High achievers honored

Newport Beach’s best and brightest high school seniors learned tips for their future lives and careers Tuesday from a man who taught the world to “Think Outside the Bun.”

Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell Corporation, was the guest speaker at the annual Scholarship Awards Breakfast, which honors 30 of the most outstanding students from Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools.

Creed told the students that when hiring, he looks for people who are “smart with heart.”

“In business hiring, you’ve got to be able to build an emotional connection with people,” he said.

He also urged the future leaders in the room to take on the problem of education, in a country where one-third of its youth won’t graduate from high school.

“It’s your world that you’re going to have to look after,” he said.

The principals of the two high schools turned the breakfast into a lighthearted affair, cheering for students who will attend their own alma maters — UCLA and USC — and sharing anecdotes about the seniors, who also will be going to schools like Harvard, Cornell, MIT, Caltech, Princeton and UC Berkeley.

But most of all, the principals shared their pride in their students’ achievements.

Ariana Cernius has a black belt in karate and is an accomplished pianist. Daniel Ward, who researches at UCI’s cardiology lab, founded his school’s Philosophy Club and has published a book of poetry.

Sarah Furgatch is a top-notch swimmer who competes nationally; an elite gymnast, McKenna Archer, is qualified to try out for Olympic-level competitions.

Tennis Captain Cameron Chase is a co-founder of his school’s Student Political Action Committee, volunteers for the Democratic Party of Orange County, and has served as a congressional page in Washington, D.C.

“We just look at you, parents, and think there is something in the water,” said Corona del Mar Principal Fal Asrani, speaking about the number of exceptional students at the two schools.

She shared a story about when she first met Soroush Mehraein when he was a freshman.

The boy asked Asrani if the school could create an Advanced Placement Calculus B/C class, a college-level course equivalent to a full year of calculus at most universities.

Asrani jokingly told him to find other students who would want to take the class, as well as someone to teach it.

Twenty-four hours later, she said, Soroush presented Asrani with a list of 35 students and a teacher.

Creed said young people’s technological savvy has inspired Taco Bell to create a reverse-mentoring program, in which new hires can teach old hands about social networking and other advancements.

When Creed discovered that there was a mass effort online to bring back Taco Bell’s Volcano Taco, which was discontinued in January, he discovered the value of such sites, he said.

And the Volcano Taco? It’s definitely on its way back, he advised the cheering students.

For more photos, click here.

Reporter CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (949) 494-5480 or at [email protected].