San Mateo Rotary Awards $90K In College Scholarships

From the Rotary Club of San Mateo: In an emotional ceremony, 37 high school and community college students were awarded scholarships by the Rotary Club of San Mateo on May 11 at the club’s regular weekly meeting. Of those students, 16 will be going to four year schools and 21 will be attending community college. Students headed to four year schools received a total of $71,500 and $18,500 was awarded to students headed to the College of San Mateo. Students from CSM, Aragon High School, San Mateo High School, Hillsdale High School and Serra High School were the recipients. Some of the students were also recipients of the club’s “SMART” middle school scholarships, receiving incentive scholarships for goal setting and maintaining good grades throughout high school.

Four–Year Scholarship Committee Co-Chair John Root said that the club has now awarded over $2 million in scholarships to over 1,000 students over the last 31 years. These took the form of SMART scholarships, four–year and two–year scholarships. The Four –Year Committee is co-chaired by Margaret Taylor.

According to Root, over 80 students applied for the four-year scholarships, with 23 finalists interviewed in their homes by 27 Rotarians. Applicants had to go through an additional interview with a panel of Rotarians to discuss their aspirations and funding gaps in their desired education.

Community College Scholarship Committee Co-Chair Sue Lempert encouraged all of the two–year college recipients to apply for a scholarship for a four year school upon completion of their two years in community college. The Two- Year Scholarship Committee was co-chaired by Laura Porter, with 13 Rotarians participating in the interview process.

The Rotary Club of San Mateo raises the scholarship money through multiple efforts: an annual raffle, a car show and a fun run. These events together generate approximately $90,000 per year in scholarship money.

Parents of the students were invited to witness the ceremony, attended by the area high school principals and guidance counselors, as well as the president of CSM. Seven students gave moving remarks, telling club members how the scholarships will change their lives. Sofia Azalgara of Aragon High and Maria Coronado of San Mateo High were the two year scholarship speakers, along with four-year speakers Manfrield Ng of Aragon High, Sethmi Kachchakaduge of San Mateo High, Hector Mendoza of Serra High, Elizabeth Abarca of CSM and Terra Shelton of CSM. Shelton told club members that their generosity toward her will help “hundreds or possibly thousands of others” as she moves ahead with her degrees to realize her dream of teaching college students.

“The scholarship program is an integral part of our club, and it’s a favorite method of outreach for many of our members,”according to Tony Villanueva, President of the San Mateo Rotary Club. “In addition to the tremendous benefits it provides locally, it fulfills one of the purposes of Rotary International, which is to support educational efforts throughout the world.”

Rotary Clubs provide service opportunities designed to benefit people in need in both local communities and worldwide. The San Mateo Rotary Club was founded in 1924, and with over 160 members it is the largest Rotary club between Mountain View and Novato.

Photo courtesy of the Rotary Club of San Mateo