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Minerva Club scholarship recipients post for a group photo Sunday, May 5.
Minerva Club scholarship recipients post for a group photo Sunday, May 5.
The Minerva Club hosted a ceremony on Sunday, May 5, at their historic clubhouse, where they presented each of 13 about-to-graduate seniors from local high schools with a $1,200 scholarship.
Eileen Hervey, the president of the Minerva Trust Fund board, presided over the event and told the gathering of about 45 guests, “These students have been selected from a pool of over 100 applicants throughout the Santa Maria Valley who have made a commitment to higher education. Academic achievement, personal character and community service are among the criteria we considered in awarding these scholarships.”
City Councilwoman Gloria Soto spoke to the attendees in both Spanish and English, sharing her personal history of being the child of immigrant farmworkers and of handling challenges and overcoming obstacles on her way to earning a Bachelor of Arts degree.
When the students assembled for a group photo taken by Minerva member Dottie Lyons, proud and happy parents sprang to their feet and whipped out phones to record the moment.
The students are from Delta, St. Joseph, Pioneer Valley, Righetti and Santa Maria high schools and Orcutt Academy and Valley Christian Academy.
After being introduced by their respective school representative, the awardees took turns at the podium, telling the guests about themselves, their goals and their college destinations.
Among their college choices are Allan Hancock, UC Berkeley, UCLA, California Lutheran University, Cal Poly SLO, and California Baptist University. Several seniors are looking at majors in biology, chemistry, computer science, and engineering.
Two are planning on majoring in political science with one having an eye toward law school. One young man will be studying theology.
Before introducing some of the scholarship recipients, Scottie Ortiz, immediate past president of the Minerva Club Trust Fund board, said “It is a joy and a pleasure to work on this committee.”
She knows her mission well, as she also served on the Breakfast Rotary Scholarship Committee.
Among this year’s scholarship recipients were Marc Colorez, Christopher Davis, Vida Delgado, Gavin Galanski, Nadia Gutierrez, Evan Hoyos, Kaleolani Ilac, Kelly Morales Lopez, Jacqueline Valenzuela Rivera, Evan Troesh, Mikealah Trujillo, Christian Seth Walker, and Eldric Washington.
Ortiz pointed out that the club, founded by pioneer women and in existence since 1894, has a history of honoring academic achievers.
“We are so happy to be able to grant these awards,” said Ortiz.
The practice of recognizing high school academic achievers began in 1917 when the Minerva Club honored all of Santa Maria High School’s honor students at a luncheon.
Since 1952, thanks to a $250,000 bequest from the Maxine and Burns Rick estate, the Minerva Club has distributed over $450,000 in financial aid.
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