Your Scholarship Committee experienced an unusual application period this year.  We initially received NO applications from high school seniors!  After alerting our contacts at the high schools and extending the filing deadline, we finally received two applications.  Ultimately, one of these students withdrew, as she decided to attend another university.  Of course, all of the applicants were outstanding students and many had overcome hardships to reach this point in their lives.  And, of course we were not able to fund all of them.  But we did select two new Spartans to receive renewable scholarships beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.  They are:

Martine Dijkstra is a Cabrillo College transfer student who will major in Microbiology with future plans to earn a post-graduate degree in Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS).  Ms. Dijkstra is an immigrant from the Netherlands and a re-entry student whose break in college was necessary to heal from the pain of her father’s death.  She is excited to be preparing to work in the medical field, doing diagnostic testing and blood analysis to help “providers implement effective preventative care.”  She will be the first in her family to earn a college degree.

Ines Martinez is a Cabrillo transfer student who will be majoring in Business Administration.  She is a student studying under the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which may expire soon.  She was brought to the U.S. at the age of one.  She has been active in community organizations, working for an inclusive immigration policy and for the establishment of safe places for young people like her.  She envisions her future as a successful businesswoman continuing to work for the social justice issues in which she is currently involved.  She is the first in her family to attend college and graduated from Cabrillo with Honors.