The Menlo Park Rotary Club hosted its annual award ceremony at M-A in the Performing Arts Center, recognizing students for their exceptional work and academic achievements on Monday. Students and families from M-A, Eastside Preparatory, Sacred Heart Preparatory (SHP), and Menlo School gathered to celebrate the honorees and their accomplishments.
The event began with the M-A Jazz Band performing a few upbeat songs, followed by past Rotary president Lisa Cesario welcoming everyone. “These students have worked hard to reach this milestone, and they should be proud of what they have accomplished,” she said.
M-A Principal Karl Losekoot and current president of the Rotary Club Ali Irtuk also gave speeches. “Your hard work, your leadership, your character are what brought you here tonight,” Irtuk said. “Just this year alone, our Menlo Rotary Community Foundation is proud to provide more than $150,000 in scholarships and more than $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits. But tonight is not about these numbers, it’s about the people behind them and the incredible potential sitting in this room right now.”
Cesario introduced SHP student Ava O’Donnell-Fernando to share an empowering poem titled “A House Called Tomorrow” by Alberto Rios, which resonated with many of the audience members through its theme of building a better future.
Soon after, the night’s keynote speaker, Eastside Prep and Mills College Alum Mikayla Dones, entered. She named her speech “The Art of Adapting” and talked about the ups and downs of life, and the importance of adapting to the situation. “What I continue to learn is when your plans seem to fall apart, it doesn’t mean your life is falling apart. It just means that life is changing, and change is inevitable,” she said.
Each school’s principal came to the stage to present the Scholastic Achievement Awards to their school’s respective student recipients. In total, around 30 students from each school received awards for accomplishments ranging from drama to social science. “It feels pretty great to have my academic success appreciated,” M-A senior Gustav Singel said.
“I was a little bit surprised at first, but I’m honored that I was able to be one of the students that won,” M-A senior Tommaso Omodei said.
The Rotary Club raises about $50 to 60,000 for their foundation, and 100% of it goes to scholarships. This year, 20 scholarships were awarded to seniors going to college. The students going to a four-year college got a $12,000 scholarship, and the community college students received $1,000. The ceremony was rounded off with snacks and desserts lined up on tables for both students and audience members. There were cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and homemade pastries.
“It’s part of our mission to connect with the community. And for as long as I’ve been in the Rotary Club—20 plus years—we’ve always had the mission to help youth, and so this is one of the ways we try to put our mission into action,” Tim Leary, the past president of Menlo Park Rotary Club and event organizer, said.
