An outstanding scholar, Silas graduated with highest honors last June with a 3.663 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) in neurobiology, physiology and behavior.
Currently a medical student at UC Davis, Silas received the division of biological sciences department citation for academic excellence in 2002, the outstanding senior leadership award in 2001 and the Arthur Ashe, Jr., National Sports Scholar Award in 2000. A member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, she was listed on the intercollegiate athletics honor roll and the College of Letters and Science dean's list throughout her college career.
Silas - a six-time all-American and member of the 4x400 relay teams for UC Davis' indoor and outdoor track and field squads - was part of the outdoor relay teams that were the conference champions from 1999 to 2001. She was part of the Aggies relay teams that hold both indoor and outdoor school records.
The Vallejo, California, native volunteered as a Special Olympics clinic instructor and as an athletics peer counselor. She was an intern in a pediatrics emergency room and in a geriatrics department at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. In addition, Silas, the captain of the track and field team, sang with the Division II school's gospel choir at numerous events.