antiquity
01-25-2003, 01:51 PM
Jacinda Chan has a 3.87 GPA and belongs to the National Honor Society. Her dream is to become a diplomat. "I want to make a difference in the world," she says.
Sacramento Bee/Owen Brewer
Profile: No fear
Jacinda Chan is getting ready to take on the world
By Greg Kane -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, January 24, 2003
Jacinda Chan is a typical successful teenage girl. She is often buried in a book -- she carries a 3.87 grade-point average -- she surfs the Internet and hangs out in chat rooms. Like many of her classmates, she hopes to attend college in the fall.
Jacinda is just another student at Kennedy -- except for one thing. The 18-year-old senior has been quadriplegic since birth. While using a motorized wheelchair and a ventilator, she has worked to become one of the top students in her class.
"I don't like people feeling sorry for me," Jacinda says. "It is a part of my physical body, but it doesn't really have anything to do with who I am."
Jacinda has attended public school all her life. Through the years, she has worked hard to stay ahead in her studies because her condition leaves her susceptible to illness and causes her to miss school for long periods, says her mother, Helanie Chan. With the school year only half-finished, Jacinda has already taken two of her finals.
"She's working on everything early, in the event that she does get sick," her mother says.
At school, Jacinda is a National Honor Society member who excels at science and mathematics. Her favorite class, however, is English -- though she sometimes prefers literature courses over the writing class she's currently taking.
"It depends on what I'm writing," Jacinda says.
Attending a school with multiple floors can be a challenge, Jacinda says. In September, the elevator in one of the buildings on the Kennedy campus went on the fritz, and it took a while to be repaired.
Teachers and students who usually would have been in upper-floor classrooms moved downstairs so Jacinda could participate in classes, Helanie Chan says. "The teachers were kind enough to switch classrooms," she says. "All the kids were very supportive, too."
Kennedy counselor David Drotts says Jacinda is ranked 11th out of 606 students in her class. To achieve such a ranking is amazing, considering how much harder she has to work, he points out.
"Understanding a little about what she goes through every day, she's a pretty amazing girl," Drotts says.
Like other seniors, Jacinda has her eyes on leaving home after graduating. She has applied to five universities, including the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Davis, and Pepperdine University in Southern California.
The south state sounds good to Jacinda. "I want to go to Pepperdine, but my mom thinks it's kind of far," she says.
Wherever she goes, Jacinda wants to earn a degree in rhetoric, which she would put toward her dream of becoming a diplomat. She's not sure what country she would like to work out of -- maybe France, since she's always wanted to go there -- but the location isn't important as long as she can achieve her ultimate goal.
"I want to make a difference in the world," Jacinda says.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/5973887p-6932488c.html
Sacramento Bee/Owen Brewer
Profile: No fear
Jacinda Chan is getting ready to take on the world
By Greg Kane -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, January 24, 2003
Jacinda Chan is a typical successful teenage girl. She is often buried in a book -- she carries a 3.87 grade-point average -- she surfs the Internet and hangs out in chat rooms. Like many of her classmates, she hopes to attend college in the fall.
Jacinda is just another student at Kennedy -- except for one thing. The 18-year-old senior has been quadriplegic since birth. While using a motorized wheelchair and a ventilator, she has worked to become one of the top students in her class.
"I don't like people feeling sorry for me," Jacinda says. "It is a part of my physical body, but it doesn't really have anything to do with who I am."
Jacinda has attended public school all her life. Through the years, she has worked hard to stay ahead in her studies because her condition leaves her susceptible to illness and causes her to miss school for long periods, says her mother, Helanie Chan. With the school year only half-finished, Jacinda has already taken two of her finals.
"She's working on everything early, in the event that she does get sick," her mother says.
At school, Jacinda is a National Honor Society member who excels at science and mathematics. Her favorite class, however, is English -- though she sometimes prefers literature courses over the writing class she's currently taking.
"It depends on what I'm writing," Jacinda says.
Attending a school with multiple floors can be a challenge, Jacinda says. In September, the elevator in one of the buildings on the Kennedy campus went on the fritz, and it took a while to be repaired.
Teachers and students who usually would have been in upper-floor classrooms moved downstairs so Jacinda could participate in classes, Helanie Chan says. "The teachers were kind enough to switch classrooms," she says. "All the kids were very supportive, too."
Kennedy counselor David Drotts says Jacinda is ranked 11th out of 606 students in her class. To achieve such a ranking is amazing, considering how much harder she has to work, he points out.
"Understanding a little about what she goes through every day, she's a pretty amazing girl," Drotts says.
Like other seniors, Jacinda has her eyes on leaving home after graduating. She has applied to five universities, including the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Davis, and Pepperdine University in Southern California.
The south state sounds good to Jacinda. "I want to go to Pepperdine, but my mom thinks it's kind of far," she says.
Wherever she goes, Jacinda wants to earn a degree in rhetoric, which she would put toward her dream of becoming a diplomat. She's not sure what country she would like to work out of -- maybe France, since she's always wanted to go there -- but the location isn't important as long as she can achieve her ultimate goal.
"I want to make a difference in the world," Jacinda says.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/5973887p-6932488c.html