El Toro High School graduate Joel Kattapuram has already armed himself with the tools to become a tech tycoon.
The 17-year-old, who graduated as class valedictorian with a 5.0 GPA, already has a paid job helping create hardware for the graphical processing of cryptocurrency mining so it can be later analyzed.
That basically means he’s working to create a system for investors looking to buy Bitcoin and other types of digital currency.
The Orange County Register chronicled Kattapuram’s accomplishments both outside and inside the classroom.
“There’s a dimension where I’d like to make money,” he told the Register. But he also points out, “I’d like to make my mark on the world helping others.”
When his family returns to visit friends and relatives in India, instead of celebrating with parties they volunteer at orphanages or homeless shelters and sponsor meals.
For his Eagle Scout project, he examined the landscape at his church, and determined water could be saved by tearing out invasive weeds, planting drought-tolerant and native plants and installing a drip irrigation system.
Here are some other articles from across the region for the week ending June 14.
- During the 2017-18 school year, an art teacher from Portola Middle School inspired the student creation of a French-themed mural and a beautiful garden located on campus.
- Dozens of schools, community centers, parks and other locations across Orange County have begun serving free lunches and breakfasts this summer to children ages 18 and under.
- The Orange County Department of Education is finalizing a budget for the next fiscal year that outlines $222.7 million in spending.
- Orange Unified School District officials have broken ground on the new science center at Orange High School that will feature a dozen state-of-the-art labs and classrooms. It’s part of the $288 million Measure S school bond.
- A teacher from George White Elementary School in Laguna Niguel used a unique strategy for teaching his students a history lesson. Performing their version of a blockbuster musical, students rapped about the life of Alexander Hamilton.
- After four years of arduous work and determination, a Tesoro High School student with autism graduated from high school with plans for college.
- Share Our Selves and the Hazel Cubbon Greenleaf Foundation presented 32 Newport-Mesa Unified high school seniors with graduation packets and $500 scholarships, earmarked for first-generation college students.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates or following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.