Jr. Carpinterian of the Year nominees selected

Three of Carpinteria’s brightest young minds have been chosen as the 2023 Junior Carpinterian of the Year nominees: high school seniors Lizbeth Alpizar Farfan, Camryn Bernstein and Sara Fakinos. 

Each nominee spoke with CVN about their time in high school, their goals for the future, and their love for Carpinteria. All three are deeply passionate about their educations and their goals, both in and out of the classroom. 

Two finalists will receive a $1,500 scholarship, while the 2023 Jr. Carpinterian of the Year will win a $4,000 scholarship, funded by donations from individuals and businesses in Carpinteria. 

The Carpinteria Community Awards Banquet – where Carpinteria will award its Carpinterian of the Year, Jr. Carpinterian of the Year, Outstanding Business of the Year, Educators of the Year, and Organization Merit awards – will be held on Saturday, April 6, 5:30–10 p.m., at Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, 5315 Foothill Road. 

Learn more online at carpinteriacommunityassociation.org. Tickets are $110; the deadline to purchase tickets is March 29. 

Lizbeth Alpizar Farfan

Lizbeth Alpizar Farfan – a three-sport athlete between volleyball, basketball and softball – told CVN that she is a first-generation student, the first person in her family to attend high school and college. Alpizar Farfan is her parents’ second daughter, and her parents immigrated from Mexico, she said. She has been admitted to UC Los Angeles and UC Berkeley, with a major in bioengineering.

Alpizar Farfan, who was born and raised in Carpinteria, told CVN that her goal is to become a doctor and make healthcare accessible to underserved communities. 

“I’m definitely excited (for college),” she said. “I look forward to it every single day. I have my acceptable letter hung above my vanity. (…) I am definitely excited to try things that are new to me. I’m definitely a little nervous just being that far from home.” 

Alpizar Farfan cited her freshman honors biology teacher and her AP Biology teacher Mandi de Witte as one of the reasons she fell in love with biology. 

“(de Witte) was one of the reasons I fell in love with bio,” she said. “I love every little component… I love molecular biology. Engineering is something that’s new to me, but I know that I really enjoy that and I don’t want to leave (math) behind. I want to combine my passions.” 

Outside of school, Alpizar Farfan spends her time working at Carpinteria’s Sushi Teri and volunteering at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. She also worked an internship at a local clinic, showcasing her passion for healthcare. In her free time, she loves to walk the beach and eat at Lao Thai. 

When she found out she was nominated for Jr. Carpinterian of the Year, she said she was very excited. “I think it brings (me) a lot of joy, but also my family,” she said.  

Camryn Bernstein

Camryn Bernstein, a fourth generation Carpinterian, told CVN that growing up in Carpinteria meant that she knows “nearly every single person I see,” she told CVN, adding that when she volunteers with Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, “(people) happen to know me, my dad works in the community and he’s a doctor, and it’s really funny.” 

Bernstein has been volunteering with the hospital in her spare time; she also currently works in a microbiology lab at UC Santa Barbara, on tardigrade chemotaxis, under the guide of a PhD student. 

“That experience (at Cottage) has really made me have a lot of compassion for people, and solidified the fact that I want to go into the medical field and work in medical research,” she said. 

Bernstein is deciding between UC Los Angeles and the University of Michigan for her university experience. Her major of choice is computational biology – a combination of biology, mathematics and computer science. She ultimately wants to pursue the medical research route. 

She told CVN that outside of school, she loves playing beach volleyball with her friends and photographing surfers, even though she isn’t a surfer herself. She also loves going for beach walks, looking for sea glass and playing with dogs on the beach. 

When she found out she was nominated for Jr. Carpinterian of the Year, she said she felt very proud of herself. 

“It’s a great honor, and there were so many candidates who would have absolutely deserved this honor. I feel so lucky,” Bernstein said. “I definitely have made an effort to put myself out in the community and dedicate my time… I think it is just a big honor, and a nice culmination of all my hard work.” 

Sara Fakinos

Carpinteria High School senior Sara Fakinos was nominated for her long history of community service in Carpinteria, and a recent project where she procured $1,000 worth of winter gear and supplies for the Carpinteria Homeless Outreach group. 

“I’m excited, and really honored to share the title,” Fakinos told CVN about her nomination. 

Fakinos has the hectic schedule of most high school seniors, with school most of the day, then sports practice after school, homework and work at Brass Bird Coffee on the weekends. This year, Fakinos is participating in four sports, including water polo, swim, track and tennis. She is also the vice president of the CHS recycling club, and a member of the Interact Club and the Junior State of America Debate Club. 

Fakinos has a deep sense of commitment to the Carpinteria community, passed down from her mother Barbara, who is also active in the community as a member of the Carpinteria Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Fakinos’ sense of community was also fostered through her church, the Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church. 

It was through her mother that Fakinos discovered Carpinteria Homeless Outreach – a group of locals who work to provide hot meals, clothing and hygiene supplies, and support to homeless community members – where she has spent her last two summers volunteering. 

Earlier this year, after her church began a program to encourage young attendees to participate in community outreach for a local nonprofit, Fakinos used this opportunity to provide much-needed supplies to the outreach group. She worked with the group to determine what supplies were needed the most – which turned out to be mostly winter gear and everyday clothing essentials – and calculated the cost. 

Fakinos hunted down deals at Nordstrom Rack and Big 5, she told CVN, and she came out with 21 sleeping bags, thirteen winter coats, nine packs of t-shirts of varying sizes and five tents, each big enough for two people. She also received four sleeping bags from her church to donate to the group. She saved about $1,300 through discounts and sales, and came out with $24 of the original $1,000 leftover, which she also donated to the program.

Fakinos said her nomination for Jr. Carpinterian of the Year made her think of her grandparents, who were born and raised in Greece and Ecuador, respectively. “Living in a town like Carpinteria was never an option for my grandparents,” she said. “This whole scholarship is about honoring them.”

[Updated March 26, 2:30 p.m.]