CSU AWARD
Cal State San Marcos biology student Oscar Loyola Torres earned the 2025 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, the California State University’s highest recognition of student accomplishment. Students are selected based on academic achievements, financial need, excellence in community service and personal hardship. A San Marcos High School graduate, he is now a molecular and cellular biology major and the first person in his family to attend college. He is a Pathmaker intern at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.
PRESIDENT’S LIST
Hugo Salmeron Catalan of Carlsbad made the summer president’s list at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. The following students made the summer president’s list at Southern New Hampshire University: Emily Drake, Timothy McCoy, John McCormick Shaw and Harmony Marchand of Carlsbad; Jennifer Ramos, Shia Juico and Patrick Harrington of Vista; Rex Kolsky, Rosita Ruiz, Anthony Alvarez and Jessica Thiltgen of San Diego; Dakota Stubbs, Cheyanne Johnson, Nicholas Ryan, Logan Fondren and Avery Bateman of San Marcos; Jasmine Barnett of San Luis Rey; and Daniel Burgos, Amber Dove, David Martinez, Bradley Sanderson, Cassandra Kozick, Ashley Stringfellow, Jarelys Moyet, Jessica Prock Ruiz, Anthony Scavelli, Talitha Hooks, Sarah Zuege, Marissa Diaz, Nicole Gee, Vincent White, Antonio Mercado, Timothy Walsh, James Grimes, Morgan Osborne-Goodrich, Kristian Kirilov, Alexandra Utting, Matthew Tampon, Althea Green, Haseeb Rehman, Jeffery Wymer, Fabian Rey Fernandez and Seo Jin Thiesen of Oceanside.
DEAN’S LIST
Gabriella Bacino of Rancho Santa Fe made the spring dean’s list at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. The following students made the summer dean’s list at Southern New Hampshire University: Kevin Cardoso of Camp Pendleton; Kenneth Kakihara of San Diego; Vichelle Williams and Cristina Anderson of Vista; and Ethan Vergara, Jerome Cruz, Oscar Jaimes, Jacob Welch and Emma Welch of Oceanside.
FASHION SHOW
Lisane Basquiat, co-administrator of the Jean-Michel Basquiat estate and owner of Hera Hub Carlsbad and personal growth company Shaping Freedom, was a special guest who walked the runway for premium sports apparel brand Actively Black on Sept. 12 during New York Fashion Week. She walked alongside her children. Her granddaughter also shared the runway with Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to desegregate an elementary school in the South.
HONORS PROGRAM
Lauren Tranisi of Carlsbad, a biological sciences major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was selected to join the University Honors Program this fall. Students admitted to the program must demonstrate a record of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and involvement in high school, and significant contributions to their community.
CHALLENGE COURSE
Seventh graders from The Grauer School in Encinitas recently kicked off the new school year by completing the UCSD Challenge Course, a series of rope course challenges where they had to work together to accomplish goals set forth by the university’s facilitators.
FATHER-DAUGHTER BOOK
An Encinitas father and daughter duo recently published a new children’s book together. Kevin Russell wrote the book, “That’s Not a Cupcake!” while his daughter, Ryan Russell, illustrated its artwork. The story follows a little girl on a “cupcake quest” where her dad keeps serving up silly surprises — a watch, goldfish, even rhinoceros — instead of a cupcake. The book is suited for ages 2 to 6.
HALLOWEEN TREE
Brick-or-Treat Halloween at Legoland California Resort has unveiled its new Halloween Tree. Standing at 17 feet tall and 12 feet wide, the tree is the park’s largest Lego creation by brick count, and greets guests as they enter the park.
