Super Students
Saturday, August 22, 1998
Name: Leila Barangan
Age: 12
School: Ewa Elementary School
Favorite subject: English
Pastimes: Sports
Future: Architect or journalist
To 12-year-old Leila Barangan, giving doesn't have to be about spending money on extravagant gifts. She's got the right spirit
Getting involved in a campus cleanup, for instance, is all it takes to make an positive impact in the community, Barangan said. "Giving isn't really about giving an item, but it's about giving yourself and your time."
Barangan recently won the grand-prize award for "The Spirit of Giving" essay contest sponsored by the United Filipino Council of Hawaii. She won $350 for her five-paragraph essay.
Barangan completed sixth grade at Ewa Elementary School in June and is now attending Ilima Intermediate School. Last school year, she was corresponding secretary for the student council, a student in the Gifted and Talented Enrichment Program, and founder and captain of the pep squad.
"She's just very advanced, very mature when it comes to logistics of getting something done," sixth-grade teacher Tracy Aki said.
Aki also described Barangan as a "very high-level thinker," always coming up with new and innovative ideas for the school.
Barangan said she gets A's, B's and occasional C's. Her career goal is to become an architect or journalist someday, because she loves to draw and write.
"As far as in the classroom, she's a model student," Aki said. "She excels in all areas."
By Shirley Iida, Star-Bulletin
