Elizabeth Quintero, a senior at Woodside High School, has been named the 2006 “Youth of the Year” by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula.
A Redwood City resident, Elizabeth, 17, was one of eight young people nominated for the honor. She represented the Mervin G. Morris Clubhouse in Redwood City. Mr. Morris took part in the selection process.
Elizabeth says going to the Boys & Girls Club every day helped her deal with extreme shyness and serious problems, including her father’s life-threatening illness, a burglary in their home, and, a year later, the house burning to the ground.
After gaining self confidence, she started to excel in school and became involved in community service.
She joined the Keystone Club, a leadership and character-building program offered by the Boys & Girls Club. Through Keystone she attended workshops on leadership skills, networking and public speaking, even attending the Keystone group’s national conference in Seattle.
“If I can do it, anyone can,” says Elizabeth, who hopes to study at the University of San Francisco.
Michael Fister joins leukemia board
Michael J. Fister of Atherton is one of three new members elected to the board of trustees of the Silicon Valley & Monterey Bay Area chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Mr. Fister is the president and CEO of Cadence Design Systems Inc.
Also elected were Carl Guardino of Los Gatos, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; and Norm Jacobi of Sunnyvale, managing director of Marsh Inc.
They join Bill Watkins, president and CEO of Seagate, on the society’s board.
The society currently funds research grants at U.C. Berkeley, Stanford, UCSF and U.C. Davis.
