Hospital Awards 5 Scholarships

Five south Orange County high school graduates who are pursuing careers in medicine have received $1,000 scholarships from a hospital volunteer group.

Students apply for the scholarships annually through the South Coast Medical Center’s auxiliary.

“They’re always astonished at the caliber of the kids who apply for them,” said Maggie Baumann, a spokeswoman for the Laguna Beach hospital. “It’s really hard to choose.”

This year, the money was awarded to Erin Miyawaki of Laguna Beach, Jason Nathanson of Dana Point, and Charles Chan, Mindy Chou and Jennifer Sampson of Laguna Niguel.

Miyawaki, who intends to become a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner, will attend San Diego State University, as will Nathanson, who will study molecular biology. Sampson will study pediatric nursing at Mount St. Mary’s in Los Angeles while Chan delves into medicine and science at Brown University and Chou studies pharmacy at the Pacific University in Oregon.