Irvine student wins top honors in history championship
Yesha Gupta, a student from Northwood High School in Irvine, won first place in the individual exhibit category at National History Day (NHD), the largest student history competition in the country, which took place in College Park, Maryland.
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Nearly 3,000 students from across the country and the world presented original history projects in five categories – documentary, exhibit, performance, website and paper – focused on the theme of “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History,” timed to America’s 250th anniversary.
Finalists emerged from local, regional and state competitions involving hundreds of thousands of students.
Gupta’s award-winning project, “The Day Iceland Stood Still: From National Reaction to Global Revolution and Reform,” explored the 1975 Icelandic women’s strike and its lasting impact on gender equality movements around the world.
National History Day is one of the nation’s premier academic competitions, involving hundreds of thousands of students annually. Competitors advance through regional and state contests before qualifying for the national competition.
The full list of winners and a recording of the 2026 National Contest Awards Ceremony are available on the NHD website.
– Submitted by Sandeep Gupta
Yesha Gupta, a student at Northwood High School in Irvine, won first place in the individual exhibit category at National History Day, the largest student history competition in the U.S. (Courtesy of Sandeep Gupta)
Northwood High School student Yesha Gupta receives her gold medal at National History Day. Gupta won for her project “The Day Iceland Stood Still: From National Reaction to Global Revolution and Reform.” (Courtesy of Sandeep Gupta)
Kayla Kim, an 11th grader at the Orange County School of the Arts, earned first prize at the 2026 American Viola Society Senior Solo Competition. (Courtesy of Kyungsoo Kim)
Electronics Technician Nuclear 2nd Class Jonathan Kim, right, receives a commendation from Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, commanding officer of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington. Kim was recognized as the Warfighter of the Week. (Courtesy of U.S. Navy Mass Communication Spec. 3rd Class Juan Cordova)
Electronics Technician Nuclear 2nd Class Jonathan Kim, right, pilots Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington while during deployment in the Philippine Sea. (Courtesy of U.S. Navy Mass Communication Spec. 3rd Class Juan Cordova)
Orange County student wins first prize in prestigious viola competition
Kayla Kim, an 11th grade student at the Orange County School of the Arts, earned first prize and a $1,500 award at the 2026 American Viola Society (AVS) Senior Solo Competition at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious viola competitions in the United States, the AVS competition is held every two years and attracts many of the nation’s most talented young violists.
After a highly competitive preliminary audition process, six finalists from across the country were selected to compete in the final round. Finalists were required to perform, within a 30-minute program, a selected prelude from J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites, a required work, and a movement from a viola concerto.
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Kim was awarded first prize, while David Rankin of The Juilliard School (North Carolina) received second prize, and Sunjoo Lucas Park of Juilliard Pre-College (New York) earned third prize.
Currently, Kim studies with renowned violist Gina Coletti at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. In addition to her recent solo achievement, Kim was also a member of the Doxa Quartet, which won the silver medal at last year’s Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, one of the nation’s premier chamber music events for young musicians.
– Submitted by Kyungsoo Kim
Anaheim native honored as Warfighter of the Week aboard USS George Washington
Anaheim native Electronics Technician Nuclear 2nd Class Jonathan Kim was recognized as the Warfighter of the Week aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).
Kim, a 2016 graduate of Canyon High School, has been in the Navy for four years.
Warfighter of the Week is a command program in which the ship’s captain personally recognizes exemplary sailors selected by their leadership for their accomplishments.
Kim was credited as an essential member of George Washington’s Reactor Department for his unwavering vigilance. It resulted in the successful installation of a massive programming field change, directly contributing to the increased accessibility and security of the network to ensure the ship’s optimum level of mission readiness.
George Washington is the Navy’s premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States’ commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside allies and partners across the Navy’s largest numbered fleet.
– Submitted by Petty Officer 2nd Class Wadelon Presley
The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to [email protected].
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