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2003 Recipients (current as of 2010)
· Haleh Badkoobehi · Jennifer Pilor Ibardolaza
· Frieda M. Kreth · Felicia Moore-Jordan
· Samorn Selim · Vanna Truong
· Arezo Yazd  

 

Haleh Badkoobehi

HALEH BADKOOBEHI, 29, received her Bachelor's degree in Molecular and Systems Neuroscience from U.C., Berkeley in 2003. She completed her M.D. at Albany Medical College in 2009 and is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Health Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. While her parents were studying in the United States, the revolution in Iran and hostage crisis prevented them from returning to their country. The many experiences of her family as refugees have shaped her passionate advocacy on behalf of children along with a strong desire to aid others through the practice of medicine. In addition to her volunteer work for foster children in Oakland, she spent a summer in Cambodia working at an orphanage founded by a U.C., Berkeley faculty member. Haleh spent a year conducting research on AIDS and its effects on the brain at U. C., San Diego in the Psychiatry Department. During medical school, Haleh conducted research at UCLA in neuropathology. She is planning a career in surgery and has worked and researched at HEAL Africa, a non-governmental organization and hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she was able to provide care to seriously injured children and advocate on their behalf through research. Haleh is now a surgical intern at Harbor-UCLA. She has received two New Leader Scholarships.
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Jennifer Pilor Ibardolaza

JENNIFER PILOR IBARDOLAZA is a 28 year-old Filipina, who graduated with a major in Psychology from San Francisco State University. She and her brother joined their mother in the United States after a four-year separation, during which her grandparents raised her in the Philippines. She spent several years volunteering her skills for a variety of programs which serve disadvantaged inner-city youth while conducting cross-cultural research. She extended her undergraduate education by a year in order to apply for and receive a two-year NIMH funded grant, designed to increase ethnic minority representation in mental health research. Jennifer completed two years of graduate study in the psychology doctoral program at NYU. She has received two New Leader Scholarships.
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Frieda M. Kreth

FRIEDA M. KRETH, 28, received a B.A. in History and Spanish from U. C. Berkeley. Her parents and two older siblings immigrated to the United States from Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge atrocities. Her Khmer and Chinese background have led her to a particular interest in working with Southeast Asian youth to encourage them in their educational development. She spent her senior year abroad studying at the U. C. Study Abroad program at the University of Barcelona. Four summers ago, she studied the Khmer culture and language in Cambodia, engaging in independent research at one of the archeological sites. Frieda worked as a college advisor for the Educational Guidance Center, a program within U. C., Berkeley's outreach Center for Educational Outreach. She also worked as an Academic Counseling Assistant for Project SOAR, a program which serves low income students in the Oakland schools. Currently, Frieda is spending the year in Andorra teaching English in the Andorran School System.
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Felicia Moore-Jordan

FELICIA MOORE-JORDAN, See 2007 entry (awarded a fourth New Leader Scholarship)
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Samorn Selim

SAMORN SELIM, See 2008 entry (awarded a fourth New Leader Scholarship)
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Vanna Truong

VANNA TRUONG, 27, graduated from U.C., Berkeley with a B.A. in Sociology and Business and earned an MBA at Temple University. She and her extended family immigrated to the United States, following the political and economic turmoil of the Vietnamese war. While an undergraduate, Vanna co-founded two organizations dedicated to mentoring and providing leadership training for low income minority youth. She has a passionate commitment to help others avoid the cycle of poverty and disillusionment which were such a large part of her own background. As a senior, she completed a year in the U.C., Berkeley, Study Abroad Program, returning to Vietnam after 20 years. While working for Wells Fargo, she was honored with a $10,000"Volunteer Service Award" for her work at the non-profit agency that provided her with support as an adolescent in a low income community. Vanna was the youngest Board Member of that organization, which she credits with helping her transcend a background of poverty. Until leaving for graduate school, she continued to coach for the Midnight Basketball League, one of the programs sponsored by the non-profit agency that was so helpful to her.
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Arezo Yazd

AREZO S. YAZD, See 2008 entry (awarded a fifth New Leader Scholarship)
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