LANCER
the
Thousand Oaks High School
Volume LVIII , Issue 3 | March 27, 2024
www.tohsthelancer.com
2323 N. Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Moreno heads to Washington TO senior wins $27,000 after advancing to the top-40 of nationwide Regeneron Science Talent Search AANDREA PINEDA-DOMINGUEZ NEWS EDITOR It was finally over. The bell gave its shrieking cry and off went hundreds of students to enjoy their freedom, at least for a moment. For one student, it was short-lived. Ramon Moreno was once more inside an intimidating classroom known infamously as E8 during his nutrition break, observing and experimenting with expensive yeast samples, only to find a major disturbance in his equipment that could have very well destroyed his research. The dreaded “uh oh” moment had finally come. At stake for Moreno: thousands of dollars, nationwide recognition, and, most importantly, a chance to impact science before his 18th birthday. Moreno’s yeast samples needed the support of the cold, isolated incubator and tempo-steady shaker to keep them alive. Ideally, yeast is incubated at 30 degrees Celsius and kept on a shaker. But, with the incubator off and the shaker taking a long overdue break, the potential for error was high. The only things surrounding Moreno? Empty tables and the comforting presence of friendly pipettes, test tubes and probing devices. Moreno was at a fork in the road, with a choice to make: restart his project from scratch or continue, hoping that his endless hours of research and study could be rescued. “Ultimately, I turned it on, let it grow another night, and kept going,” he said. This decision would ultimately lead him to become the first AP Research student at TO to reach the top 40 in the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition, earning him a trip to Washington DC and a cash prize totaling $27,000.
PHOTO » RAMON MORENO » WITH PERMISSION
***** The Center for Advanced Studies and Research is a prestigious capstone program, designed to give students the opportunity to receive hands-on experience with research at an advanced level. It gives achieving students the ability to prepare for their research through mentors and advanced classes like AP Seminar and AP Research. Aside from personalized support, every student in STEM is under the guidance of Dr. Nikki Malhotra, one of the AP Research teachers who helped start the program. The Center credits her for much of what it is today. “AP research is a rigorous course which is a daughter or son of the class known as scientific research,” Malhotra said. Center students undergo a year-long process to complete a capstone project. To divide and lessen the workload, Malhotra meets with students every month to discuss next steps of their projects. One of those important details is the research question itself. Moreno’s question moved Malhotra. “His question was well-written, and we didn’t have to refine it a lot,” she said. During their junior years, AP Research students are tasked with finding at least one mentor who specializes in the student’s topic of research. Moreno had three, including Dr. Jessica Smith, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging. “In his email, Ramon told me he had read my research, he had read other research on yeast, [and he was] a little informed but he still had plenty of questions,” Smith said. “He really clearly said, ‘This looks cool, I would like to involve you in it.’ [But] he was the driving force in this research. He was the one working toward the goal himself.”
CAPITAL GAINS — Senior Ramon Moreno’s Center for Advanced Studies and Research project earned him nationwide acclaim.
Unexpected La Reina closure leads to transfers Regent students welcomed for TO campus tour behind soon-to-be former Regents who may soon become Lancers. “I want to make sure that [TO] is providing as much information as possible to those families to determine if TO is a school where they want to send their kids in the future,” Bergmann said. One La Reina student-turnedfuture Lancer who wished to remain nameless said she feels prepared for the transition. PHOTO » RILEY KEELER » THE LANCER “I believe that La Reina has done an exceptional job of preparing me GOODBYE GIRLS — La Reina will academically for TO, although I shut its doors at the end of the believe that it might be difficult to school year. transition from small classes and an all-girls learning environment to a GEMMA SPRAGGINS large school like TO,” she said. ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Dr. Bergmann came up with ideas such as a special orientation for joining 10th, Shocked is an understatement when 11th, and 12th grade students from La describing how La Reina families felt Reina and other Conejo Valley schools. upon receiving the news that their school, Dr. Bergmann stressed that any other which opened its doors in 1964, will be students joining TO at the same time will closing at the end of this year. have the same opportunities as La Reina With families sent into a panic about students. where to send their children next year, “They would mean to me the same that local high schools, including TO, have every other student who enrolls in this offered tours and support for families in school does,” Dr. Bergmann said. “I want need. to be a caring neighbor who is happy to Principal Dr. Eric Bergmann is rallying help.”
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RAMON MORENO
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Lancers lose a forever friend Former TO grad Brett Taylor was a regular presence on campus and at other local Ventura County institutions JAKE BRADLEY SPORTS EDITOR Bill Gemberling has worn many hats at Thousand Oaks High: student, teacher, coach, sports announcer. But taxi driver? “I was one of (Brett Taylor’s) many taxi cab service people, because essentially, we’d go out and have dinner sometimes, which for Brett was Del Taco, Taco Bell, that kind of thing,” Gemberling said with a smile. ”It was probably horrible for my cholesterol, but then there’d be times he’d call up and say I need a ride to such and such, and I’d say, ‘I’m not your taxi, Brett. ‘Well I just need this ride. ‘OK, it’s the last time, Brett, and it’d just repeat repeat and repeat.” Gemberling tells the story with a smile, despite his pain. Taylor, a TO class of 1976 graduate with special needs who became a decades-long presence around the school and other local high schools and civic organizations, died on Monday, March 18, at the age of 66. His impact has not been left just on TO, but also Westlake High, where he began working a half-decade ago. Following his passing, an outpouring of love came in from the entire community, including the local fire and police departments, where he often volunteered. Taylor was a fire volunteer for more than four decades. The community is particularly reeling because Taylor was excited to have been named Grand
Marshall of the re-booted Conejo Valley Days parade. “When he was a campus supervisor here, everyone knew him on campus and he was just a positive force,” Gemberrling said. Taylor was a regular presence on Lancer football and basketball sidelines, as well as the swim team and other programs. Following his passing, teams all over the county shared their thoughts and memories. But he remained a loyal Lancer. “He’d always come over at the end of the game to the group and (give a) pump-up speech and it was fun to hear him do that,” Gemberling said. “He just was Thousand Oaks High School.”
PHOTO » TO ACORN » WITH PERMISSION
TAYLOR MADE — Lancer legend Brett Taylor was a 40-year Ventura County Fire Department volunteer.