MONTEBELLO >> The first two years of high school weren’t easy ones for Evelyn Wong.

Her best friend died from brain cancer just prior to her entering Schurr High School, and her mom was living in San Francsico for work.

“I felt isolated and very depressed,” said Wong, 17.

Things got better when Wong became more involved in clubs and sports on campus, as well as focusing on her studies.

Her success in class, earning a 4.51 GPA and extracurricular activities eventually lead to her being named one of only 13 Los Angeles County high school Milken Scholars for 2017.

Founded in 1989 by Michael and Lori Milken, the scholar program chooses high school seniors on the basis of distinguished academic performance, school and community service, leadership, and evidence of having overcome personal and social obstacles, said Milken Family Foundation officials in a statement.

In addition to the $10,000 scholarship, the recipients will have access to career-related counseling, assistance in securing internships, opportunities for community service and a fund to assist their pursuit of post-undergraduate career goals.

“I just couldn’t believe I was chosen,” said Wong, who, along with her brother, Sidney, 21, are first-generation Americans and college students. Their parents, Janice Ma, a medical assistant, and Mason Wong, a baker in Monrovia, are Vietnamese immigrants.

“Their priority for us was our happiness,” Evelyn Wong said. “As long as they knew we were doing our best, they were fine.”

Wong said the pressure to succeed came from within.

“I was really mad at myself if I didn’t do well on a test or in sports,” she said.

“Evelyn could have easily folded under the pressure she felt her freshman and sophomore years,” Principal Francisco Arregui said. “But she persevered and made academics look easy.”

Along with academics, she lettered in basketball, cross country and track, was editor of the school newspaper, was a member of several service clubs and volunteered in the neuroscience, oncology and intensive care units at Keck Hospital of USC.

She said all her time was well-spent, especially spending time with patients during her hospital shifts, where she learned to “embrace the human face behind medical research.”

“I never thought I was doing too much,” Wong said of her full schedule. “When I wasn’t doing something, I had the feeling that I should be doing something.”