OUTSTANDING GRADS SENIOR DEEDS BRING HONORS.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE - While they came to California State University, Northridge, with different dreams and aspirations, their shared desire for excellence earned more than 800 students the privilege of participating in the university's Honors Convocation on Tuesday night.

The ceremony, awarding students for academic or personal achievements, was especially meaningful for Teodora Manolova, 20, a Los Angeles resident whose move to the United States from Bulgaria to pursue better educational opportunities seven years ago paid off with her selection as this year's recipient of the Wolfson Scholar Award for being the outstanding scholar in her graduating class.

The award, named after the university's first vice president, prompted her mother Olga Todorova, 48, to beam as she gazed as her daughter received the award on stage.

``What better reward is there for a parent than to see their children achieving their dreams,'' she asked.

Manolova, a political science major, will be among CSUN's first graduates this morning.

The aspiring lawyer said she was grateful for the guidance and knowledge she received from her many mentors at the institution, adding that she plans to return in the fall to pursue a second bachelor's degree in business law. While Manolova has not seen her father since she left Bulgaria, he was in her thoughts Tuesday.

``He's very proud of her,'' Todorova said. ``For her next graduation, I hope he'll be there.''

About 3,000 people gathered at the Oviatt Lawn for the two-hour convocation.

The honorees included graduate students with a cumulative GPA of 3.885, graduating seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better and students with at least a 3.0 GPA who demonstrate excellence in the artistic, creative or athletic arenas.

Among the nine students receiving special awards sponsored through the President's Associates, the Alumni Association and private donations, was 44-year-old Lawrence Johnson, a wheelchair bound paraplegic who received the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from the President's Associates and has set a personal goal of dispelling the myths about disabled students and their cognitive abilities.

Johnson shook his head slightly as he recalled encounters with people who had underestimated his analytical capacity based on appearance.

``I have gone into a restaurant and had a (server) ask the person with me what I wanted to eat,'' he said. ``And I would say, `I'm quite capable of ordering myself and I could do it in two languages.' ''

Johnson, of Ventura, who graduated Friday at CSUN's extension campus at Channel Islands in Ventura, said he has come a long way since a 1989 motorcycle crash that turned his life around.

``I think my self-esteem has gone up from completing this bachelors degree with a 4.0 GPA,'' he said.

The three other students receiving the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award include: Julio Ortiz, Myisha J. Blackman and Gina Garcia.

Graduate students receiving special awards included Bernard Forster Ericka Wright, Marina Croci and Sam Mithani.

CSUN's main graduation ceremonies will commence today. The final graduation ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. Friday.

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Photo: (1 -- 2) Above, CSUN interim President Louanne Kennedy, left, congratulates Lawrence Johnson after he received the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from the President's Associates. At left, Malka Clement, left, and husband Gary, of Sherman Oaks, cheer on their friend Liza Elcayam on Tuesday at CSUN's 18th annual Honors Convocation.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer