By Helen T. Nguyen and Derek L. Fong, both residents of Los Altos, have been awarded scholarships through the Bank of America Achievement Awards. Nguyen, a student at Woodside Priory School, received a $1,500 scholarship. Fong, a student at Mountain View High School, received a $1,000 scholarship.

Nelson Ching, a journalism student at De Anza College in Cupertino, will work in a summer internship at Newsday in New York City, beginning June 11.

Kevin Lee Vanderbeek of Los Altos graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from Trinity University on May 12.

The Tech Museum of Innovation hosted its 14th annual Tech Challenge for grades 5-9, April 11, in San Jose. The engineering design competition challenged students to design, create and operate robotic devices that could perform designated tasks.

The Best Entry for grades 5 and 6 was awarded to the “Mars Crater Crew” from Bullis-Purissima Elementary School in the Los Altos School District and Addison Elementary School in Palo Alto. The 10th grade team from Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills won First Place for both Best Poster and Best Team Spirit. Third Place for Team Spirit went to “The Men in Slacks” from Castilleja School in Palo Alto.

Amherst College senior, Sonali Duggal of Los Altos Hills, received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Duggal will travel next year to England, Turkey, South Africa and Chile for a comparative study of how home-based workers can improve their income and working conditions.

The University of California at Santa Barbara selected undergraduates Shana Marie Allen, Jessica Erin Dunn, Miles A. Hofmann, Kimberly Ann Ross and Ryan Elizabeth Stern of Los Altos and Maura Anne O’Brien of Los Altos Hills to the winter quarter Dean’s Honors List.

American University named freshman Lara Moroyan of Los Altos Hills to the fall 2000 Dean’s List.

Columbia University announced that David Susman, Julie Ashton and Jane Kim of Los Altos and Jason Burwen of Mountain View have been named to the fall 2000 Dean’s List.

The University of Rochester named Samay Gheewala of Los Altos to the fall 2000 Dean’s List.

Mary Wadden of Los Altos and Anitha Ibrahim of Mountain View will spend their spring semester studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, through Syracuse University’s Division of International Programs Abroad. This program offers credit-bearing study opportunities for SU students as well as those enrolled in other universities in the United States and Canada.

Wadden is a junior majoring in business at University of San Diego. Ibrahim is a junior majoring in information management and technology at University of Colorado, Boulder.

The University of Oregon announced that Cassie Melissa Keller and Daniel Alexander Seddiqui of Los Altos have been named to the winter 2001 Dean’s List.

Charles Dahan, of Los Altos will represent Los Altos High School in the National Extemporaneous Speech and Debate competition scheduled in June at Oklahoma University.