Elly, now 27, was born and raised in Orange County, CA. She graduated from El Toro High School, and then moved on to beautiful Santa Barbara where she received a B.A. in Psychology and B.S. in Physiology from UCSB. While in school, Elly was busy working at Student Health as a Nutrition and Eating Disorder Peer Health Educator, working as an Autism Therapist, organizing benefit concerts, participating in honor societies as well as enjoying time partying with her friends. Being able to enjoy her life and all that Santa Barbara has to offer, while completing two degrees and preparing for medical school is one of her proudest accomplishments.After graduating from UCSB, Elly moved back home to Laguna Niguel where she spent a year and a half working at Mission Hospital in the Trauma department of the Emergency Room as well as the Operating Room. It was here that she realized how much she enjoys working in a fast paced environment and that believe it or not, she actually does have an “adrenaline junkie” side to her. But it also confirmed that medical school was definitely the path she wanted to take in life. So, in the Fall of 2003, Elly began a very difficult but very rewarding journey, at Western University Of Health Sciences-College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. She is currently a fourth year medical student, as well as a student in the Masters of Education, and a Teaching Fellow in the department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.
Elly is the oldest of 3 daughters, to her parents Parvaneh (Pari) and Toraj (TJ) Shahabi. Parvaneh studied Engineering in college, but a few years ago decided to follow her passion and is now a very talented and accomplished Interior Designer. In addition to interior design, Parvaneh is talented in just about everything she does whether it be painting, cooking, juggling between being a full time mom to “her 3 brats” and a business woman. Toraj also studied Engineering in college and currently works as a Systems Engineer, which is all the really technical stuff that Elly can’t quite understand or explain. Anyone who knows TJ also knows that his passions include his girls, soccer, and working towards freedom & democracy in Iran.
Elly’s two younger sisters are Aynaz who is 22, and Rona who is 8. Aynaz is attending Cal State Fullerton in the Fall where she is pursuing a degree in Liberal Arts with the goal of becoming a teacher. She is a very kind hearted and wonderful “baby” sister to Elly, and it is a privilege to have her as our Maid of Honor. Rona is starting 3rd grade in the Fall. She is a very smart girl and such an amazing figure skater, swimmer, soccer player, pianist, artist, singer and dancer. She loves dogs, and wants Jason to teach her how to play the guitar and to surf. When she grows up, she wants to be a doctor, a veterinarian, and a professional swimmer.
Jason, now 29, was born in Santa Barbara and raised in beautiful Carpinteria, CA. It doesn’t get much better than growing up one mile from the beach. Jason graduated from Carpinteria High School in 1995 and then started his “taste test” of colleges and degrees. Jason went to Fresno State University, Santa Barbara City College, University of California in San Diego, and then University of California in Santa Barbara. He finally graduated from UCSB in the winter of 2000 with a Bachelors of Science in Aquatic Biology. Why did he move around so much? Was it his desire for adventure and new places? Was it his nomad personality? No, it was just because he had a real hard time finding a place to stay longer than 1 year. It made for a really unique college experience, but not one that he would recommend for anyone else. After graduation, Jason went to Chicago for a year to take graduate classes in Applied Physiology at The Chicago Medical School. After freezing his toes off in the windy city for about 9 months, Jason moved back to California and then started medical school at Western University of Health Sciences in August of 2002. On May 12th of 2006, Jason accomplished one of his greatest feats yet…he graduated from medical school and is now Dr. Jason Abney! He is currently doing his Internship at Chino Valley Medical Center in the Family Medicine Residency Program.
Growing up, Jason has been involved in many different activities. He (and his brother) were very active in Scouting and accomplished becoming an Eagle Scout in High School. They both were also busy spending a lot of time at the beach, surfing and lifeguarding. They were even featured in the Travel Channel’s “Americas Top Lifeguards”. These busy boys also participated in High School and City College Football, while graduating with fantastic grades!
Jason is one half of the twin boys that were born to Richard and Kathleen Abney on June 18, 1977. He has no other siblings because you can imagine what a handful it was to raise twin boys, not to mention trying to feed the two of them. Jason’s father Rick is a retired police officer for the city of Santa Barbara who currently is a professor at Santa Barbara City College in the Criminal Justice department. Jason’s mother Kathy is currently the principal for La Cuesta High School in Santa Barbara. Jason’s twin brother Brian is quite the hero…he is a Paramedic/Firefighter for Orange County and currently lives in San Clemente, CA.