Mark C. Smith, Scholarship Committee Chair, introduced his 2019 Committee, comprised of Mary Jo Payne, Cathi Bianchi, Jim Holbrook, Earl Wilson, Larry Rolufs, Jenny Jansen, and Cindy Eklund. Each of the Committee members invested more than 40 hours of work in completing the task of selecting awardees. Since 2004, Auburn Rotary has expended $217,800 for 156 scholarships. This is an average of $17,000 per year. For 2019, the Committee and Auburn Rotary will disperse $22,500. Student awardees will receive half their award when proof of enrollment is provided for their first term of enrollment. The second half will be distributed when proof of enrollment is provided for the second term.
Bart O’Brien undertook presentation of the scholarship awards. Before calling up the awardees, Bart paid accolades to the students’ parents for supporting their children and helping them meet the challenges of life. As each awardee was announce, Bart shared information regarding the student’s achievements in high school. Following the introduction, each student took a brief moment to address a perceived highlight of his or her high school experience, and to then share plans for next year.
Awardees:
Edward Selvidge (Confluence High School) Career Technology Education award. $2,500. Ed plans to enroll and study to become an electrician at the National Career Education technical school located in Citrus Heights, CA.
Alexis Extein (Placer High School) Presidential award. $2,500. CSU Chico. Marketing.
Natalie McKnight (Placer High School) Presidential award. $2,500. William Jessup University. Graphic Design & Digital Communication.
Hanna Yazdi (Placer High School) Presidential award. $2,500. Undeclared school. Business major.
Serene Fuller (Foresthill High School) Presidential award. $2,500. UC Davis. Undeclared major.
Keegan O’Sullivan (Colfax High School) Steve & Rose Brown Professional Educator award. $2,500. CSU CalPoly - San Luis Obispo. Education; minor in ESL.
Heather Young (Placer High School) Steven A. Snyder Academic award. $2,500. UC Santa Barbara. PreMed.
Katie Huston (Placer High School) Academic award. $2,500. Biology. Minor in Spanish. Aspires to become a nurse in neo-natal care.
Josephine Hernandez (Placer High School) Virgil R. Traynor, DVM – Animal Science Academic award. $2,500. CSU Chico State University. Animal Science.