Belonging at Parker

To celebrate our students' hard work and passions outside of their time on campus, we have created the Parker in the News landing page. Periodically, the page will be updated, and the round-up of stories and links will be shared with the community.

Submission

Parker’s Communications and Marketing Department does its best to monitor news about community members using social listening tools. However, the variety of sources available on the Internet may cause the team to miss a posted feature. Please feel free to share a resource featuring a Lancer here. 

Parker’s curation of this content began on September 20, 2024. Any posted item that predates September 20, 2024, is the result of a submission to our linked form.

Students

•  Zen Parris, Class of 2029, won a violin competition and was featured on Fox5 News and KUSI for his outstanding accomplishments. He was interviewed along with the youth orchestra Director based on his winning first prize in the youth orchestra individual competition (high school all ages)
• Arden Pala, Class of 2027, continues working with his nonprofit sports clinic, Sports4Kids, which hosts sports clinics for low-income, homeless youth. Featured again here and by ABC 10 News here.
• Malia Terry-Voisard, Class of 2028, qualifies to represent the U.S. national team to race "High-Kneel Canoes" in the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Szeged, Hungary.
• Vivi Yun, Class of 2026, is highlighted by Girl Scouts San Diego for championing youth voices and making an impact through advocacy.
• Devina Keswani, Class of 2027, is featured for her nonprofit, Futore Foundation, which helps girls stay in school in Meerut, India. 
• Lexi Lees and Kate Kehrli, Class of 2026, are using their photography skills to help local nonprofits by providing free photography services through their project called "Service Snapshots."
• Ava Halls, Class of 2028, and Sydney Scelfo, Class of 2027, have long volunteered for Feeding San Diego, a nonprofit that provides food to those in need in San Diego County. But this year, the two are stepping up their efforts with a lofty goal: raising $25,000 before June to fund a school pantry in Clairemont. Featured again here by CBS 8. 
• Shounak Ray Chaudhuri, Class of 2026, has founded and is running a non-profit that aims to bring STEM to underserved areas.
• Demetrius Walcott II, Class of 2027, is featured by the San Diego Union Tribune for his performance in Parker's triumph over Horizon Prep.  

Faculty and Staff

• Megan Storey Hallam, Head of Student Support and Wellness, named Board Member-At-Large for the San Diego County Association of School Psychologists.
• Kevin Yaley Ph.D., Head of School, receives CEO Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
• Niki Dehner, Athletic Trainer, highlighted as Sideline Hero Inspiring the Next Generation of Athletic Trainers.
• Sarah Blalock, Lower School Art Teacher, named Outstanding Elemenatry Visual Art Educator by the California Art Education Association (CAEA).

Alumni

• Sanjana Kumar '24 highlighted for the international impact of her passion for environmentalism and STEM.
• Kavish Kondap '24 celebrated for his interest in astrophysics and space travel. 
• Kali Lindsay '08 named president of the board for Emerald Keepers, an environmental organization that promotes sustainability in Coronado.
• Nevan Noonan '22 has made a name for himself in his introductory season on the SDSU Aztec Men's Baseball Team.
• Maliya Patel, Class of 2025, was celebrated for her podcast that is revolutionizing how athletes, coaches, and fans think about mental wellness in sports.

Due to our student recognition policy, Parker is unable to create individual posts/news stories for every achievement of our students that takes place outside of school activities. Thus, this page was created to highlight the achievements that fall outside our policy. If you have questions, please see the policy text below or reach out to the communications team. 

Francis Parker School Recognition Policy

Francis Parker School students excel in many areas—inside and outside the classroom, playing sports, acting in plays, performing on a stage, investing time in their communities, etc. The School will appropriately recognize students exclusively for their school achievements and accomplishments in academic and extracurricular programs.

Francis Parker School students also excel in areas outside of School academic and extracurricular programs. The School may make an exception(s) to the policy and recognize student(s) for their non-school achievements and accomplishments due to their extraordinary nature and/or significance (e.g., individual national-level accomplishment).

Statement on News Sources

Sharing these links is not intended as commentary related to the source providing this information. Francis Parker School curates this list to amplify the recognition of individual community members and does not commit to the values or opinions shared by any linked organizations.

The School publishes its news pieces on francisparker.org and remains committed to an equitable coverage approach that celebrates the whole Parker community and serves as a megaphone for our values-driven community. This dynamic piece is intended to be a piece of the whole, not to stand on its own as representative of Francis Parker School, San Diego.