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Nearly $600,000 in scholarships was distributed to San Benito County students in 2025.
According to Hollister High School’s May 28 newsletter, 162 of its seniors were awarded scholarships totaling $505,400. The school called it an “astounding” $135,000 increase from 2024.
“These numbers not only represent generous community support but also the incredible determination and hard work of our students, who submitted over 2,400 scholarship applications, setting a new school record,” the newsletter states.
Among those students was Lacy Folsom, who received the William Medeiros Jr. Memorial Scholarship from Gabilan Chapter Seneca. Folsom plans on using the $3,000 scholarship to join the pre-nursing program at California State University Chico.
“A dedicated participant in the CAL-SOAP [California Student Opportunity and Access Program], she has demonstrated a strong commitment to education, community service and personal growth,” Gabilan Chapter Seneca scholarship committee chair Julie Tanner said.
Gabilan Chapter Seneca awarded a total of $8,000 in scholarships to four students, including one from Anzar High.
Eighteen Anzar High students received scholarships totalling $78,900, Principal Angela Crawley said.
“About 28% of our senior class earned scholarships, which I think is pretty incredible,” she said.
San Andreas Continuation High School counselor Elena de la Puerta said six students were awarded scholarships from five organizations. She did not know the amount of each scholarship.
Student Vivianna Padilla Ortega received four scholarships and two other students—Elizabeth Sandoval and Austin Jones—received two.
“We felt very supported by the community to have several organizations that offered and awarded scholarships to our students,” she said. “We know that our students can and will do great things with their future.”
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Noe Magaña is a BenitoLink reporter. He began with BenitoLink as an intern and later served as a freelance reporter. He has also served as content manager and co-editor. He experiments with videography… More by Noe Magaña
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