Rotarians and Lions present scholarships
The Crescenta-Cañada Rotary Club continued its tradition of recognizing outstanding graduating seniors from Crescenta Valley and La Cañada high schools. The Rotarians held a Scholarship Awards Dinner for the seniors this year at the La Cañada Country Club. Club President Fred Konrad and Scholarship Chairman Frank Whipple organized an inspiring dinner event where scholarships were presented to eight graduating seniors.
Crescenta Valley seniors selected to receive scholarships were Helene Cook, who will attend UCLA for the pre-med program to start her career goal to become a pediatrics surgeon. Guilia Daneshgaran will also attend UCLA for the pre-med program to start her career in microbiology. Katherine Lusby will be going to Glendale Community College to begin her career goal for nursing. Justin Trejo will be attending the Verdugo Fire Academy based at GCC to build toward a career with the U.S. Forest Service.
The club also selected the following four graduating seniors from La Cañada High School to receive scholarships. First, Shannon Ashford will be off to Seattle to attend the University of Washington’s School of Business. Miri Kunii is going to New York City to attend the Pratt Institute’s School of Art & Design to major in graphic design. Jessica Lee plans to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to major in food science and nutrition. And Tatiana Vasily plans to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena to major in graphic design and photography.
It was wonderful to see each of the students go up to the lectern to introduce their parents, plus tell about their career goals. The applause was great, and we all thanked the Rotary Club for its continuing support of education in our community.
Crescenta-Cañada Rotary Club meets at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at Frank’s Famous Kitchen and Bakery, 3315 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale. For more information, call Joe Kroening at (818) 249-2016.
LIONS RECOGNIZE SPECIAL-NEEDS STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
The Northwest Glendale Lions Club gave scholarships and held a special awards luncheon at Marie Callender’s to honor three challenged students’ achievements last week. Each of the students received a scholarship check of $1,000 to reward their efforts in school. Since 1987 the Lions have given 65 special education students a total of $72,500 in scholarship money.
This year the Lions recognized Billy Bowen, Ryan Allen Meier and Paola Tapia for their accomplishments.
Billy Bowen just graduated from Hoover High School. Billy’s health was impaired more than a year ago, and he has been taking medication and therapy to cure the disorder. He was able to come back and receive acceptable grades to graduate. Billy plans to enroll at Glendale Community College and major in sound engineering and music.
Ryan Allen Meier has a disability that affects his speech and challenges his ability to communicate in many situations. Ryan has just completed his program at GCC and he plans to go to USC this fall to major in civil engineering.
Paola Tapia was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which affects her lower body. She used a walker to get around the GCC campus and just received her business degree. She plans to enroll at the Bastyr University campus and obtain a doctor of naturopathic medicine degree.
What an inspiring luncheon to hear about the challenges these three students overcame to excel in school.
Northwest Glendale Lions Club meets at noon every Thursday at Shakers Restaurant, 801 N. Central Ave., Glendale. For information call Ross Adams at (818) 243-4458.
BRUCE CAMPBELL can be reached at (626) 403-1010, cell phone (626) 664-2223, or bruce4results@verizon.net.