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Making the Grade

? Elizabeth Diaz, 21

Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne)

Hometown: Melbourne

Major: Mechanical engineering

Notable: Team leader for 12-member project to develop an electric racing car, which won the Florida Electric Auto Association's "Best Design" award in January. The car, which can travel 85 mph, will compete this month at Formula Hybrid, an international design and engineering competition. President of FIT's chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers on campus. Married since her freshman year, she has worked at Harris Corp. during all four years of college.

Plans: Work in robotics or animatronics.

? Sonya Vialva, 21

Florida State University (Tallahassee)

Hometown: Miami

Majors: Social work and creative writing

Notable: Conducted classes on empowerment and goal setting at the Brehon Institute for Family Services, a shelter for pregnant women in Tallahassee. Intern at Florida Baptist Children's Home. Worked as an intern for Rep. Rene Garcia. Copy editor at student newspaper and Edge magazine.

Plans: Master's degree in clinical social work. May run for political office.

? Austin Shaw, 22

Florida Atlantic University (Fort Lauderdale)

Hometown: Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Major: English with a minor in history and certificate in classical studies

Notable: Student body president and student member of the FAU board of trustees. Saul Edelman Memorial Award in history.

Plans: Graduate school at Oxford University in England, where he is one of 50 Americans accepted to a three-year master's in theology honors program. He plans to continue on to a doctorate and teach at the university level.

? Natalia Klosak, 21

University of North Florida (Jacksonville)

Hometown: Mogilno, Poland (until age 13) and Jacksonville

Majors: Biology and chemistry with a minor in public health

Notable: Research on Alzheimer's disease for 2½ years at the Mayo Clinic, which led to articles published in the Journal of Molecular Generation and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Chemistry research with UNF professor Stuart Chalk to design and implement a device to detect harmful chemicals that could be placed in the U.S. water supply as part of a terrorist attack. Presented that research at the Florida American Chemical
Society. President of the UNF Pre-Medical Society. Tutors high school students on weekends.

Plans: Graduate school to earn a medical degree and doctorate with the goal of a career in neuroscience medical research.

? Robert Duvall, 22

Embry-Riddle University (Daytona Beach)

Hometown: Ridgefield, Conn.

Major: Aeronautics with a minor in business

Notable: Earned his private pilot's license at age 17. Works as a first officer (co-pilot) for Vintage Props & Jets, a commuter airline that flies to the Bahamas. Three internships, including one with Continental Airlines. Plays soccer and served as president and vice president of the soccer club.

Plans: Pilot with a regional airline after graduation, eventually moving to a position at a major airline.

? Patricia Mazzei, 22

University of Miami

Hometown: Miami (grew up in Venezuela)

Majors: Economics and political science with a minor in journalism

Notable: Vice president of
the School of Business Peer Counseling Program. Member of the President's 100, a group of student ambassadors who share information about UM inside the university and with outside groups. Co-head delegate for Model United Nations team. Served as editor-in-chief for student newspaper. Website managing editor for School of Communication. Interned at South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Plans: After two more internships, plans to teach in a rural or inner city area for two years through Teach for America.

? Bryson Voirin, 22

New College (Sarasota)

Hometown: Winter Springs

Major: Environmental studies and biology

Notable: Published "The Seclusion of the Sloth: A Journey into the World of Canopy Animals" in the winter 2006-07 issue of Explorers Journal, the quarterly magazine of The Explorers Club. Conducted research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Growing up "my favorite thing to do was to read National Geographic," says Voirin. Assisted in the Jason Project's television documentary on rain forests. Started New College's Tree Climbing Club and launched "Dinner in a Tree," a fund-raising project catered by local restaurants. President of New College Republicans -- "There are only about four of us." Started a sea kayaking club. Named to USA Today's 2006 Academic All-Star team, an annual listing of the top 60 undergraduates in the U.S. Recipient of a Udall Foundation environmental issues scholarship.

Plans: Graduate school on a Fulbright scholarship in Germany. Considering medical school, possibly to train as a tropical-disease doctor.

? Deirdre Foisy, 22

Nova Southeastern University
(Fort Lauderdale)

Hometown: Putnam, Conn.

Major: Athletic training

Notable: Founder and former president of the Athletic Training Student Organization at Nova. Research on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that has become prevalent in athletics. Presented research at the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida's annual meeting. Received second place award in the 2006 undergraduate research symposium for science research for a case study focusing on cellulitis. Member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society.

Plans: Graduate school at Nova to become a physician's assistant.

? Maria DeMaio, 22

St. Leo University (Saint Leo)

Hometown: Palm Beach Gardens

Major: International studies and religion

Notable: Traveled on mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Mexico and New Orleans, working with rural families, orphanages and, in the case of New Orleans, gutting houses. Dean's list, Rhodes Scholar nominee
and Marshall's Scholar nominee. Twice awarded a Sodexho scholarship. Team captain of the St. Leo Lions soccer team for past three years. Chaplain for the Samaritans, a student volunteer organization.
Recipient of the Elaine Evans Spirit of Saint Leo Award, given to a female student athlete who exemplifies the university's core values and community spirit.

Plans: Graduate school for a master's in peace studies or conflict resolution.

? Jeffrey Wong, 21

University of Florida (Gainesville)

Hometown: Weston

Major: Microbiology, chemistry and economics

Notable: Co-inventor with professor Randy S. Duran and two other researchers of a provisional patent on using nanocapsules for drug detoxification. Worked on a National Institutes of Health project to explore how T-cell gene therapy can be used to treat cancer and cardiovascular disease. Recipient of a 2006 Barry M. Goldwater scholarship, a nationwide program that Congress established to encourage excellence in science and math. Beckman scholarship in 2004 for students in chemistry, biochemistry and biological and medical sciences. One of eight Florida incoming freshman selected as a Lombardi Scholar in 2003. President of the UF chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Set up a UF chapter of H.E.L.P. (Helping Every Little Person), which mentors underprivileged children in preschool. While in high school, established an elementary mathematics tutoring program and an ecology program at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Science and Discovery.

Plans: Dual doctorate and M.D. in immunology to prepare for a career in medical research.

? Sorine Anderson, 22

Ringling School of Art and Design (Sarasota)

Hometown: Sarasota

Major: Fine arts

Notable: Director of Ringling's Crossley Gallery, which exhibits works by students, alumni and outside artists. Has exhibited her mixed-media installations at shows locally and in New York City. Interned at the Daniel Reich Gallery in New York's Chelsea district. Worked with the estate of well-known minimalist sculptor Ronald Bladen in a project to refabricate his sculptures for exhibition. Certified as an HIV/AIDS educator and has worked with clients at Planned Parenthood.

Plans: A master's in sculpture and then a career as a working artist or at a gallery.

? Ariel Blue, 22

Stetson University (DeLand)

Hometown: Sarasota

Majors: Communications with a minor in theater arts

Notable: Worked with the Volusia Literacy Council to coordinate adult and childhood literacy programs. Named one of Stetson's eight original Bonner Scholars, awarded for campus leadership and community involvement. Committee chair for Greenfeather, Stetson's campus organization competition to raise money for local charitable groups. Served as secretary of the Black Student Association.

Plans: After a year off to work, master's in communication. Career goal is to work as a television broadcaster.

? Patrick Barber, 23

University of West Florida (Pensacola)

Hometown: Panama City

Major: Chemistry and piano performance

Notable: Co-founder of Canticle, a non-profit classical music group that performs at nursing homes, churches and hospices and for Hurricane Katrina victims in Hattiesburg, Miss. Recipient of a Florida Space Grant Consortium grant for research on power sources and nanomotors and UWF's Morelli-Quinteros Fellowship for summer research. "Music gave me the discipline to do the chemistry," says Barber.

Plans: Graduate school at the University of Nevada at Reno, where he wants to get a doctorate in organic chemistry and eventually work in industry or teach. Hopes to start a classical music group in Reno and continue studying piano there.

? Amit Karr, 21

Rollins College (Winter Park)

Hometown: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (attended boarding school in Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Major: Sociology and religion

Notable: Working on a 40-minute documentary on the homeless in central Florida. "The more I go out there, the more I see the need," he says. Assists in managing The Ripple Effect, a non-profit agency that helps the homeless. Served on Rollins' Leadership, Education and Development Team, which organizes leadership and service programs for 85 student groups on campus. Received one of the six 2006 Excellence in Service awards given by Florida Campus Compact, a coalition of Florida public and private colleges, universities and community colleges.

Plans: After a year off to continue work on community engagement issues, plans to attend graduate school to prepare for a career in student affairs.

? Jessica Schwartz, 21

University of Central Florida (Orlando)

Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.

Major: Sports and fitness with certifications in kids' nutrition and lifestyle and weight management

Notable: Developed TUFF Kids, a physical fitness and nutrition program for three Lake County elementary schools in conjunction with UCF assistant professor Michael Kehoe and the Leesburg Regional Medical Center. Assistant director of MyGym, a kids gym in Oviedo. Worked for three years at UCF's Creative School for Children.

Plans: Continue to focus on childhood obesity by working in the private sector or in a hospital setting for several years before continuing on to graduate school.