Los Angeles County students receive 2021 SCAG Scholarships

Leslie Busch of La Verne, Rocco Fantini of Northridge and Carly Granda of Claremont were announced Thursday as Los Angeles County winners of 2021 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) scholarships.

Busch, Fantini and Granda were among 11 students from across Southern California who will receive $4,000 each in financial support.

The SCAG scholarship program, now in its 11th year, is intended to provide financial support to a select group of high school and community college students who have expressed interest in urban planning and public policy as part of their long-term career goals. The scholarship winners were announced at SCAG’s Regional Council meeting.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to help these students in the next stage of their academic journeys. They are remarkable young adults and future leaders for our region,” said Clint Lorimore, SCAG President, an Eastvale City Councilmember and member of the SCAG Scholarship Committee.

As part of the application process, students were required to submit a completed application form; a minimum 500-word essay, two letters of recommendation and a current academic transcript.

Busch graduates later this month from Citrus College and will attend Yale University this fall, majoring in political science.

“I want to go into a political career and become a politician. Serving and helping people is what I love to do,” she wrote, adding that her own experiences as a foster child have driven her to be “a voice for those who are too afraid to speak for themselves.”

Fantini graduates Thursday from Granada Hills Charter School and will attend the University of Chicago with a double major in public policy studies and economics.

“Poverty is a choice made by leaders and policymakers, who have failed to step up to the plate in addressing failures in public policy implementations for decades,” he wrote. “I am of the conviction that legitimate government has an obligation to act in the best interest of the greater collective. Yet, more often than not, it feels as if those at the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic ladder get the short end of the stick in terms of policy.”

Granda graduates later this month from the Webb Schools in Claremont and will attend Cornell University, majoring in policy analysis and management.

“Over the years, I have learned that everyone has a role to play when it comes to social responsibility,” she wrote. “Silence is merely an acceptance of the current status of the world. We must speak up because our actions today dictate our future.”

In addition to Lorimore, this year’s SCAG Scholarship Committee was comprised of 15 Regional Council members and three representatives from education and business. On the committee from Los Angeles County were: Margaret Finlay, representing the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments; Ray Hamada, representing the Gateway Cities Council of Governments; John Lee and Frank Yokoyama, representing the City of Los Angeles; David Shapiro, representing the Las Virgenes Malibu Council of Governments; Randall Lewis, Lewis Group of Companies; So-Ra Baek, Cal Poly Pomona; and James Moore, University of Southern California.