e-Edition
Get the latest news delivered daily!
Get the latest news delivered daily!
e-Edition
Trending:
Three students from Temple City High School have been awarded more than $500,000 in full-ride scholarship money from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
Steven Shi, Chaney Gao and Nolan Cao’s scholarships will cover the cost of tuition for their bachelor’s degrees as they begin their collegiate and military careers.
“Being awarded this scholarship is truly a dream come true,” Shi said. “The Navy ROTC program will provide me with not only the financial support I need but also the leadership training and discipline that will help me achieve my goals.”
Shi said he is interested in studying aerospace and engineering, and he developed his passion for the subjects through many of the extracurricular activities he did, including Science Olympiad.
“ Really working on a lot of challenges that we face in these competitions has made me enjoy engineering even more and just solving problems,” Shi said.
He was further motivated when reflecting on the career path of TCHS alumnus Steven Lindsey, who graduated from the high school and went on to the Air Force Academy before eventually becoming an astronaut.
”He’s definitely been a big, great inspiration,” Shi said.
Cao will be attending UC Berkeley, with plans to major in Political Science and minor in Economics. His academic goals are to understand the complexities of government, law, and public policy, with plans to attend law school.
“I received invaluable support from my recruiter, Sergeant [Ruben] Sanchez,” Cao said. “His mentorship has really helped me on my path.”
Gao said he had been focused on getting into the U.S. Naval Academy, but was encouraged to apply to the scholarship program by his teacher Amy Sissons, and similar to Cao, marine corps recruiter Sanchez. He found that the program was a good fit for his interest in cyber operations, security and intelligence.
While encouraged by his interest in studying STEM and practicing math and science skills, Gao was hugely inspired by his work as a deputy explorer with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, crediting deputies James Johnson and Mariana Reyes with access to “the most captivating [experience] of my high school career.”
On ride-alongs with officers, Gao offers Mandarin interpretation services as well as assistance with materials such as Narcan, which revives people who have overdosed on opioids.
“It’s definitely taught me to cherish life,” Gao said. “ It really solidified what I wanna do because unfortunately…the world is filled with a lot of negatives. And for me to be able to essentially kind of be a hand of hope for other people, that’s what motivates me the most.”
Gao is still deciding which school to attend for his bachelors, but he knows he wants to use the scholarship as a key to taking advantage of all the clubs and leadership development opportunities available.
”Really it’s just about developing all the skills in college and then applying that in the military,” Gao said. “Eventually it’ll guide me to make the biggest impact.”
Copyright © 2025 MediaNews Group
