San Dieguito River Park Scholarships awarded to two Canyon Crest Academy seniors

The San Dieguito River Park is inaugurating a scholarship program with awards to two Canyon Crest Academy seniors, Keana Oldham and Grace Wesson. The scholarships of $1,000 each are for students pursuing further education in the fields of biology or resource management.

Keana is ecologically aware and committed to learning more about the environment so that she can contribute to its protection through her studies and in her way of living. She credits her parents with guiding her in that direction. They both did their graduate work in biology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and that is where Keana will be going to college in the fall.

Keana has volunteered with the San Diego River Park and participated in cleanups with "I Love a Clean San Diego." She played on the CCA soccer team for three years, was a tutor at Casa De Amistad, and worked at Chuao Chocolatier, Baskin Robbins, and Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza & Grill. Her GPA is above 4.0 on a 4.0 scale (Lots of A+) and shows excellence not only in biology and math but in artistic pursuits such as sculpture, dance and theatre.

Grace is also a straight-A student with a GPA over 4.0 (lots of Advanced Placement courses), who excels not only in biology but in French and literature. In her senior year she is the French National Honor Society President. She has been a paid tutor in biology and other subjects for fellow high school students. She ran cross country for CCA the last two years.

Grace has committed to Texas A & M for college in the fall and intends to major in biology. Her sister, who graduated from CCA last year and is spending this year in Austin, Texas, will be joining Grace in the freshman class at Texas A & M. Family is very important to her.

Keana and Grace will officially receive their awards at the May 18 meeting of the Joint Powers Authority that oversees the SDRP, at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 302/303. The park is hoping to expand its scholarship program next year and would welcome contributions for that purpose. For information, please contact Leana Bulay, manager of Interpretation and Outreach, at leana@sdrp.org or (760) 716-1214.