SUNLAND TEEN ON HIS WAY TO OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD GOAL.

Byline: SIMONE SCHRAMM Community columnist

Justin Houchin of Sunland hopes to be the first teenager in space. He took another step toward his goal by participating in the Space Day opening ceremony Thursday in Nova Scotia and meeting pioneering astronaut John Glenn.

Justin plans to fulfill his space-flight dreams in the Solaris X, a rocket being constructed by Interorbital Systems for the X Prize Competition, in which participants are building a reusable spaceship that will fly to an altitude of 100 kilometers, or 62.5 miles.

``I've always been into adventure, looking for the next way to challenge myself both mentally and physically,'' said Justin.

As a teen spokesperson for the Space Day event, he hoped to inspire kids about space exploration, science, technology, engineering and math.

``I want to provide kids with ideas and ways they can do wonderful things in life and eventually make a good living too,'' said Justin.

Justin is also working on his Eagle Scout project for the Boy Scouts by volunteering for Tree People and Narconon, a nonprofit drug rehabilitation program.

Tenth-grader Jorge Lara and 8th-grader Colin MacDonald of Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana won second-place prizes in their grade categories at the National Editorial Cartoon Contest sponsored by Knowledge Unlimited in Madison, Wis.

Jorge won for his cartoon ``Constitution/Patriot Act'' and Colin won for his cartoon ``America: A Great Place To Clean.''

Twelve local students have won $300 Clarice Chaplin Music Scholarships from the 31st District PTSA music scholarship program.

The recipients are:

Ian Anderson, 12th grade, and Robert Best, 10th grade, of El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills; Shawn Hexiang Cai, sixth grade, of Sepulveda Middle School in North Hills; Angela Cross, 12th grade, of Van Nuys High School in Sherman Oaks; Andrew Dunst, eighth grade, of Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks; Auni Hovanesian, 10th grade, of Cleveland High School in Reseda; Greta Kuhlman, 12th grade, and Denise Hsu Leung, sixth grade, of Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana; Kimberly Liu, eighth grade, of Sepulveda Middle School; Hyun Shin, ninth grade, of El Camino Real High School; Eric Spector, sixth grade, of Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth; and Steven Spector,, ninth grade, of El Camino Real High School.

The winners will perform at a concert at SOCES on May 17 at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium. For more information, call [phone].

Six fourth- and fifth-grade students from Woodlake Elementary School in Woodland Hills were selected to be part of this year's LAUSD Honors Orchestra. They were part of a 100-piece orchestra that played at Forest Lawn Hall of Liberty in the Hollywood Hills.

The winners are:

Matthew Clemens on trumpet, Joshua David Fischler on cello, Armin Ghavim on trombone, Sashia Peleaz on cello, Heitzel Orantes on trumpet and Karina Gilad on violin.

Christina Sanchez Camino of Northridge was honored by the Anti-Defamation League with its prestigious Deborah Award.

The awards are presented to women whose leadership, philanthropic and civic contributions exemplify the qualities of Deborah, who in the Book of Judges was known for her courage, wisdom and leadership.