CEC Awards Scholarships

The Citizens Environmental Council (CEC) has awarded scholarships to three Burlingame High School (BHS) students who will graduate in June: Vanessa Teo (shown at left), Sydney Roncal (center) and Gemma Rice.

This is the sixth year that CEC has honored BHS students who have demonstrated a sincere concern for sustainability issues and who show promise to continue addressing environmental problems that threaten our future.

Vanessa Teo is the Founder and President of the Bay Area Youth Climate Action Team (BAYCATS) and she has been active in the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter’s Environmental Stewardship Program, Environmental Legislative Action Team and Bay Advocacy 2030 Programs. She will attend U.C. Berkeley, where she intends to complete a double major in applied mathematics and environmental policy or environmental economics.

Sydney Roncal plans to major in Environmental Engineering at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Inspired by her studies in AP Environmental Science, she started her own home garden and then began a volunteer project with the Burlingame Recreation Center to establish a composting program at the community garden.

Gemma Rice has an exceptional record of public service volunteering, including helping with Girl Scout programs since 2008. She also volunteered at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, where she trained to be a docent, and she attended an Outward Bound Sea Turtle Rescue program in Costa Rica. She is the Founder and President of the Ocean Conservation Club at BHS. She will enroll in the Honors Pre-Nursing program at California State University, Chico.

Mike McCord, Chair of CEC, said, “We were very impressed with these students, and we are confident that they will continue to have a positive impact in their professional and private lives.”