Corona del Mar senior wins scholarship

Deirdre Newman

He has all the makings of a future Irvine Co. employee, and now

Corona del Mar High School senior Evan Hirsch has $10,000 of the

company’s money in his pocket.

The 18-year-old was one of four finalists to receive such a hefty

scholarship. He said he will use it at Claremont McKenna College,

where he is planning on going this fall.

Hirsch embodies the quintessential qualities of a leader, said

Robin Leftwich, senior director of community affairs for the Irvine

Co.

“He displayed unique leadership qualities in addition to his

academic successes,” Leftwich said. “He’s articulate, motivated,

goal-oriented and personable. I think he’ll make a fine leader one

day. I hope he stays in the area and hope he works for the Irvine Co.

some day.”

Hirsch received the award at a ceremony at the Four Seasons in

Newport Beach Wednesday night.

“I was really surprised,” Hirsch said. “I didn’t see it coming at

all.”

Hirsch has been involved in diverse activities during the past

four years of high school, including drama, peer assistance and the

harbor patrol.

He just finished working on the school’s musical, “Into the

Woods,” and is co-directing a sketch comedy show.

“It’s something I really enjoy, to just step back and be someone

else and entertain other people,” he said.

He also is involved with the school’s Peer Assistance Leadership

program, where he mentors other students on thorny issues they don’t

feel comfortable discussing with their parents or friends.

He was also a police explorer for the Orange County Sheriff’s

Department Harbor Patrol. He became deckhand and ride-along-certified

and went on patrol with the deputies.

The scholarships were given out as part of the Irvine Co.’s

Investing in Education 2004 Awards Program. All 15 high schools on

the Irvine Ranch nominated two students. The 30 students nominated

had to have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 and plan

on going to college. All 30 student leaders received $2,000 in

scholarship funds from the Irvine Co.

To narrow down the field, the 30 student leaders engaged in two

oral interviews and a leadership exercise where they designed a

community. Hirsch was assigned to be an environmentalist and had the

tough task of convincing the rest of his group not to strip a forest

and pave it over with low-density housing, he said.

“It was tough because my group wasn’t particularly environmentally

friendly,” he said.

Ultimately, he brokered a compromise where the forest stayed.

Hirsch said he intends to double major in political science and

international relations, then get a master’s of business

administration and work in international business.