THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605110121
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
IT'S A GOOD THING 18-year-old Cathy Ambler didn't listen to the slackers in junior high when she decided to take some Saturday morning science classes at Tidewater Community College.
``Everybody said, `You're not sleeping in?' or `You're not watching cartoons?' '' said the soft-spoken Ambler, a senior at First Colonial High School, recalling her peers' remarks about the weekend enrichment courses.
Those two years of classes, offered through the gifted program, confirmed an ``addiction'' Ambler had suspected since a fossil dig, egg drop contest and crater simulation in fifth grade: She was hooked on science.
``I like discovering things,'' said the shy scientist, ``seeing why they work.''
Ambler's high school course work is proof of her passion. Since she's been at First Colonial, she has exhausted the science offerings - from honors chemistry to advanced placement courses in chemistry, computer science, biology and physics.
In the fall, Ambler will take her love for the laboratory to the next level when she heads to the College of William and Mary to major in chemistry. And her refusal to succumb to ``slackdom'' over the years hasn't gone unnoticed.
Ambler, 18, was recently named this year's citywide winner of the prestigious Brickell Scholarship, a $5,000 award given annually to an outstanding student for academic achievement. She is the second First Colonial senior to receive the honor in the past three years.
``It was a big surprise,'' she said of the day she got the news. It was last bell, the Tuesday after spring break, when she was called down to the principal's office.
The scholarship, sponsored by the Virginia Beach Rotary Club, is given in honor of Dr. E.E. Brickell, former superintendent of Beach schools and current president of Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Every year, the club gives the ``Brickell Scholar'' title to a handful of students from the city's 10 high schools.
The scholarship committee picks five to seven of the top scholars, and after extensive interviewing, one is selected to receive the Brickell Scholarship.
Ambler met the criteria and then some.
She doesn't go into much detail about her near-perfect score of 1530 on the SAT and a beyond-perfect grade point average of 4.3147. She doesn't even say much about the six advanced placement courses she's enrolled in, including an independent study in calculus - which she's teaching herself.
``I don't have to take all these classes,'' she said. ``I really like learning, and I really like the subjects. I have a lot of fun with them.''
Especially chemistry. ``Watching what happens during a chemistry experiment - it's kind of like putting a puzzle together,'' she said. ``It just really interests me.''
Ambler's guidance counselor, Katherine Reilly, who is head of the guidance department, wasn't surprised by her student's heavy course load. ``That Cathy would be the first student at our school to attempt six advanced placement courses hardly startled me,'' she said. ``Since she has been a student at First Colonial, she has actively sought challenging, demanding courses of study. She is the ultimate scholar.''
Ambler doesn't like bragging about her titles either, which include vice president of the school's gifted advisory board and president of the Chemistry Honor Society and Octagon Club. She's also in the French Honor Society.
She does, however, like to tell exactly who she has helped - another interest of Ambler's. Her dark brown eyes light up and her naturally rosy cheeks turn a shade darker when she talks about fund-raising projects for Habitat For Humanity, Toys For Tots and the Candii House and work she's done directly with children.
On Fridays, she and friend Margo Jacobson teach French to a fourth-grade class at Linkhorn Park Elementary School.
Last summer, she participated in ``ChemEd '95,'' a conference for chemistry teachers at Old Dominion University, by helping in an ``Edible Chemistry for Kids'' class. ``We made ice cream and peanut brittle,'' she recalled, ``and we listed the foods by their chemical components.''
She also taught a PSAT workshop to a group of 10th-graders. ``It was a nice feeling to know people came to listen to me and learn from me,'' she said.
Her involvement keeps her after school, most days until 3:30 p.m., but she doesn't mind.
``I'm really happy with what I do,'' she said matter-of-factly. ``I'm always busy with something. I wouldn't have it any other way.''
Although it's a little early to tell, Ambler plans to get her master's degree, at least, and she wants to do research. She's not interested in preservatives for food or perfumes - the route some chemists take.
She's more interested in merging her two passions. ``I want to go into a career field where I can go into a laboratory, watch things happen and learn new things,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Cathy Ambler, a senior, has exhausted all the science offerings at
First Colonial High and will take her love for the laboratory to the
College of William and Mary where she'll major in chemistry.
Graphic
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BRICKELL SCHOLARS
1996-97 students chosen as Brickell Scholars to compete for the
Brickell Scholarship are:
Bayside - Kristin Fisher
Cox - John Herzke II, Karen Lamoureux
First Colonial - Jason Bernd, Jeffrey Bernd, Jeannette Ortt
Green Run - Duane Prasuhn Jr., Daniela Ridley
Kellam - Brian Felker, Chad Russell, Jaclyn Schottler
Kempsville - Paul Hamilton, Steven Lin, Wendy Williams, Andrea
Wong
Ocean Lakes - Victor Beck, Julia Toth
Princess Anne - Anne-Marie Angelo, Ana Ponce, Allison Snider
Salem - Jeremiah Asercion, Allison Caalim, Nicole Welch
Tallwood - Kristen Cook, Gwendolyn Jordan
by CNB