O
Isabella Chow
Quiet
Brilliance in
the Foothills
What started with a small competition among
Gilroy students at the local Gilroy Rotary Club …
… ended with Isabella Chow victory over 320
contestants at the District 5170 Rotary Competition.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
n a quiet country road in the foothills east of
Gilroy is a nice home set back from the road,
protected by a gate. A flock of Guinea fowl
scampers around. A remarkable young lady lives and
studies here. Isabella Chow is homeschooled…one of
nearly 2 million in the United States. In a normal K-12
set-up she would be a junior in high school. Momma
Jasmine also home schools Isabella’s brother, Isaiah (14),
and sister, Annabella (12), and before that their three older
cousins. Jasmine Chow is a geneticist by training but now
a homemaker and home school headmaster. Isabella’s father
is an engineer.
Isabella is an extremely talented young lady. She is a
voracious reader and researcher. When something piqes
her interest she is off to her computer collecting and
compiling as much information as she can. She enjoys
speech and debate and participates in numerous home
school speech and debate events. This year she will travel to
South Carolina to work on a unique project. Young tutors
in speech and debate are used to improve the quality of
education delivered in one of the poorest areas of the state.
She also proudly notes that she has been accepted as an
intern in Supervisor Mike Wasserman’s office, something
she is really looking forward to. She is a talented piano
player… so much so that she gives piano lessons. She has
a command of, at least, four languages other than English.
Isabella and her siblings have a profitable side business
selling the eggs of their Guinea fowl. According to Jasmine,
Isabella is the CEO!
It was Isabella’s recent honor to win the Rotary 5170
Speech Competition in San Jose. Rotary 5170 includes
Clubs from the East Bay to Monterey and then over
to Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Of the 53 Rotary clubs
in the area, 48 participated in the speech contest. The
competition began with 320 contestants. After four levels
of competition Isabella Chow, from Gilroy, was declared
the winner of the 2015 Rotary 5170 Speech Competition.
The future is bright for this young lady. In her last year
of high school, in addition to her regular course of study,
she plans to learn guitar and write a speech and debate
computer app. College plans are still a little ambiguous.
She has many interests and worries about limiting her
options. She would love to continue using her speech and
debate skills. With confidence she says maybe a career in
law, business and/or politics!
Congratulations to Isabella Chow, one of Gilroy’s
students, a home school success story, and future leader.
JULY/ AUGUST 2015
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