Poway, Rancho Bernardo and 4S Ranch students earn collegiate honors, degrees

Many students from the Rancho Bernardo, 4S Ranch and Poway area recently earned academic honors and degrees from universities across the country.

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Three local students were named to the Summer 2025 Dean’s List at the University of Maryland Global Campus. They were Abbigail Little of Poway, Kevin Stevens of ZIP code 92128 and James Strange of ZIP code 92128

To be honored by the campus based in Adelphi, Maryland, students had to complete at least six credits during the term, earn a GPA of at least 3.5 for the term, and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 at UMGC.

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Lisa Dinh of the Rancho Bernardo area graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from James Madison University during its August 2025 commencement exercises. Dinh was among 611 students who received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

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Ellia Samouris of ZIP code 92127 and a Del Norte High School graduate earned a $16,000 Fellows’ Scholarship to Baldwin Wallace University. Samouris is a music theater major.

Over 500 first-year students like Samouris in the Class of 2029 earned a merit scholarship, which combined totaled over $9.4 million. Scholarships are based on outstanding academic achievements in high school. The university’s merit scholarships are awarded to full-time students and are renewable for up to four years with good academic and social standing.

Samouris also was among 733 students who earned named scholarships at the campus in Berea, Ohio. Samouris was a recipient of the E.S. & M.R. Griffiths Scholarship.

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Three students from ZIP code 92127 — Sachitt Arora, Nian Liu and Shlok Rajyaguru — were among the undergraduate and graduate students awarded a combined 2,000 degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology at the conclusion of the Summer 2025 semester. The campus is in Atlanta.

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Aldwin Salazar of the Rancho Bernardo area earned a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity Technology from University of Maryland Global Campus.

Salazar was one of 3,800 students worldwide who earned degrees from UMGC in the Summer 2025 term. The campus is based in Adelphi, Maryland.

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Nicole Leslie Manley of Poway was among over 3,200 candidates at the University of Georgia’s Class of 2025 fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 12. Manley received a Master of Education in Learning Design and Technology from the campus in Atlanta.

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Four locals were among those named to Belmont University’s Fall 2025 Dean’s List. Officials said approximately 55% of the university’s 6,934 undergraduate students qualified for the list by completing a course load of at least 12 hours and earning a quality GPA of 3.5 with no grade below a C.

Those honored by the campus in Nashville, Tennessee were Siena Bacino of ZIP code 92127, Ryan Cavaglieri of Poway, Sage Fikse of Poway and Lauren Littlejohn of ZIP code 92127.

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Jenna Voegtly of the Rancho Bernardo area was among 446 students named to the Fall 2025 Dean’s List at Midway University. To be honored by the campus in Midway, Kentucky, full-time students had to earn a semester GPA of 3.60 or higher.

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Jon K. Engebretsen III, a 2024 Poway High graduate, was named to the University of Denver’s Fall 2025 Dean’s List. To be honored, students had to maintain a 3.75 or higher GPA while carrying at least 15 units.

Engebretsen, a member of the Class of 2028, is an engineering major.

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Cyrus Parsario of the Rancho Bernardo area was named to the Fall 2025 President’s List at Trine University. To be honored, students had to complete a minimum of 12 hours and have a GPA of 3.75 to 4.0.

Parsario is majoring in cybersecurity at the campus in Angola, Indiana.

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Five locals have been named to the Fall 2025 President’s List at Southern New Hampshire University. They are Robert Jahelka of Poway; Kenneth Kakihara of ZIP code 92127; and Tyler Connell, Alympia Howard and Alicia McKnight, all of ZIP code 92128.

To be honored by the campus in Manchester, New Hampshire, full-time undergraduate students had to earn a GPA of 3.7 and above while completing at least 12 credits during the term.

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Laney Norberg of Poway earned two academic honors from Shenandoah University for the Fall 2025 semester.

Norberg was one of 525 students named to the President’s List for full-time undergraduate students who earned a semester GPA of 3.90 or higher at the campus in Winchester, Virginia.

Norberg was also among the 1,195 students named to the Dean’s List for full-time undergraduate students who earned a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher.