13 years, earned her third-degree black belt in her freshman year, and coached at her studio throughout high school. She also spent her free time participating in lots of community service, such as local park cleanups and attending churches to serve hot meals to families in need. Lastly, she skipped her junior year of high school to start her higher education early and challenge herself with additional coursework.

Sasha Tanof Santa Monica High School will study pre-economics at UC Santa Barbara. During high school, she was the vice president and later promoted to president of Zenshuji Youth Volunteer Club. She spent her summers volunteering for local camps and interning at a law firm. Additionally, she trained pre-professionally as a ballerina for more than 12 years at Westside Ballet in Santa Monica.

Jamie Kimof South Pasadena Unified High School will be moving to New York City to attend Barnard College of Columbia University. She is currently undecided on her major, but she knows that her future will involve immersing herself in Japanese culture as a study abroad student and by taking courses relating to Japanese culture and language.

Lauren Masudaof South High School will attend El Camino College with the intention to transfer to a four-year university to study design. She has served as president of her school’s art club and also co-founded a nonprofit creative digital magazine. Lauren has also been involved with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Mobilize program. Most recently, she served as a volunteer ambassador and led discussions on the importance of AAPI involvement in political advocacy.

Ethan Baltazarof Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills Estates will be attending El Camino College in Torrance and majoring in geographic information science (GIS). He played for his high school football team, the Panthers, for all four years, two of them in varsity, and plans to play at the college level.

Emi Yamamoriof Santa Monica High School will study nursing. She was accepted to Drexel University but deferred the acceptance to take a gap year. She was involved in water polo throughout high school and earned the Academic All-American USA Water Polo Proudly Award. She also participated in choir for the last two years. Additionally, she has been working as a volunteer at Providence Saint John’s Health Center for the last year of high school.

The event featured live music by Asian Persuasion, line dancing led by Toru Nagao, a raffle drawing and a silent auction.

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