Assistance League of Diablo Valley Awards $102,200 in Scholarships

Assistance League® of Diablo Valley President Veronica Gant (row 2, far r), Scholarships Co-Chairmen Cindi Segale (row 1, far r) and Lesley Salo (row 2, far l) congratulate Scholarships 201 recipients (row 1, l to r): Miguel Cortez Valdez, Justine Rawlings, Habib Placencia Adissi, Elena Sierra, Barune Thapa, Ryan Tsao, and Sophie Zhang. Row 2, (l to r): Estela Barrera, Alfred Machacon, Jenna Weathers, Kayla Lopez, Grace Williams, Alondra Cabrera, , Azeema Yahya, Selina Saliba, and Ashley Weston; Row 3, (l to r) Jonathan Rasmusson, Monte Cabrera, Jasmine Lomax, Leaje Morris, Alejandro Pelayo, Aziim Alishlah, and Austin Rickli.

Assistance League of Diablo Valley is a nonprofit, member volunteer organization dedicated to improving lives in our community through hands-on programs. Since 1999, Scholarships has provided financial and emotional support to high school, community college, and university students who express a desire to advance through education, maintain a designated grade point average, volunteer in campus and community projects, and maintain an academic time line. Several of these future scientists, nurses and engineers are the first in their families to attend college. Imagine their parents’ pride and the profound impact they impart on their younger siblings. In the fall, these recipients will attend such institutions of higher learning as Chabot College, California Polytechnic State University, University of California-Davis and Princeton.

Additionally, two recently created categories, titled Spotlight and Sandi Lou Back-to-School, are both funded by private donors who determined the criteria for eligibility; recipients must maintain a 2.8 grade point average and carry a minimum of 12 units during the entire time they are receiving funding.

The Spotlight Scholarships, which are renewable, are awarded to students who show particularly strong focus on their educational goals leading to a career path in their chosen field. The amounts can be as much as $7,500 for the 2015-2016 school year. Recipients are Amanda Davis-Juarez, Antioch, UCLA; Gloria Duarte, Bay Point, UC-Davis; Elizabeth Ellis-Falik, Berkeley, UC-Berkeley; Jasmine Lomax, El Sobrante, California Polytechnic State University; Elena Sierra, Concord, CSU East Bay; and Julia Murphy, Long Beach, CSU Long Beach.

The Sandi Lou Back-to-School Scholarship awards $2,500 to a student who has returned to school after a lengthy absence. The scholarship is in honor of the donor’s mother who, herself, not merely returned to school but went on to receive a master’s degree and chart a successful career. The Sandi Lou recipient is Jenna Weathers, Pittsburg, who is presently attending Diablo Valley College.

A third privately funded scholarship is the $20,000 multi-year Mardis Preciado Memorial Scholarship. The recipient must be a student who received a one-year scholarship from Assistance League of Diablo Valley last May and achieved a 2.8 grade point average in his or her first year in college. The money will be disbursed in equal payments over the remaining six semesters of undergraduate work as long as the student maintains 12 units and a 2.8 grade point average. The 2014-15 recipient is Ryan Tsao, a student at University of California-Berkeley who is currently pursuing studies in Materials Science and Engineering.

High School recipients include Aziim Alishlan, Pinole Valley HS , Pinole; Alondra Cabrera, Middle College High School, San Pablo; Leaje Morris, Grace Williams, Making Waves Academy, Alfred Machacon, De Anza HS, El Sobrante; Estela Barrera, Freedom HS, Antioch; Ashley Weston, Heritage HS, Pittsburg; Azeema Yahya, Concord High School, Concord; Selina Saliba, Diane Neypes, Natalie Hill, Barune Thapa, College Park High School, Pleasant Hill; Tenzin Sengye, Las Lomas HS, Walnut Creek; Sophie Zhang, San Ramon Valley High School, Danville; Alejandro Pelayo, California HS, San Ramon; Austin Rickli, Heritage HS, Nyziq Smith, Freedom HS, Brentwood; and Alexis Evans, East Union HS, Manteca.

Community College awardees include Monte Cabrera, Laney College, Antioch; Kayla Lopez, Habib Placencia Adissi, Jonathon Rasmusson, Justine Rawlings, Dakota Stoll, and Meghan Thompson, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill; Miguel Cortez Valdez and Janelle Rogers, Los Medanos College, Brentwood.

Congratulations to all! Scholarships committee members look forward to hearing from them in the ensuing years. To learn about all of Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s philanthropic programs, and the recently awarded GuideStar Exchange gold participation level status, please visit this website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org or the GuideStar Exchange.