Two U. seniors garner 'All-American' honors

Samara Barend won top honors from USA Today for her work, activism. Thursday's edition of USA Today saluted the best and brightest by selecting 60 students from across the country to join the "All USA College Academic Team." And much to her surprise, College senior Samara Barend ranked in the top 20. Barend -- selected as a member of the Academic First Team in the 10th annual contest sponsored by USA Today -- was joined on the two-page spread by fellow Penn senior and academic stand-out, fifth-year Wharton and Engineering student Eugene Huang. Huang was selected to the Third Team. Out of the 984 college students nominated by their schools, 20 were selected for each of the First, Second and Third teams. Barend, a member of the Undergraduate Assembly and chairperson of the Tangible Change Committee, was chosen in part for her work during an internship with U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.). In her sophomore year, Barend launched a successful two-year campaign to redesignate New York Route 17 as Interstate 86, a move which would make the route eligible for federal funding. The highway, which Barend said stretches "across the whole southern tier of the state of New York," runs straight through her hometown of Binghamton. Moynihan described Barend to USA Today as "an exceptionally motivated young woman with an ability to master complex legislative issues and accomplish things far beyond what her years would suggest." Barend is still working on the project, but said that it currently takes up far less of her time than it has for the past two years. "All sophomore and junior year my life was like one big fax machine," she joked. Barend and the other members of the First Team each received a cash award of $2,500 and spent last Wednesday through Friday in Washington D.C. for what Barend called "a three-day extravaganza." The First Team was given complimentary accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and attended a series of conferences, including a roundtable discussion with the presidents of 10 American universities and a tour of the USA Today offices conducted by the newspaper's executive editor. Huang and other members of the Third and Second Teams did not receive a cash prize, but Huang -- who is also currently completing a master's program in Telecommunications and Engineering -- said that making the Third Team was "really an honor." Applicants were notified of their success through the same means as the rest of the country -- Thursday's paper. Huang said that his selection was "completely a surprise." "I just opened up the paper and there it was," he recalled. Huang was nominated for the award by the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program on the basis of two areas of work: politics and technology. A politically-minded engineer, Huang pioneered the use of the Internet in the past campaigns of Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D-Pa.). Huang -- a recently recognized Thouron Scholar who plans to study in England next year -- was also commended for his work on a universal software-based remote control. His work on the project with Computer and Information Science Professor David Farber led to a patent and the founding of a new company, Navispace. The remote has a flat computer screen -- as opposed to the familiar rows of raised buttons -- and allows for information to be downloaded from television listings so that viewers can pre-select the types of programming they would like to see from over 500 different channels. Students were selected by a panel of judges which included communications executives and a host of educational and collegiate association members from across the country. Criteria for the contest included grades, awards, activities, leadership roles and public service.

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