Cody Hankins

BY

Photos provided by Donna Hankins

Cody Hankins, a senior graduating from Murrieta Mesa High School, has lived in Canyon Lake his entire life with his mother and father, Dave and Donna Hankins, and his sister, Taylor.

Cody graduated as valedictorian, meaning he had the highest GPA in his entire class of approximately 500 students. According to his mom, Cody’s reasons for attending the out-of-district high school were to study Chinese as well as to take more advanced levels of calculus, which were important to his ambition of pursuing a career in engineering.

Cody has earned numerous academic accolades, including National Honor Society and the Riverside County Student Academic Award. He has been accepted to Stanford University, where he plans to begin his studies in Computational Science in the Fall. Cody is the first student in his school’s history to be accepted into Stanford. (The prestigious university’s acceptance rate was lowest in the country this year, offering only five percent of its applicants a place at the school.)

In addition to his academic pursuits, Cody was ASB class president and a member of the varsity water polo team.

Photos provided by Donna Hankins

During his junior year, he was one of three students chosen for an all-expenses-paid trip to China to study international relations with the Tower Bridge International Exchange Program. He was an officer in the Model United Nations Club at Murrieta Mesa.

He also started an organization called “Clear Future,” collecting eye glasses in local communities and donating them to the Canyon Lake Lions Club.

Cody has grown up enjoying all the amenities and community events Canyon Lake has to offer. His interests include water polo, swimming, surfing, wakeboarding and skateboarding. For the past year, he has worked at Tilly’s clothing store.

Cody would like to thank the Canyon Lake Lions Club, Canyon Lake Jr. Women’s Club and the Canyon Lake Yacht Club for selecting him as scholarship winner.