Los Gatos Patch Whiz Kid of the Week—Gabie Nguyen

Gabie Nguyen, age 16

School: Incoming junior at Los Gatos High School.

Accomplishments:

• Straight-A student.
• Has been skiing and snowboarding all her life.
• Enjoys surfing and rock climbing.
• Plays on the Los Gatos field hockey team.
• Has captained two years in a row for the U16 team in Cal Cup, a tournament in Los Angeles.
• Dedicated field hockey player, practices year round.
• Is the Junior Boss for the Students to Students Group "Be Safe."
• Founded Green Club at school called Fading Footprint and presented in front of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District Board of Education to install energy sub-metering installation into schools.
• Earned a starter grant of $200 for club.
• Helped kick-off school's first annual GreenWeek and recycle book drive.
• Made Varsity track freshman year and helped her team place first in the CCS 4x400 race. Also qualified for the 800 meter.
• Played piano from Kindergarten to seventh grade.
• Volunteers for Special Olympics and enjoys working with people with disabilities.
• Played soccer recreationally and competitively.
• Placed first and third in the speech contests.
• Reached the highest level at "Aerial Tumbling-Acrogymnastics."
• Competed for three years in tumbling.
• Has traveled to Italy, France, and Barcelona.
• Has two sisters. Older, Jacquie, 18, will be attending UCLA in the fall where she'll major in bioengineering. Younger sister, Cassie, 13, is an incoming freshman at
• Cooked through an entire cupcake recipe book (40 types of cupcakes).

Key to Awesomeness:

"Gabie is a very creative, energetic, kind, and enthusiastic young woman. Her positivity and drive to succeed help her to excel beyond expectations," said parents Suzie and Steve Nguyen.

"Her easygoing personality has gained her respect and affection among her peers; as well as giving her a position as the mediator between her two sisters. She is a great athlete and shows obvious talent in writing and working with people."

They added: "Gabie is always willing to try new things. She does not complain and is always one to help others feel better about themselves. She aspires to try many risky activities in her life including sky diving, bungee jumping, and shark diving."