The positive orbit of summer sun

If someone told you Summer Sun has achieved many goals in her life, they would be woefully wrong. Summer is a plethora of accomplishments, a litany of academic awards, and a mountain of positivity and appreciation for what the Chico community has provided. “I really love Chico,” she said. “Being a smaller town, Chico has provided a close-knit community experience. I owe so much to Chico.”

A senior at Chico High, Summer is also the associated student body president, where one of her mentors is Assistant Principal Sara Pasillas, a positive role model. Being in student government has reinforced the idea that students benefit from feeling like they belong and are making the school a better place. It’s all part of the expectation that teenagers “find their people” at the high school level. Summer is involved in many activities where she facilitates bringing diverse people together.

The daughter of Duke Sun and Xueli Zou,

Summer credits her parents with putting her on the path to lifelong learning. This attitude developed early on at Park View Elementary School and continued on at Marsh Junior High School with leadership teacher Lisa Reynolds. “Leadership taught me a lot about being a good person,” said Summer. “I was so lucky to have Mrs. Reynolds as a positive role model when I was 11 years old.”

One of her favorite teachers at Chico High is Kathleen Bishop, her student government advisor. Summer considers Bishop a friend as well as a teacher. Other role models for her have been Melody Blu and Tammara Taylor who are—you guessed it—positive teachers at Chico High. Summer also credits her bestie, Ginger Nichols, as a person who has been there for her since they met in junior high. “I look up to Ginger so much,” said Summer. “She’s confident and speaks her mind in a deliberate and positive manner.”

All of this positivity has had a, well, positive effect on Summer. She has applied this in being a role model for others. She resurrected a former club at Chico High, SOFA, the Student Organized Friendship Alliance, a club that meets weekly and focuses on developing relationships with special education kids and their gen-ed peers. Summer sees this as rejuvenating for club members and a win-win for all involved.

During her 10th and 11th grade years, Summer played tennis on the Chico High team. While she loved the sport and the physical and emotional release it afforded, she had to make a mature choice regarding time management. “Tennis taught me discipline and the importance of 100% effort. My coach, Randy Agnew, brought so much positivity to the sport.” Ultimately, Summer gave up tennis to focus on education. “It was tough, but I had to balance my time.”

Apparently, it was time well spent. Even before her senior year, she took first place in the novice parliamentary debate portion of the Stanford Speech and Debate Tournament. This event features students from around the world. Summer competed for the Able2Shine organization, whose purpose is to help students excel in confidence and leadership roles.

This year, Summer was awarded a nomination to the United States Senate Youth Program. Two high schoolers per state were chosen to attend the prestigious program. The selection process proved to be quite arduous and exacting, with a ton of paperwork and many letters of recommendation. One reward, besides actually attending the week-long event, was a $10,000 scholarship from the Department of Education. Summer was one of 104 students selected to attend the program, where sessions included presentations by politicians on both sides of the aisle, a member of the Supreme Court, and the US Surgeon General. In March, Summer attended the Princeton University “Princeton Prize for Race Relations,” another coveted event for high school students.

As for college, Summer has not yet made a choice. She has been accepted to UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Pomona College on the West Coast, among others, and at the time of publication was awaiting word on a number of East Coast schools. She plans on majoring in public policy and anthropology, and these will take her forward in her goal of helping people on the community or political level. We have no doubt Summer Sun will achieve her goals.