SUPREME ACHIEVEMENT.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

This one's for the minority kids out there who don't think they have any options, Elena Perez says.

Kids whose parents might not speak English or have much money - certainly not enough to dream of their children's ever attending a prestigious university.

Kids who figure it's not worth the effort because the deck's stacked against them, their future limited.

Kids like her, Perez says. Or how she used to be.

``I hope my success will bring other kids in the Valley to realize they do have options,'' said Perez, 21, of North Hills, who will be graduating next month from Pepperdine University.

Graduating in three years, not four, with a double major: political science and sociology.

Accepted as one of only two college students in the country to intern with the U.S. Marshal's Office this summer at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Admitted to Stanford Law School for the fall semester.

Not bad for a kid whose parents, Imelda and Ramon, never even had the chance to go to high school.

``What's really impressive about Elena is she's not one of those kids with an IQ of 170, where everything comes easy,'' says Nikki Siercks, coordinator for the Police Academy Magnet Program at Monroe High School, where Elena graduated.

``She's a hard-working, goal-oriented young woman who understands what it takes to get things done.''

You start by looking at your options.

Elena was a 14-year-old freshman at Monroe High when she walked into Siercks' office for the first time. A young Latina looking to take advantage of one of those options.

``Elena had applied for the Law and Government Academy, but it was full, so we twisted her arm to come into the new Police Academy Magnet,'' said Lynda Schwarz, assistant principal at Monroe.

There was something about Elena that convinced the two women she was going places.

``She had this genuine feeling and way about her that was so positive,'' Schwarz said. ``She was an absolute leader from the moment she entered the program.''

Exactly the kind of young woman they were looking for, said Roberta Weintraub, a former Los Angeles Unified School District board member who is director of the Police Academy Magnet School Program Foundation.

The foundation has programs at five high schools in the city, including Reseda and Monroe in the Valley. One of its goals is to develop more home-grown police officers, but the ultimate objective is to develop better citizens with leadership qualities, she said.

``By the time Elena hit 10th grade, it was obvious she had the talent and that the police academy was helping her hone that leadership talent,'' Weintraub said.

``We all knew that someday she was going to be our poster child.''

It didn't take long. Elena quickly rose to be cadet captain of the 160 students in Monroe's magnet program, and when she graduated in 2000 she was awarded the Bill Gates Scholarship - a full-ride scholarship set up for minority students.

Pretty soon, those prestigious universities were knocking on her door.

``When they interviewed me, I told them about the police academy,'' Elena said. ``You could see it in their eyes. It was like wow. It impressed them.

``I got accepted to every college I applied at, and I know it was because of the police academy.''

Because of the discipline she learned there - devoting a minimum of 20 hours a week in community service and taking responsibility for your own actions.

But, most of all, it was learning to carry yourself as a leader.

Imelda Perez, a housewife, and her husband, Ramon, a construction worker, say they are very proud of their daughter.

``She's our angel, our No. 1,'' Imelda said.

A poster child for all kids in the Valley who don't think they have any options.

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Photo:

At Pepperdine University, graduate Elena Perez daydreams about her upcoming summer at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer