13-year-old student heads off to college

CONGRATULATIONS- Michelle Vaisman, 13, shakes hands with Zonta Club president Denise Ainai while Zonta Club Foundation president Mary Lou Miller looks on. Vaisman was recently accepted into the Mary Baldwin College Program for the Exceptionally Gifted.

The day before her 13th birthday on Jan. 17, Michelle Vaisman of Agoura Hills was accepted into the Mary Baldwin College Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, a four-year liberal arts college in Staunton, Va.

Michelle was recruited by the Mary Baldwin program based on her high 1,550 scores on the SATs, which she took in the seventh grade through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program.

After receiving a 1,740 on her SATs this year, Michelle was offered a $13,000 merit scholarship toward the $30,000 she needs to attend the program.

The Virginia school enrolls about 70 gifted girls, ranging in age from 12 to 16, from across the country. It is the only residential women's college for gifted girls in the country.

Michelle currently attends eighth grade at the Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles where she is a straight-A student. When she begins college this fall, Michelle will follow her passion for math and science.

Beyond her academic pursuits, Michelle is a violinist in the Harvard Westlake Symphony Orchestra and for three years has participated in the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra, Harvard Westlake Mock Trials and the Harvard Westlake Softball team. Michelle volunteers at the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat and entertains the residents playing violin and piano during an evening art program.

Michelle also was given a $1,000 scholarship by the Zonta Club of the Conejo Valley. The Zonta Club is global service organization of business executives who work to advance the status of women worldwide.

Michelle received the club's Young Women of Merit Scholarship.

"Role models for young women are essential to help them see available opportunities," Michelle said in a scholarship essay that she wrote. "Through these scholarships young gifted women would be able to achieve much more in their lives.

"When they are shown the achievements women have made and the possibilities at a young age, the chance that they will pursue available opportunities increases and I believe that by doing this, the status of women in the United States will advance," said Michelle, who plans to graduate college at age 17 with a major in chemistry and a minor in physics and economics.

- John Loesing