Five local students are headed to Stanford University

Stanford accepted six percent of all applicants this year but that number was much, much higher if you hailed from Sonoma Valley.|

Despite the fact that Stanford University accepted a lower percentage of applicants than ever before this year, and was more selective than any other university in the country, five Sonoma Valley students from four different high schools were given a berth in the class of 2020. They head down to Palo Alto for orientation on Sept. 20.

Maddy Libbey graduated from Sonoma Valley High School last June number one in her class. She admits to pushing herself hard in high school, but said, 'I really love the support that every student receives from SVHS and the town at large. There is no intense pressure at Sonoma High to be successful, but there is intense support to students who are looking to be successful. The opportunity and support to be successful and find your passion is here at Sonoma Valley High, it is just up to the student to take it.'

Sonoma Academy graduate Jack Greenberg also spoke warmly about the past four years. He said, 'I really liked the atmosphere of SA. It's a small, laid back community and there's always something going on. There are also fantastic teachers who teach interesting classes, like my favorite last year, American Constitutional Law.'

Kiki Couchman, who just finished four years at Marin Academy added, 'I really enjoyed MA because of the community. I loved all my teachers and formed actual relationships with many of them. My water polo coaches in high school pushed me so much in the pool, but also in my thinking. They taught me that I control how I react in every situation and therefore can change any situation. They also taught me the importance of commitment and holding myself accountable in everything I do.'

Jenny Nova, who also graduated from MA in June, said, 'I greatly expanded my world view at MA and took really unique classes. The school pushed me in ways that, although at the time felt frustrating and difficult, were eventually very beneficial; being around extremely intelligent and hardworking people motivated me.'

Julien Segre, who graduated from Cardinal-Newman High School in June, mentioned his peers as well. 'They kept me sharp by expanding my knowledge on all areas from either the hard sciences or music and film. These are people that I always learn something new from, and I love that about them.'

It's not a shy group. Maddy and Jack spent the past four years competing in weekend debate tournaments and public speaking competitions. Maddy won a state-wide speech competition with $21,000 in scholarship awards and Jack was ranked number six in the nation in Parli debate when he graduated in June.

Most were also involved with sports in one way or another. Maddy ran cross country and track. Kiki swam and played water polo. Jack played basketball and lacrosse. Jenny is a competitive cyclist.

All five keep busy in the summers. Kiki has worked as a swim instructor, as a viticulture intern and started a book club called Becoming Bookworms at Readers' Books for young girls. Jack has also worked every summer, for the past three running a free speech and debate camp for middle schoolers at SA. Jenny tutored and taught classes in computer programming, tennis, and math to underprivileged middle school students. Currently she is interning for a real estate developer, working as a swim coach and she did information technology work at MA.

Julien has both worked and traveled. 'Last summer I spent a month doing a homestay in a small fishing village in Northern Peru, while helping out a small ecological organization,' he said. He returned last week from a summer in Russia participating in a State Department-funded language immersion program. 'These trips definitely pushed me to be more comfortable in unpredictable surroundings and with my two foreign languages,' he said.

Several of the students have pursued coursework outside of their high school. Jenny took coding classes at a junior college and Julien has taken French, Spanish and creative writing classes. 'I have learned how to self-educate on areas of interest,' he said, 'and I appreciate that I have this skill.'

All will live on campus this fall, paired with a randomly selected roommate, in dorms that will be assigned shortly. Kiki joked, 'Maybe I'll get paired with (Olympic swimmer and incoming Stanford freshman) Katie Ledeky!'

Maddy expects to major in political science, and science, technology and society with a concentration in policy. Both Jack and Kiki are leaning toward studying management, science and engineering. Having already taken college classes in programming, Jenny is thinking about either computer science or economics. Julien is considering psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, physics or economics.

All five are ready to start freshman year and excited for their four years as Cardinals. The sentiment voiced by Julien was echoed by all five, 'I can't remember a time when I did not want to go to Stanford.'

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