On May 20th, the Rotary Club hosted Rotary Awards Night at M-A, celebrating academic excellence and recognizing outstanding work from M-A, Eastside Preparatory, Sacred Heart Preparatory (SHP), and Menlo School students.
The Rotary Club is an international organization of people who come together to do philanthropic work for the community by providing annual scholarships to underprivileged high school graduates, fundraising, and making the community whole through the motto “service above self.” The Rotary Club started in the early 1900s in Chicago and expanded across the nation.
Jeff Pierce, President of the Rotary Club of Menlo Park, said, “I hope students feel a sense of accomplishment and happiness for what they’ve done. The scholarship award is one of my favorite things to do and I’m just so happy to be here.”
Rotarian Rob Holyoake said, “Our scholarships help these students get closer to being able to pay for college without getting heavily into student debt. We hope to continue doing good work to support the members of our local community.”
The celebration started off with M-A’s Jazz Band performance and was followed by speeches from former Rotary Club of Menlo Park president Lisa Cesario, current president Jeff Pierce, M-A principal Karl Losekoot, mayor Cecilia Taylor, president of Menlo Rotary Community Foundation Maya Sewald, and New Beginnings Community Church Pastor Herman Hamilton. Their moving speeches applauded the students for their academic brilliance.
Next, each school’s principal announced the recipients of the Scholastic Achievement Awards, which included all grades and recognized each individual academic excellence. Around 30 students from each school won this award from a variety of subjects, ranging from AP Calculus to creative writing.
Marissa Hou, a freshman at M-A who won an award for AS Algebra II, said, “I’ve put a lot of effort into math, so I’m happy to see a good result. Hard work pays off!”
“Getting this award wasn’t something I expected, but I’m really happy because it proves my hard work paid off over the past five years,” said Samora Stephens, a sophomore at SHP who won an award for Mandarin III. “Learning Mandarin was something new and different for me because I’ve always been a Spanish person. I’m embracing the journey.”
Desiree Ramon-Aquino, a senior at Menlo who won an award for Ethnic Studies, said, “I’m really excited to receive this award. Coming from a school that is majority white and doesn’t have a big diverse background, I think I’ve done a lot for my Hispanic community.”
Next, Foundation Scholarship awards were announced by Sewald. The total amount of scholarships this year was $145,000 and $53,000 for local community non-profits. 16 seniors were awarded this scholarship.
“I’m first-gen and also the first in my family to go to college. The fact that I’m able to help my family in this way and escape generational poverty means a lot to me,” said Donna Garcia, a senior at SHP who received the Mary Ann Somerville Scholarship. “Pastor Hamilton’s speech about how the odds are against us yet we still combat them motivates me to continue breaking those odds.”
Francisco Gallardo, a senior at M-A who achieved the Alice Kleeman Community College Award said, “It feels great to receive this scholarship. I’m able to afford college and look forward to my future career aspirations. I won’t let this opportunity down and it inspires me to get more awards later on in the future.”
The Rotary Awards Night was heart-warming, as students took their next steps into higher education. The Rotary Club’s generosity and dedication towards the community continue to help students achieve their goals and recognize their hard work.
Michelle Tsui, the chair of the mentoring program at the Rotary Club of Menlo Park, concluded, “It’s life-changing to a lot of these students, many of whom are first-gen. College is very expensive so being able to help them out takes a huge burden off the family and feels very rewarding.”
