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View Winners → Two Monrovia National Merit Scholar Semifinalists
Monrovia Weekly Oct 11, 2018
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(Left to Right) David Bughman and Alexandra Malena Fraire. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
By Susan Motander
Two Monrovia High School seniors scored so well on last year’s Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSATs), that they have garnered special recognition. The National Merit Scholarship Program that bases its awards on PSAT scores has recognized David Bughman as a commended student. Alexandra Malena Fraire received a Latino Hispanic Award based on her heritage and being within the top 2.5 percent of all those who took the exam.
Bughman says he is looking at going into engineering possibly mechanical engineering. He has not decided upon a college but is looking at several schools in the University of California system including Cal (Berkeley) and UCLA, or possibly private schools such as USC or Stanford.
“I like math and science,” he said, “but I also like building things. As a kid I played with a lot of Legos.” That might explain the mechanical engineering.
But there is more to this young man. He is not only a scholar, but also an athlete with a musical side. He is on the water polo and swim teams. He was on the CIF winning 4×50 relay. He prefers the 50-meter freestyle. He is also the drum major at the high school and leads the jazz band. He says he plans to continue with his swimming and music in college.
Fraire is also of a math/science bent. She says she “just likes learning.” Of special interest to her is the brain and how it works. Asked if she meant on a psychological or physiological basis, she said she was interested in the connection.
She also plans to go to a UC school – UCLA, Cal, Davis and Irvine are all mentioned. She added that Pomona College has a “special course of study” on the workings of the brain. That has intrigued her.
