PaliHi’s ‘Top’ History Student, Elana Ross, Heads for Lehigh

The history teachers at Palisades High Palisades voted Elana Ross as their top student, based on grades, schedule and a perceived love of the subject.
Ross, who has received As and 5’s (top scores) in AP European history, AP world history and AP US history, took additional AP exams in government and politics, literature and statistics in May.
“It was an incredible honor,” said Ross, who also received a $300 Pacific Palisades Historical Society scholarship. “History is fascinating to me because of its relevance to my life, and to the world as a whole.”
Ross said that she has loved history for as long as she can remember.
During elementary school, when her younger sister Erin would storm out of the room during the State of the Union address, Ross remembers being glued to television set, listening to her parent’s comments. “I was hooked, The first time I was truly engaged, in and out of the classroom, was in eighth grade at Paul Revere in Mr. Salazar’s class and we started listening to NPR every day.
[At PaliHi], “Mr. Burr’s AP world history class was really exciting because I felt like I was learning so much and I didn’t even mind the homework and studying,” Ross said. “I also loved Mr. Rauschuber’s AP government and politics class because it connected history with my love of politics, and made both subjects relevant for me.”
As a high school student, she said, “My passion for politics quickly turned into all-out zeal, and my days began to revolve around NPR podcasts, Time Magazine, and the constant hum of CNN.”
Ross had hoped to pursue a career in the government, developing and passing legislation.
Last year, working as an intern for Planned Parenthood, Ross urged students at East L.A. City College to call their representatives and support a particular bill. “I should have been thrilled to be working so closely with a proposal I believed in, but to my surprise, I wasn’t satisfied,” she said. “Public policy had been my dream for so long, I was completely baffled.”

A few weeks later when she attended a staff meeting in which they discussed the election tactics of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, Ross realized her love for politics wasn’t about creating bills and laws, but about working with candidates and creating campaigns.
“I’m convinced that the lack of bipartisanship in legislation stems from the polarization of campaigns, and I want to become a political strategist who transforms the way politicians run for office,” Ross said. “My ambition is to craft intelligent campaigns while establishing a political culture in America that fosters cooperation and honesty.”
The daughter of Sari and Matthew Ross, she attended Palisades Elementary, Paul Revere, and will attend Lehigh University in Pennsylvania as a political science major this fall.
“I chose Lehigh for a few reasons,” she said. “I wanted to leave California, primarily because a future in politics meant I would have to be working on the East Coast. Lehigh will provide me with a liberal arts education and small, discussion-based classes, with all the resources of a large university. Their political science department is also relatively small, so I’ll know my professors and have more opportunities in that community at school.”
Ross swam freestyle on the PaliHi swim team for four years, and was captain of the team that won the City title in May.
She also received the Pacific Palisades Library Association Mitzi Blahd Award for Excellence in English Literature. “I wrote an essay about my love of reading and my AP literature teacher, Mr. Berger, chose it.”
“The best thing about PaliHi is the myriad of opportunities available to students,” Ross said. “If you’re willing to work for it, there are literally hundreds of classes, teams, clubs and events to be a part of. It’s an incredible chance to learn and grow.”