Costa Mesa recognizes its scholars
At the 35th annual Scholarship Recognition Breakfast on Friday morning in Costa Mesa, the student recipients’ stories were varied, their successes exceptional.
The banquet, hosted by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, took place at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa hotel, where 139 people packed the event ballroom.
Retired Orange Coast College history professor Hank Panian, who has attended all 35 scholarship breakfasts, recalled the first one. It welcomed 35 attendees, most of them students. Panian said he served on the event’s formation committee decades ago.
Les Miller, Costa Mesa High School’s first principal, was a member of the group as well, Panian said, and now the top award is named after him.
Mesa’s interim principal, Aaron Peralta, noted the demands placed on today’s students.
“The challenges that face our students today, the expectation for today’s youth — the ante has been really raised,” he said.
Among the 16 recipients of the Les Miller Outstanding Student Awards honored at the breakfast was Leah Norimatsu, who will be graduating from Early College High School and heading to UC Irvine with 53 college credits under her belt. She plants to study nursing.
Isabella Navarette of Back Bay High School is “natural-born psychologist” and “the go-to person on campus for everyone,” said Principal Debbie Davis. She plans to attend Irvine Valley College to study nursing.
Orange Coast College’s Sam Mahdad is leaving the campus with a 4.0 grade point average and, after finishing his degree, a desire to enter the computer industry. He was praised for his involvement in OCC’s student government.
Vanguard’s Ashlee Kildiszew was also credited for her leadership in student government and for being a “profound mentor” to others. Organizers said she’s soon moving to Portland, Ore., to work in the nonprofit sector. She earned a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology.
Among the accolades for Estancia High School senior Alyssa McKay was internship experience at Petco, an externship with Allergan and service to Girls Inc. The varsity tennis player, who has a 4.21 GPA, will be attending UC San Diego this fall to study biology.
Panian and others credited chamber President Ed Fawcett, who plans to retire soon, for expanding the scholarship breakfast, which involves all of Costa Mesa’s high schools, Orange Coast College and Vanguard University.
“You’ve left a lasting legacy, Ed,” Panian said.
