THOSE WHO SOAR

Creating Positive Change through Innovation Carla Boubes

Dana Fish (’09)

Fish has always loved working with children and admires their resilience. “I always wanted to babysit. I always loved playing with little kids,” she says. “All of my jobs have been something child related,” she adds. Fish knew she would either be a pediatric nurse or a school teacher. The dynamic world of health care ultimately won Fish over. At Pegasus, Fish developed a love for the sciences. “I remember all of my science classes; we did some anatomy, physiology, some labs, and getting all that early on was really interesting. I always loved the sciences, so it was really fun to actually start to learn all of that younger than high school,” she says. Pegasus fostered Fish’s independence and refined her abilities as a student. She credits Mrs. Wilder with developing her writing skills, an asset that would prove invaluable when later applying to college and nursing school. After graduating from Pegasus, Fish attended the Cornelia Connelly School and continued onto Villanova University in Philadelphia where she earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing. Nursing school taught her the importance of flexibility when faced with the As time has gone on and we’re starting to unexpected. “With nursing, it’s always something new; there’s always something more to do,” says Fish. understand it [COVID-19] This year was no exception as a more, it’s definitely novel virus known as COVID-19 improved how we’re quickly evolved into a global pandemic. “I was very nervous given how new responding and how to the virus was and how little we knew best help everyone. about how to handle it,” she says. “I took it one day at a time and made all necessary adjustments and changes in everyday life and at work to ensure everyone around me was safe.” The age-old question “what do you want to be Fish says it has been interesting to watch the when you grow up?” can be a lifelong journey full of twists progression on the pediatric front. “As time has gone on and and turns. For Dana Fish, however, her chosen path was we’re starting to understand it more, it’s definitely improved decisively clear from early on. how we’re responding and how to best help everyone,” she says.

“By my freshman year of high school, I was saying I’m Fish would like to work as a travel nurse in the near going to be a pediatric nurse,” recalls Fish, who currently future, but for now she is very happy working in the neonatal works as a neonatal nurse at Children’s National Hospital in intensive care unit. Her interests within the field have indeed Washington, D.C. broadened, but her path promises to remain clear.

Dylan Jin-Ngo (’18)

In eighth grade at Pegasus, Dylan Jin-Ngo imagined himself working on Wall Street one day. Now as a junior at The Thacher School in Ojai, Jin-Ngo is well on his way.

His interest in the stock market was first ignited during Christmas of sixth grade when Jin-Ngo received a stock certificate as a gift from his aunt.

“It was really a unique opportunity for me to see how even a sixth grader like me could make money and be part of a cool investment tool,” says Jin-Ngo.

Jin-Ngo searched for programs that would be accessible to a sixth grader like him but found that the only resources available catered to high school students. He pored over dozens of economic and finance books and applied his findings to the stock market.

After receiving multiple requests from friends’ younger siblings wanting to learn about the stock market, Jin-Ngo decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. In the summer of 2019, he founded his non-profit Youth Investors Corp., a program designed to teach middle school students about stock trading.

During his winter break, Jin-Ngo approached the Boys and Girls Club of Huntington Beach with his proposal. Integrating Youth Investors Corp. with the Boys and Girls Club was no easy feat.

Jin-Ngo credits the debate program at Pegasus with his ability to negotiate effectively. “Pegasus taught me the importance of communication,” he says.“In order for you to have a successful program, you need to make sure that you are able to communicate well with all parties.”

After months of emails, phone calls, and much perseverance, his plan materialized as a five-week summer course to be held in person at the Boys and Girls Club.

Jin-Ngo’s determination would be put to the test once again. In March of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic took hold of the nation and showed no signs of letting up as the summer months approached. He adapted the program to the new conditions and conducted the course via Zoom.

At Pegasus, Jin-Ngo learned to view setbacks more as opportunities to prevail. “The way I learned from Pegasus to adjust to ( . . . ) challenges, it turned out better than ( . . . ) had I done it my way,” he says. By conducting the class remotely, Jin-Ngo was able to be in different places at once.

This winter, Youth Investors Corp. will broaden its reach and hold another remote five-week program at all three Boys and Girls Club Huntington Beach branches.

Jin-Ngo hopes to study business and finance in college on the East Coast, putting him one step closer to Wall Street.

Carla Boubes is a first-year parent at The Pegasus School and mother to Hugo Fletcher (’29) and Oscar Fletcher (age 3). When she isn’t shuttling children in her minivan, she enjoys tending to her quarantine garden.

In September, 2020, Dylan presented a check for $500 to Cash H., who took part in Dylan’s non-profit company, Youth Investors Corps., at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley. Pegasus Magazine Winter 2020/21 (Photo courtesy of Scott Smeltzer / Los Angeles Times Staff Photographer) 29