Bright, talented NPHS grad wants to be a brain surgeon
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Tania Gennell

Tania Gennell is no ordinary tuba player in the band. She also plays the flute, trumpet and percussion, among other instruments.

She loves music and band, but until she took an anatomy class at Newbury Park High School, the recently graduated Panther didn't know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

"My anatomy class made me want to get more into the area of medicine," Tania said.

It wasn't the dissecting and memorizing of body parts that got her hooked on becoming a doctor, she said, but rather the professionals who came into her class and talked to the students. After several area doctors spoke about the fields they worked in, Tania set her goal.

"I want to become a neurosurgeon," she said.

Tania is an AP scholar as a result of her high scores on advanced placement exams, and she has a 4.1 GPA. She dreamed of going to Brown University, an Ivy League school in Rhode Island, and hopes to someday transfer there or go there for graduate school, she said.

"I don't give up on my goals," Tania said.

She was accepted at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana with an $8,000-a-year scholarship that would have brought the tuition down to about $42,000 a year. She declined and accepted a full scholarship at UC Irvine that will pay more than $25,000 a year.

"I will be the first one in my biological family to go to college," Tania said.

She was born in a slum in Mexico with no future, she said. That is, until her father and stepmother rescued her when she was about 2 years old and brought her to live with them in the United States.

"They saved my life," Tania said.

Being a doctor was her father's dream, but he was unable to follow it, she said.

"Now he can live his dream through me."

Tania adores Imelda BlancGennell, the woman she calls mom.

"My mom is amazing. I don't know where I'd be without her," Tania said.

Blanc-Gennell is a high school English, Spanish and French teacher in Oxnard.

"Tania is a highly energetic girl with a big heart for helping others," Blanc-Gennell said. "Ever since she was a little girl she's been passionate about learning and reading."

"Tania put together a global fundraiser for AIDS with a fashion show with students as the models. It was a great event," counseling department clerk Karen Randall said. "She's a great representative of our school."

Tania loves her alma mater and has advice for those following in her footsteps.

"Be appreciative of your teachers. They can be your guiding light and will prepare you for life," she said.