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Mostly clear. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph..
Mostly clear. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Updated: June 10, 2025 @ 6:56 pm
Hilary Romo, right, with husband Lee Romo, presenting the Langston/Maben Memorial Scholarship in honor of her son, Jacob Langston, who lost his life in a boating accident in 2016 at the age of 14, and her father, former Second District Kern County Supervisor Don Maben, who died in 2017. She said both her father and son exemplified commitment to service. The scholarship was awarded to Kenneth Pitt, not pictured here.
Kristi Kerr, at right, presented the Dr. David L. Markiewicz Memorial Scholarship in honor of her father to Kiya Richardson-Hammond.
Jay Wells spoke about his classmate, Jason George, during Senior Awards Night. A scholarship in honor of George was presented to Aneri Mistry, not pictured here.
Roger Davis of American Legion Post 221, far right, presented scholarships to, from left, Brooklyn Warne, Tailey Jelleschitz and Sophia Garcia. Another winner, Jose Lazaro, was not present at the event.
Dixie Coutant, center, of the Tehachapi Heritage League, presented scholarships to James Bogursky, left, and Kiya Richardson-Hammond. Both are very familiar with the organization’s museums.
Dee Zimmerman, executive director of Family Life Pregnancy Center, congratulates Bella Shipman on winning that organization’s scholarship.
Bob Papac of Tehachapi Gem and Mineral Society during Senior Awards Night. The organization’s scholarship went to James Bogursky.
Lydia Chaney, representing Tehachapi Republican Women Federated, during Senior Awards Night. The organization’s scholarship went to Ameri Mistry.
Lt. Justin Ruppert presented two scholarships from the Tehachapi Police Foundation to Cole Porter, at left, and Kenneth Pitt.
Shaun Lundquist, presenter for United Steelworkers Local 12-52, which represents workers at Tehachapi Cement. Scholarship winners were Evelyn Aragon and Kenneth Pitt, not pictured here.
Sharon Hayes, representing the American Society of Military Comptrollers, presents the organization’s scholarship to Kiya Richardson-Hammond. Hayes works at Edwards Air Force Base.
Tehachapi High staff presented Amanda Westerby with a bouquet at the end of Senior Awards Night. Westerby, a career adviser at the school, coordinated the event.
Hilary Romo, right, with husband Lee Romo, presenting the Langston/Maben Memorial Scholarship in honor of her son, Jacob Langston, who lost his life in a boating accident in 2016 at the age of 14, and her father, former Second District Kern County Supervisor Don Maben, who died in 2017. She said both her father and son exemplified commitment to service. The scholarship was awarded to Kenneth Pitt, not pictured here.
Kristi Kerr, at right, presented the Dr. David L. Markiewicz Memorial Scholarship in honor of her father to Kiya Richardson-Hammond.
Jay Wells spoke about his classmate, Jason George, during Senior Awards Night. A scholarship in honor of George was presented to Aneri Mistry, not pictured here.
Roger Davis of American Legion Post 221, far right, presented scholarships to, from left, Brooklyn Warne, Tailey Jelleschitz and Sophia Garcia. Another winner, Jose Lazaro, was not present at the event.
Dixie Coutant, center, of the Tehachapi Heritage League, presented scholarships to James Bogursky, left, and Kiya Richardson-Hammond. Both are very familiar with the organization’s museums.
Dee Zimmerman, executive director of Family Life Pregnancy Center, congratulates Bella Shipman on winning that organization’s scholarship.
Bob Papac of Tehachapi Gem and Mineral Society during Senior Awards Night. The organization’s scholarship went to James Bogursky.
Lydia Chaney, representing Tehachapi Republican Women Federated, during Senior Awards Night. The organization’s scholarship went to Ameri Mistry.
Lt. Justin Ruppert presented two scholarships from the Tehachapi Police Foundation to Cole Porter, at left, and Kenneth Pitt.
Shaun Lundquist, presenter for United Steelworkers Local 12-52, which represents workers at Tehachapi Cement. Scholarship winners were Evelyn Aragon and Kenneth Pitt, not pictured here.
Sharon Hayes, representing the American Society of Military Comptrollers, presents the organization’s scholarship to Kiya Richardson-Hammond. Hayes works at Edwards Air Force Base.
Tehachapi High staff presented Amanda Westerby with a bouquet at the end of Senior Awards Night. Westerby, a career adviser at the school, coordinated the event.
Nearly $90,000 in scholarships were awarded to Tehachapi High School graduates during Senior Awards Night on June 5.
In addition to celebrating effort and excellence, the evening exemplified hundreds of hours of work by organizations, families and individuals to raise money to help young scholars continue their education.
In some cases, scholarships are given by families and others to memorialize loved ones. In other cases, organizations seek to support students with special interests or career goals.
More than 40 scholarship awards — some with multiple recipients — were given to more than 40 graduates.
In many cases, students shared their stories in essays that were reviewed by scholarship donors.
Those stories were not made public, but some donors shared the stories behind the scholarships.
Hilary Romo, with her husband Lee Romo, presented the Langston/Maben Memorial Scholarship in honor of her son, Jacob Langston, who lost his life in a boating accident in 2016 at the age of 14, and her father, former Second District Kern County Supervisor Don Maben, who died in 2017. She said both her father and son exemplified commitment to service. The scholarship was awarded to Kenneth Pitt.
Kristi Kerr presented the Dr. David L. Markiewitz Memorial Scholarship “in honor of my incredible dad, whose life was tragically stolen on July 30, 2015.
“He and my mom met their freshman year in college at Fresno State,” Kerr continued. “They were married a few years later, and then headed up to San Francisco, where my dad was accepted into the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. They settled in Tehachapi in 1975 when he started his dental practice. My two brothers (Jason and Jonathan Markiewitz) and I were all born and raised here, and we’re all graduates of Tehachapi High School.”
Kerr announced Kiya Richardson-Hammond as the winner of the $1,000 Markiewitz scholarship this year, noting that more than a dozen applicants submitted “incredible essays.”
Jay Wells, a 1988 THS graduate, presented the Jason George Memorial Foundation Scholarship to Aneri Mistry, and spoke about George, his classmate.
“Jason George was not only an amazing student here at Tehachapi High School, but he was an accomplished man. He went on to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1994 and then earned his MBA from the University of Michigan. Sadly, in 2009 on May 21, Jason was killed in action while serving his country in the U.S. Army as a major. This is our 14th year of giving scholarships to Tehachapi High School students, and we choose them based on academic excellence and being really well-rounded.”
Many other scholarships were awarded in memory of loved ones, although stories of all were not publicly shared.
Among those is the Benjamin Martinez Jr. Memorial Scholarship. Martinez graduated from Tehachapi High School in 1942. He was a skilled and accomplished athlete and was well-liked by his classmates. He was the only son in his family and had four sisters — Conchita, Gloria, Laura and Betty. On Jan. 24 1945, during World War II, he was tragically killed in action on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. In his memory, his family has provided scholarships to THS students for many years. This year’s recipients of the Benjamin Martinez Memorial Scholarship are Sophia Garcia and Bryan Sanchez.
Other individual and memorial scholarships included the Elizabeth Cuddeback Memorial Nursing Scholarship; Milano Family Scholarship; James L. Grecian Sciences Award; Maggie Hoffman Memorial; and Speed Bump and Persevere.
A wide range of local organizations and businesses also provided scholarships to THS graduates.
Organizations included the American Association of University Women, including the Ronald Morris, Ben Rude, Susan Hanson and Charles and Anne Weider memorial scholarships;
American Legion Post 221; American Legion Auxiliary (Mary Lou Valdez Scholarship); American Society of Military Comptrollers; Bear Valley Women’s Club; BVS Cultural Arts Association; California Correctional Supervisors Organization; California School Employees Association;
California Scholastic Federation; Family Life Pregnancy Center; Kiwanis Club of Tehachapi; Oak Tree Mens Golf Club; Oak Tree Women’s Golf Club; Rotary Club of Tehachapi; Support Stallion Springs Foundation; Tehachapi Heritage League; Tehachapi Lions Club; Tehachapi Mountain Quilters; Tehachapi Police Foundation; Tehachapi Republican Women Federated; Tehachapi Sportsman Club; Tehachapi Valley Arts Association; Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society; THS Alumni; THS Warrior Boosters; and United Steelworkers, Local 12-52.
Businesses providing scholarships included BHE Renewables, Golden Hills Community Services District, Scaled Composites, Tehachapi Cement, LLC, and Terra-Gen.
A complete list of recipients of local scholarships is included in the graduation supplement to the June 11 print edition of Tehachapi News.
Claudia Elliott is a freelance journalist. She can be reached by email: claudia@claudiaelliott.net.
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