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Rockville resident Angela Allen, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Syracuse University's Commencement May 15, was named a VPA Scholar at the convocation of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). The award is the highest undergraduate honor awarded by the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Allen also received the Marion Armstrong Award. This award is given for excellence in musical performance.
John G. Gancayco has graduated from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Md. The graduate received a medical degree and was commissioned to the rank of captain, with a minimum seven-year active duty service commitment.
Gancayco is the son of Graciano and Maria Gancayco of Brent Road, Potomac. He graduated in 1996 from Georgetown Preparatory School, Rockville, and received a bachelor's degree in 2000 from Georgetown University.
Jarred A. Fishman graduated from the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve.
Fishman is an intelligence officer assigned to Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.
He is the son of Jarred A. Fishman of Rockville Pike, North Bethesda.
The lieutenant received a bachelor's degree in 1993 from Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., and earned a law degree in 1997 from George Washington University.
Army Pvt. Eric W. Pray has graduated from basic combat military training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.
During the eight weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission and received instruction in drill and ceremonies, rifle marksmanship, weapons, map reading, tactics, armed and unarmed combat, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, Army history, core values and traditions, and special training in human relations.
Pray is the son of Clyde Pray of Hunting Hill Way, North Potomac, Md., and Susan Ng of Mill Heights Drive, Herndon. He is a 2004 graduate of Langley High School, McLean.
Grace Lee, a Potomac resident and rising senior at Richard Montgomery High School, in Rockville, received the Agnes Scott College Book Award from the college's Washington area alumnae at RMHS's annual awards ceremony on June 2. Grace was selected for the award because of her exceptional record of scholarship (3.98 GPA), outstanding community service (877 hours and counting), and her demonstrated integrity and ability as a leader. The award included copies of Elements of Style and The Craft of Research.
Grace is considering a future career in law and is a member of RMHS's award-winning Mock Trial team. During her senior year she will serve as president of the Montgomery County Region of the Maryland Association of Student Councils, and in this capacity she will attend the national organization's convention this summer in Collinsville, Ill. For the rest of the summer she will be working as a volunteer in a medical clinic for the under-insured.
Grace enjoys scuba diving. Her observations in the waters off Baja California and in the Caribbean combine with her strong background in science to satisfy a requirement for the International Baccalaureate diploma: Grace is writing her extended essay on the phenomenon of coral bleaching.