MV Student Awarded Trustees' Scholarship from Foothill College

Heidy Boch dreamed of moving to Southern California and working in the film industry, until the unexpected death of her older brother in 2009 dramatically changed her plans.

The tragedy that befell Boch and her family made the 2010  graduate decide to stay in the Bay Area, instead of attending a four-year university with a strong film production program.

She enrolled in the honors program at , because of its proximity to her parents, and recently completed her first year. Boch still wishes to pursue a job as a film producer and wants to transfer to either the University of California-Los Angeles or Chapman University after next year.

“I studied film production at Los Altos High and I really liked it. I learned how to write scripts and film things, and organize storyboards and stuff,” she said.

For the enthusiastic collegian, there's not one particular type of film she would create over another.

“I‘m really interested in narrative film writing, but I also really love documentaries, and I’m also really interested in experimental filmmaking,” she said. “I’m pretty much interested in everything.”

As a strong student, Boch's grades and hard work didn't go unnoticed by the staff at Foothill College. The Board of Trustees recently selected her as one of only two students each year awarded its Trustees Scholarships. This year’s other winner was Khalid Rasti, a De Anza College student from Fremont.

"Heidy and Khalid are outstanding students with great futures ahead of them,'' said Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees President Pearl Cheng. "Like so many of our students, they have had to overcome obstacles to reach their educational goals and have worked hard to distinguish themselves. We are proud to have them attend our colleges."

Boch attended a scholarship workshop where she learned about the Trustees Scholarship. She then looked for and applied to the scholarship online.

They were all excited when she was named this year’s winner from Foothill. The $1,500 scholarship will go a long way, Boch offered.

“I calculated it, and I think it should [add up to] around full-time tuition for a whole year, or three quarters, so that will really help my family,” Boch said. “And if there’s anything left over, I’ll use it for textbooks.”

Boch and her parents, Jose and Maria Boch, live in Mountain View. Maria is a housekeeper, and Jose is a baker for Whole Foods in Los Altos.

“My parents are great. They’re very supportive,” Boch said.