Alexa Flores is one of 37 graduating seniors awarded scholarships this year through Community Foundation Santa Cruz County.
According to her Advanced Placement Statistics teacher at Aptos High School, Alexa always shows up to class early whether to ask questions about the material or to get a jumpstart on the day’s assignments. It’s the first class of the day and starts at 8:30 a.m.
This is typical Alexa, a scholar and athlete who seizes every opportunity to advance herself academically and try her hardest whether it’s on the flag football team, on the track, or volleyball court.
After experiencing homelessness her freshman year, when the pandemic led to remote learning, Alexa was afraid she would be back academically, but she quickly got back on course. When she tore her ACL and meniscus requiring surgery, she found her healing process gave her a window to the field of sports medicine which she wants to pursue in college as a biology major.
“Having this firsthand experience will allow me to understand what an athlete is going through and most importantly, how I will be able to help heal their injury,” she said. “I had always enjoyed giving back to my community and helping others, so by being a physician, I can continue to do this as a profession.”
She was awarded the Emmett & Elsie Geiser Scholarship for student athletes, $7,200 over three years, as she attends Texas Christian University.
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Another winner is Mireya Zamora Garcia, a senior at Pajaro Valley High School, awarded the Isabel Fowler Sewell Scholarship for $5,000.
The daughter of two Mexican immigrants, her first languages were Spanish and Zapoteco, making integrating into elementary school in the United States difficult.
Mireya took advantage of after-school programs to hone her language skills, dedicating herself to mastering English.
Her grade-point average is 4.1. She earned an A in her Advanced Placement English course, proving to herself that with determination and commitment, she could accomplish anything. She has a passion for science, technology, coding, and her community and she plans to attend UC Berkeley to study electrical engineering.
Mireya said the scholarship will help pay her cost of attendance at UC Berkeley “and allow me to focus more on my academics while having to worry less about working. Thank you this is a great honor and I hope to return to Watsonville and PVHS to give back what I learned.”
This year, donors funded $283,000 in scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 and 74% are first- generation college students. Over four decades, the Foundation has awarded $2.2 million in scholarships to 450+ students.
The class of 2024 started high school at home due to the global pandemic and had to navigate the emotional and economic fallout, and cope with this year’s chaotic rollout of a new federal financial aid application process.
“These students,” says Kevin Heuer, director of community engagement & impact at the Community Foundation, “are so ready and eager to shape their own futures and chase the ambitions they’ve been holding onto. Despite all the challenges they faced, this year’s awardees continued to excel in class, volunteer in the community, play sports, participate in clubs and extracurricular activities, and work nights and weekends to help their families make ends meet. Among them are future physicians, teachers, aerospace engineers, mathematicians, pilots, nurses, electrical engineers, artists, and builders. It’s an extraordinary group of young people and we can’t wait to watch them succeed.”
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Scholarships
JUDY ANTON WOMAN OF VALOR / LUPITA LOVES TO READ PROJECT
Natalie Martinez, Watsonville High School (Cabrillo College)
R.H. BEEL MEMORIAL
Zena Reyes Lopez, Santa Cruz High School (San José State University)
Alicia Guzmán Serriteño, Santa Cruz High School (UC Santa Cruz)
BURTON
Miguel Martinez-Villalobos, Watsonville High School (CSU Long Beach)
Derick Freitas, Harbor High School (UC Davis)
BOB & BETSY DARROW
Emerson Portillo Rodas, Santa Cruz High School (San José State University)
Itzel Vega Andrade, Watsonville High School (Cabrillo College)
RICHARD & THERESA CROCKER
Jaime Lopez, Costanoa High School (Cabrillo College)
Dasia Amick, Watsonville High School (San José State University)
Olivia Robinson, Harbor High School (San Diego State University)
JACK DEBORD MEMORIAL
Aliyah Bowers, San Lorenzo Valley High School (De Anza College)
Alyssa Struthers, San Lorenzo Valley High School (Concordia University)
HANK GARCIA JR. & FAMILY
Sydney Roth Bensusan, Aptos High School (Chapman University)
Matthew Enright, St. Francis High School (Cabrillo College)
Makayla Rader, Monte Vista Christian School (University of Mount Saint Vincent)
Kimberly Aguirre, Pajaro Valley High School (UCLA)
Damian Vazquez-Guevara, Watsonville High School (Cabrillo College)
EMMETT & ELSIE GEISER
Alexa Flores, Aptos High School (Texas Christian University)
Kimberly Aguirre, Pajaro Valley High School (UCLA)
Yaretzi Arias-Luna, Watsonville High School (UC Davis)
LAURA SEGURA MEMORIAL
Freddie Lopez, Pajaro Valley High School (CSU Monterey Bay)
Kyndra Imperial, Cabrillo College (Cabrillo College)
ISABEL FOWLER SEWELL
Aidaleydi Hernandez, Pajaro Valley High School (Cabrillo College)
Angel Soliven, Pajaro Valley High School (Cabrillo College)
Cynthia Pina-Corpus, Pajaro Valley High School (Cabrillo College)
Mireya Zamora Garcia, Pajaro Valley High School (UC Berkeley)
Natalia Garcia-Lazaro, Pajaro Valley High School (CSU Monterey Bay)
Nicole Alfaro Magana, Pajaro Valley High School (UC Santa Cruz)
BERT & CAROLYN POST
Valeria Lopez, Watsonville High School (CSU Fresno)
Jennifer Gonzalez Huerta, Watsonville High School (UC Berkeley)
LOUIS J. & MARY ELLEN SCHULTZ
Alma Leonor-Sanchez, Cabrillo College (UC Santa Cruz)
SIMUNOVICH FAMILY AGRICULTURE
Jaciel Luna Farfan, Watsonville High School (CSU Monterey Bay)
BARBARA J. THOMPSON
Chanya Nguyen, Santa Cruz High School (UC Berkeley)
Vanessa Marroquin-Guzman, Santa Cruz High School (San Diego State University)
Cecilia Peralta, Delta Charter High School (Cabrillo College)
Ashley Arriaga Sanchez, Harbor High School (Cabrillo College)
ERNEST V. COWELL
Victoria Choi, Santa Cruz High School (UC Santa Cruz)
JOHN L. TURNER
Sindy Hernandez-Villanueva, Watsonville High School (UC Santa Barbara)
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For info on the Community Foundation’s scholarship program visit: www.cfscc.org/scholarships
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