Arlington Rotary Club Awards $18K In Scholarships, Honors Top Educator

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington Rotary Club awarded college scholarships totaling $18,000 to two Arlington high school students at its annual education fund banquet.

At the April 28 banquet, Heyshell Serrano Valle also was honored as the club's Key School "Educator of the Year” for 2021-2022. Serrano teaches third grade math, science and Spanish language arts in Key School-Escuela Key's bilingual elementary school program.

Seranno, who is originally from Honduras, joined the Key School faculty in 2016 after teaching previously in New York City.

“Heyshell never says no to anyone who needs support,” said Arlington Rotary Club President Tony Weaver, who presented the award to Serrano.

The Arlington Rotary Club is a partner with Key School for community service and honors a member of its faculty or staff each year. The club's financial support for special programs includes the purchase of books at the school’s annual book fair for teachers to use in their classrooms and for students who cannot afford to take ones home as their own.

"Our partnership with Escuela Key is a perfect fit with Rotary International’s commitment to education and other civic causes, both locally in Arlington and globally,” Weaver said in a statement.

For its college scholarships, the Arlington Rotary Club presented Dayana Cespedes Mendoza of Yorktown High School with a $10,000 scholarship over four years. She plans to attend George Mason University in the fall to study civil engineering.

Migel Vergara of Arlington Community High School was the recipient of the club’s $8,000 Audra Rafter Scholarship. He plans to attend Marymount University to study English and computer science.