Closing in on 9,000 Volunteer Hours, Local Students Awarded Scholarships by Kaiser Permanente's Watts Counseling & Learning Center.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Thirteen Los Angeles County students who have been relentless in working to improve their communities and themselves will receive scholarships today from the Kaiser Permanente Watts Counseling & Learning Center. The students will be honored at 5 p.m. at the 2007 Pursuit of Excellence Award dinner at the Hacienda Hotel and Conference Center at LAX (525 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, in El Segundo, between East Mariposa Avenue and East Grand Avenue).

Ranging from $250 to $1,500, the Bill Coggins Community Leadership Scholarship Awards honor local graduates who have overcome obstacles to achieve academic success while also bettering their communities. The scholarship program, named after the Center's founder, was developed in 1997 to provide financial assistance to student volunteers who demonstrate a commitment to community service and leadership. The recipients are all available for interview:

* Jazzmin Cooper volunteered more than 2,000 hours as a school tutor, college peer counselor and organizer for her community's first-ever health fair. A senior at King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science in South Los Angeles, she will go on to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall.

* Cristopher Fuentes-Guzman contributed more than 2,000 volunteer hours to the Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club, and to Medicines Global, an organization that takes medical supplies to isolated spots around the globe. A senior at Jordan High School in Watts, he will attend UC Berkeley in the fall.

* Nora Dabuni logged more than 1,200 hours of volunteer work with the Assistance League of Covina Valley, the American Legion and with South Hills High School in West Covina where she is a senior. She will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall.

* Alma Parada volunteered more than 700 hours at the San Dimas Canyon Nature Center. She is a junior at the University of La Verne, where she is majoring in biology. She plans to become a veterinarian or work in a wildlife refuge.

* Bertrand Perdomo gave more than 700 hours for such organizations as Kids in Sports and the Manual Arts Health Center in Policy Leadership Program. He is a senior at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles and will be attending USC in the fall.

* Sara Lee dedicated more than 600 volunteer hours, teaching Korean to elementary school children at West Hills Presbyterian Church and performing as a dancer and choreographer at the Community Performers Club. She is a senior at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills and will be attending USC in spring 2008.

* Michelle Chen gave more than 500 volunteer hours to the Los Robles Regional Medical Center and devoted time as co-founder of the Students Against Hunger at Westlake High School in Westlake Village, where she is a senior. She will be attending UCLA in the fall.

* Sean Lambert-Diaz volunteered more than 500 hours as the Parks and Recreation Youth Commissioner for the City of Lomita and as an emergency room volunteer for Kaiser Permanente. A senior at the King-Drew Magnet, he will be attending UC Merced.

* Sijin Park contributed nearly 500 volunteer hours at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and at the Burbank High School Key Club, where she is a senior. She will attend UC San Diego in the fall.

* Maria Lassalle volunteered more than 450 hours at the Arts Corps of Los Angeles. She is a senior at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in Los Angeles and will be attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall.

* Christian Browne-Frazier completed more than 250 volunteer hours at Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles and at the New Wave Community Development Corp. He is a senior at Verbum Dei and will attend Texas Southern University in the fall.

* Rosa Gastelum volunteered more than 250 hours at the Rosewood Community Garden and the Arroyo Seco-South Pasadena Woodland and Wildlife Park. She is a senior at E. Manfred Evans Community Adult School in Los Angeles and will be attending Los Angeles City College in the fall.

* Francisco Medina completed more than 200 volunteer hours at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. He is a student at Cal State Dominguez Hills and will attend law school after graduation.

For 40 years, the Center has offered free or low-cost counseling, educational therapy, summer camps, and preschool for families living in the greater Watts area. The families need not be members of Kaiser Permanente to take advantage of the Center's services.

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,919 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at www.kaiserpermanente.org.