Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula,
Braxton Stuntz Memorial Award
Braxton enjoyed helping his classmates learn, write study guides, and even offer his photography skills to a project. He helped the younger Boy Scouts with their merit badge work.
The Braxton Stuntz Foundation is honored that CHOMP, a local hospital, created this special award for a deserving seniors of medicalfaculty.
2025 CHOMP Braxton Stuntz Memorial Award Recipients
Nicole Tapson
As a graduating senior, I plan to leave my community a better place, and hope that my
endeavors thus far have contributed to that. At the beginning of junior year, I founded the
Cards of Kindness Club, which was started to brighten up the days of the most struggling
patients at CHOMP, and connect the community by emphasizing the importance of helping
those who are struggling when students have the ability to do so. Each month our club
sends thoughtful and creative cards, complete with an illustration on the front, and an
encouraging message on the back. It helps the members of my school that are involved in
the club to show compassion and have a creative outlet.
In recent months, I also assisted in building Tatum’s Treehouse in Carmel Valley Village. Tatum’s treehouse is a project to build an all-inclusive and accessible playground in Carmel Valley, built by volunteers and funded by donations. This project revealed to me how important it is for the community and for a child’s development that all children playtogether regardless of their physical abilities. Having this addition to our community has also brought our community together by working for a common goal.
In addition to my work at Tatum’s Treehouse, I have also assisted the Friends of the Carmel Valley Library, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing Carmel Valley Library’s resources and book collection. By hosting monthly hour-long presentations open to the public, community members can offer advice and learn about the mission of the organization. I serve as the videographer and editor for these monthly presentations. This opportunity introduced me to a group in my community that I was previously unaware of. I have helped spread awareness to the community of this group and their work.
I have continued running and serving as a board member of the Traven Tapson Foundation,which funds young travel baseball and softball players who could not otherwise afford to play. I began this foundation in honor of my late brother because of the expense of travel softball. I gained an understanding of how to start a foundation, fundraise, screen applicants, and communicate with different organizations to spread awareness. It has been rewarding to provide aspiring athletes with this opportunity.
In the Fall of 2025, I will be attending the University of Southern California as a Public Relations and Advertising major. My interest in Communication was spawned from my involvement in the television network at my high school in which I write, film, edit, produce and perform on the daily news bulletins as well as a longer weekly news show. I am thepresident of our Student Television Network Club, where I coordinate our team's practices and assign student’s roles to successfully compete with my peers in annual national filmmaking competitions. Combined with my role as the school documentarian, in which Ifilm sporting events and create videos to excite students about upcoming events, I havefound a flexible outlet for my creativity, a blank canvas that allows innovative, multimodal expression, and USC will allow me to pursue a successful career in digital marketing in the future.
Lilah Filly
Over the past three and a half years attending Carmel High School, I have enjoyed getting involved and paying back to the community around me. I find myself striving to join countless clubs on campus in which I spend my lunch times collaborating with fellow peers, whether that be in the Cards of Kindness club, where we write cards of well wishes
to those in the hospital in hopes of brightening their day just a little, or in the beans for change club where we bag beans for those in need. Outside of school, over the past summer, I worked to develop my own non-profit inspired by my passion for interior design. I volunteered my time at the Community Project for Youth non-profit, where I recognized children in need, and I am still
working with them to identify families who would benefit from me raising money and going in to redesign the children's room however they may like it. As for my goals in the upcoming year, as my high school career comes to an end I hope to attend Texas Christan University, where I would further my education as an interior design major. Through the work I have done with my non-profit, my passion has only heightened and I hope to be in a community where my dream can thrive, and I can continue to help those around me, no matter where I am in the world.
Aleasha Kalinski
For the last three years, I have attended Santa Catalina High School, before going to San Benancio. Over this time I have maintained above a 3.8 GPA(having an average of 3.92) and twice had above a 4.0. I have run into times of struggle and through those found academic growth by learning to find alternate pathways than that which works for others. I found that my favorite subjects are History and English and I have established both joy and success in these areas. I love these topics because they are subject to interpretation and allow one to argue in their own way. They also offer a commentary on the human experience, how people live, and how one is meant to live. Additionally, during my time at Catalina, I have done a large amount of charity work,
originally with NCL and now independently; I am on the Health and Wellness Committee; a member of our global leadership program; I participate in the Patriot’s Fund club at school as well as work on yearbook; I am a part of the French Honors Society; I work in admissions as an intern; and have previously been in Model UN. I also have done charity work with a program called ENGin where I tutored Ukrainian girls in English. This originally started as a school project, but I stuck with it beyond that. These girls were fairly fluent and I primarily worked with them on conversation skills. I started working with three girls once a week each, but I now only talk with one, and it is in more of a social manner rather than educational.
Furthermore, I have played volleyball for both the school team and SAND Volleyball Club since my freshman year, and started soccer my junior year. In the future, I wish to graduate from a four-year college and, hopefully, later pursuing law school. I would be happy to study any variation of the Law. However, public policy and eventually politics interest me most. I believe that we need to get more serious about things like extreme poverty, drug epidemics, and limiting corruption. We need people who care. I am not certain what it is yet, but I believe I have something to contribute and say to the world. In college, I am considering playing either division two or three volleyball, but I may opt to go to a larger school and no longer continue with athletics. Either way, I am excited for what my future holds.
Bennett Goldberg
Inspired by the incident involving an NFL football player Damar Hamlin's on field cardiac arrest, I began to recognize the importance of emergency preparedness, especially in sports. As a high school football player, I feel a sense of comradery and personal responsibility with my teammates. If we are going to be engaged in athletics, particularly contact sports, we should be equipped with the necessary skills to handle certain on field emergencies.
With the support of my father and numerous members of the Community Hospital and
Montage Health staff, I took the initiative to help organize and recruit students for a summer CPR certification program held at Ryan Ranch this past summer. I learned a lot about event planning, leadership and organizational development. Event posters were created, certified CPR instructors were scheduled, classrooms were booked, and then I had to nudge over thirty high school kids into spending a summer day in the classroom. We all recognized the importance of CPR training. Even convincing the high school basketball coach that we needed to postpone one day of practice was a lesson in communication for me. The course was conducted in two sessions and around thirty students became certified in CPR. Despite the seriousness of the subject, the instructors created an engaging and enjoyable learning experience. In the end we all achieved CPR certification, a very valuable skill that could empower us to act in an emergency. The experience of organizing the class was profoundly rewarding. It really underscores the importance of proactive leadership and community engagement in addressing critical topics. The skills and insights I gained from this experience will continue to influence my approach to future challenges and opportunities.
CHOMP Braxton Stuntz Memorial Award 2024 Recipient: Elaina
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From a young age, I immersed myself in the world of volunteering; at the age of 13, I started volunteering at a horseback riding program tailored for children with disabilities at Hidden Hills Ranch in Prunedale, CA. Fueled by my dual passions for horses and helping others, this opportunity resonated profoundly with me. At Hidden Hills Ranch, I assisted children with autism and various disabilities in grooming, bathing, and feeding horses. As my volunteer journey evolved over two years, I transitioned into a more hands-on role, teaching basic horse techniques and guiding kids and their equine companions.
My experience at Hidden Hills Ranch brought immense joy and allowed me to contribute to my community and instill a love for horses in others. At 17, my volunteering trajectory took me to the Monterey Christian Academy, where I discovered my passion for teaching and providing a tailored education. Assigned to work with a child with Muscular dystrophy, I seamlessly integrated the child into the classroom environment. Amidst supporting teachers in their classes, I dedicated time to assisting the child in writing letters and numbers, considering the challenges posed by child's condition. I strived to create engaging and enjoyable activities to divert child's attention from the difficulties he faced. As someone who was made fun of for having a similar condition, I understand how harmful it is to a child's mental health, which is why volunteering with children with disabilities has become a lifelong passion rooted in empathy and shared experiences.
Now, at 17 and enrolled at Monterey Peninsula College, I am pursuing associate degrees in Business Management and Psychology. Looking ahead, I plan to embark on a new volunteering journey in Germany this summer, teaching English to children with disabilities at a local school. Following this enriching experience abroad, I aim to transfer to a four-year university, with Cornell and Baruch College topping my list. As I envision myself thriving in a bustling city, I am determined to continue my commitment to volunteering and fostering positive environments for children with disabilities. My journey is a testament to the transformative power of empathy and shared understanding. I am eager to contribute to the vibrant communities awaiting me at the next stage of my educational and volunteer endeavors.
CHOMP Braxton Stuntz Memorial Award 2021 Recipient: Laura Vetter
Hello! My name is Laura Vetter. I have recently graduated from Notre Dame High School and will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall. While in high school, I was a member of the varsity swim team and captain of the varsity water polo team at Notre Dame. I was a co-editor of the school yearbook and a member of the Ambassador Team. I swam for The Dolphins Aquatic Club and have been a Girl Scout for the past 11 years. Through Girl Scouts, I was able to volunteer with two different summer camps teaching girls outdoor and leadership skills. I also volunteered with the Kiwanis of Monterey at the TaylorMade Golf Tournament and with the Big Sur International Marathon by handing out ice to runners and preparing the finisher medallions. Thank you so much to the Braxton Stuntz Foundation! I am honored to be the recipient of Braxton Stuntz Memorial Scholarship.