<lst>To have an item listed free in The Potomac Almanac, send mail to 10220 River Road, Suite 303, Potomac, MD 20854, e-mail to almanac@connectionnewspapers.com, or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Thursday at noon for the following week’s paper. Photos encouraged. If you have any questions, call Miguel Koropecky at 703-917-6407.
Kyla P. Wagman, of Potomac, was named to the dean's list at Colby College for academic achievement during the spring semester of 2004-2005. Wagman is majoring in biology with a neuroscience concentration. She attended Walt Whitman High School.
Potomac area residents were among the students who participated in Haverford College's commencement exercises on Sunday, May 15. Nicholas Chanock received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Benjamin Cooper received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion with a Minor in Philosophy and Aziz Khan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics.
Ashley Kwon, of Rockville, was named to the dean’s list with distinction at Duke University for the spring 2005 semester. Kwon is a 2004 graduate of Thomas S. Wooton High School.
Peter B. Reilly, CPA, CVA and Senior Vice President of Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C. (CBM) of Bethesda, and his son Brendan Reilly swam in the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Swim June 12. Both finished the 4.4 mile swim, which is recognized annually as one of the top open water swims in the nation. All proceeds raised for the event were donated to the Maryland Chapter of the March of Dimes.
Donald Larson of Chevy Chase, celebrated his 80th birthday by donating his 118th pint of blood this week. American Red Cross staff at the Gaithersburg Donor Center welcomed Larson with a special certificate, recognizing him for his outstanding achievement. Mr. Larson, a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, has been a loyal blood donor for more than 20 years. Visit www.my-redcross.org.
Army National Guard Spec. Ahmad Imants S. Mohseni completed the Army National Guard's two-week annual training at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C. The soldier is a member of the Maryland National Guard's 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light) headquartered in Baltimore. The guard member is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment based in Silver Spring. Mohseni is a light-wheel vehicle mechanic with more than four years of military service. He is the son of Aby Mohseni of Woodington Drive, Potomac, Md. In 1997, the soldier graduated from Churchill High School, Potomac.
Army National Guard Spec. Supichai Suthisasanakul completed the Army National Guard's two-week annual training at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C. The soldier is a member of the Maryland National Guard's 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light) headquartered in Baltimore. The guard member is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment based in Silver Spring. Suthisasanakul, a light-wheel vehicle mechanic, is a 1998 graduate of Whitman High School, Bethesda, Md.
Army National Guard Sgt. Cesar A. D'Shen completed the Army National Guard's two-week annual training at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C. The soldier is a member of the Maryland National Guard's 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light) headquartered in Baltimore. The guard member is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment based in Silver Spring. D'Shen is an infantryman with 17 years of military service. He is the son of Lucila and Miguel A. D'Shen of Patapsco Drive, Rockville, Md. In 1984, he graduated from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Md.
Army National Guard Spec. Mark M. Gong completed the Army National Guard's two-week annual training at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C. The soldier is a member of the Maryland National Guard's 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light) headquartered in Baltimore. The guard member is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment based in Silver Spring. Gong is an infantryman with five years of military service. He is the son of Jin Gong of Treemont Way, Rockville, Md. In 1999, the soldier graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, Md., and earned a bachelor's degree in 2005 from the University of Maryland-College Park.
Rockville resident Angela Allen, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Syracuse University's Commencement May 15, was named a VPA Scholar at the convocation of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). The award is the highest undergraduate honor awarded by the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Allen also received the Marion Armstrong Award. This award is given for excellence in musical performance.
John G. Gancayco has graduated from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md. The graduate received a medical degree and was commissioned to the rank of captain, with a minimum seven-year active duty service commitment.
Gancayco is the son of Graciano and Maria Gancayco of Brent Road, Potomac. He graduated in 1996 from Georgetown Preparatory School, Rockville, and received a bachelor's degree in 2000 from Georgetown University.
Jarred A. Fishman graduated from the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve.
Fishman is an intelligence officer assigned to Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.
He is the son of Jarred A. Fishman of Rockville Pike, North Bethesda.
The lieutenant received a bachelor's degree in 1993 from Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., and earned a law degree in 1997 from George Washington University.
Army Pvt. Eric W. Pray has graduated from basic combat military training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.
During the eight weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission and received instruction in drill and ceremonies, rifle marksmanship, weapons, map reading, tactics, armed and unarmed combat, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, Army history, core values and traditions, and special training in human relations.
Pray is the son of Clyde Pray of Hunting Hill Way, North Potomac, Md., and Susan Ng of Mill Heights Drive, Herndon. He is a 2004 graduate of Langley High School, McLean.
Grace Lee, a Potomac resident and rising senior at Richard Montgomery High School, in Rockville, received the Agnes Scott College Book Award from the college's Washington area alumnae at RMHS's annual awards ceremony on June 2. Grace was selected for the award because of her exceptional record of scholarship (3.98 GPA), outstanding community service (877 hours and counting), and her demonstrated integrity and ability as a leader. The award included copies of Elements of Style and The Craft of Research.
Grace is considering a future career in law and is a member of RMHS's award-winning Mock Trial team. During her senior year she will serve as president of the Montgomery County Region of the Maryland Association of Student Councils, and in this capacity she will attend the national organization's convention this summer in Collinsville, Ill. For the rest of the summer she will be working as a volunteer in a medical clinic for the under-insured.
Grace enjoys scuba diving. Her observations in the waters off Baja, Calif., and in the Caribbean combine with her strong background in science to satisfy a requirement for the International Baccalaureate diploma. Grace is writing her extended essay on the phenomenon of coral bleaching.