Torrey Pines High School senior wins Better Business Bureau scholarship

The San Diego Better Business Bureau (BBB) has announced that Del Mar resident Melodyanne Cheng, a senior at Torrey Pines High School, has been awarded a $1,000 cash scholarship from the BBB after writing a 400-word essay on the importance of ethics and integrity in the community.

Cheng was one of five high school students honored at the BBB’s recent 2012 Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics award, which honored local companies for ethical business practices. The BBB said a total of 258 essays from students attending 87 different high schools in San Diego County were evaluated by the judges. Sycuan Casino was the presenting sponsor of this year’s BBB scholarship program.

A volunteer at an elementary school as a tutor and at  Scripps Memorial Hospital, Cheng wants to major in biochemistry in college, and later pursue a career as a scientist. Her essay talked about her family’s unfortunate experience with a mortgage company that was later investigated by federal law enforcement authorities for possible embezzlement.

The non-profit San Diego BBB, which opened in 1921, is San Diego’s largest county-wide business membership organization with 6,000 accredited businesses and charities. The BBB promotes business ethics through voluntary self‑regulation, consumer and business education, and helps consumers with free pre‑purchase information and consumer protection advice, including reliability reports on more than 45,000 local companies. Before buying decisions are made, consumers are encouraged to phone the BBB's free 24‑hour Consumer Helpline at 858-496‑2131 or 800-600‑7050, or visit the website at bbb.org, to obtain free information and a list of BBB accredited businesses in a particular type of industry.