Junior Achievement

Those who predict the United States can never recover its dominance in the global economy might be less pessimistic after spending a Wednesday morning with North Hollywood High School teacher Brian York's senior class in applied economics. For all but one school day each week, it's business as usual: pie charts, supply and demand curves, traditional and command economies.

On Saturday, when most high school juniors in Southern California were contemplating what cereal to eat or whether there was enough sun to justify a trip to the beach, Tony Gonzalez packed his football cleats and basketball sneakers and headed north on the San Diego Freeway. First up was Murdock Stadium at El Camino College in Torrance, where the Huntington High athlete participated in the Reebok Preseason Combine with other standout junior football players in Southern California.

Aimee McDaniel, the crackerjack point guard on the Pepperdine women's basketball team, couldn't help but laugh when recalling the childhood games and pains that essentially created her on-court persona. "I was a total tomboy and very competitive," she said. "I didn't have any brothers or sisters, but I lived in an apartment building, so I would play tackle football with the boys in the complex. Eventually, I started beating them up.

Aimee McDaniel, the crackerjack point guard on the Pepperdine women's basketball team, couldn't help but laugh when recalling the childhood games and pains that essentially created her on-court persona. "I was a total tomboy and very competitive," she said. "I didn't have any brothers or sisters, but I lived in an apartment building, so I would play tackle football with the boys in the complex. Eventually, I started beating them up.

The brashness of youth is still there. He is, after all, only 21. Perry Klein will still tell you what he's thinking, do what he wants and not think about the consequences. And he is still very confident, if not cocky. The former Pacific Palisades and Carson High player, now battling for the starting quarterback job at Cal, would probably not say that "he will take this team to two Rose Bowls," as he did two years ago as a freshman. But he's thinking it.

Some of the photographs that adorn the Junior Wall of Fame at the Jack Kramer Tennis Club in Rolling Hills Estates are probably familiar to the casual sports fan. Pictures of Kramer club members and U.S. Open winners Tracy Austin and Pete Sampras, for instance. Other players' pictures on the wall, such as those of John Austin and Derrick Rostagno, are recognizable to the ardent tennis follower.

Loara High School juniors Rebecca Montano and Urjita Parekh and sophomore John Chao (have been selected for a Junior Achievement of Southern California exchange program in Mexico. They will learn business practices in a cross-cultural setting. The exchange will start July 3 with an orientation in Cocoyoc, Mexico. After a weeklong conference in Mexico City, the Anaheim students will live with a host family for the completion of their five-week visit.

It is time again for Stais Boseman to drag out the scrapbook. Another accolade has come his way. The two-sport standout from Morningside High has been selected the top junior football player in the state by Cal-Hi Sports newswire. Boseman, a quarterback/defensive back who led Morningside to its first-ever Southern Section title, was the only non-senior named to the 32-player all-state team.

At age 14, Jackie Cervantes can already rattle off a list of friends who have dropped out of school and are struggling to survive on meager wages--that is, if they have a job at all. But Cervantes, an eighth-grader at Sierra Intermediate School, says that's not the route for her, certainly not since taking a class at school that shows students how hard it is to find a well-paying job without a high school diploma. "Dropping out is dumb.