After a tumultuous year and a half of virtual and hybrid learning and an unavoidable hiatus in traditional school programs and activities in the Hemet Unified School District, this year’s graduating seniors finally felt some sense of normality as they participated senior awards ceremonies, the first since spring of 2019.

Five lucky seniors from the district’s comprehensive high schools – Hemet High, West Valley, Tahquitz, Hamilton High and Western Center Academy — received the Hemet Education Foundation’s (HEF) generous $5000 scholarship, while a sixth student from the Academy of Innovation, one of the district’s alternative schools, walked away with a $500 HEF scholarship. The $5000 HEF Scholarship recipients were Alize Acevedo, Hamilton; Malia Arrocena, Tahquitz; Cambria Beard, Hemet High; Elijahua Contreras, Western Center; and Lailah Dodd, West Valley. Judith Almaraz of the Academy of Innovation was the $500 scholarship winner.

Hamilton High School graduate, Alize Acevedo, has already been accepted to the Pre-Nursing program at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, with the goal of becoming a Registered Nurse or midwife. Acevedo says she is a “very determined and hardworking person and going to college and receiving this scholarship will mean so much to me and my parents.” Hamilton English teacher, Rebekah Mortensen Young, says Alize “is conscientious with her work and applies her strong work ethic to her studies.”

An avid cheerleader and one of a set of triplets, Malia Arrocena from Tahquitz High School knew early on that it would be a challenge for her parents to support her and her two sisters through four years of college. With her desire to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Malia knew she needed to maintain her grades, focus on math and science, and contribute financially however she could. She hopes to attend either Ottawa University in Arizona or Cal State Fullerton in the fall. Sarah Peterson, Tahquitz High School Varsity Cheer coach, says, “Malia is a self-starter and is very motivated and exhibits tremendous compassion for others.”

Hemet High School’s Cambria Beard is described by her cheer coach as “outgoing and full of life, and always willing to give her all to every activity.” She is “dedicated, hardworking, compassionate, kind and never misses the opportunity to help others,” according to Michelle Mazza, Cambria’s employer, traits that are critical to the nursing profession, Cambria’s career choice. “This year has solidified my decision to pursue a career in the medical field, as doctors, nurses, and paramedics are the heroes of 2020,” Cambria explains. She hopes to attend Cal State San Marcos or Cal Baptist University and major in nursing, with a goal of eventually working in the neonatal or trauma units or in anesthesiology.

Western Center Academy graduate Elijahua Contreras is focused on the future and the many ways he can help the general public. He has spent the past four years of high school leading and encouraging others while participating in the many activities, both in-person and virtually, that the Western Center Academy has to offer. Contreras says that “compassion, care and kindness have always been traits that I honor. I aspire to be there for those in need.” Hoping to attend UCLA or UC Irvine, Contreras’s projected career path is the medical field, with a focus on public health, biology, or clinical science.

West Valley High School senior Lailah Dodd loves to write her own short fiction stories and runs her own YouTube channel and has her mind set on becoming a journalist. Cynthia Arambula, West Valley site coordinator for the nationally recognized after school program, Think Together, says that “Lailah presents perseverance, ambition, and creativity which is exactly what the journalism field needs.” Lailah plans to attend either UC Riverside or Cal State San Bernardino with a major in English.

Judith Almaraz, a graduating senior from Hemet’s Academy of Innovation, is passionate about Neuropsychology, a branch of psychology that focuses on how a person’s cognition and behavior are related to the brain and nervous system. Almaraz says that to “be able to teach others how the mind works when it is affected by accidents or diseases” would be her life’s main goal. Her plans are to attend Mt. San Jacinto Community College and pursue a major in psychology.

The Hemet Education Foundation has been supporting the students and schools in the Hemet Unified School District for over forty years through yearly student scholarships and numerous financial donations to the district’s many programs. Scholarship funds are generated by its only fundraising project, the “Bucks-a-Month Club,” a district-wide payroll deduction program with district employees making monthly donations to the foundation. To contribute to the Hemet Education Foundation, go to https://www.iegives.org/give/ and choose Hemet Education Foundation Endowment.

Sue Breyer, Co-President, Hemet Education Foundation

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(Supports Local Scholars)

The Hemet Education Foundation (HEF) awarded scholarships to six graduating seniors from high schools in the Hemet Unified School District during recent senior awards presentations held for each school. Each year the HEF awards $5000 scholarships to one graduating senior from each comprehensive high school – Hemet, West Valley, Tahquitz, Hamilton, Western Center — and a $500 scholarship for qualifying seniors at each of the alternative high schools – Alessandro, Helen Hunt Jackson College Prep High School and ASPIRE. According to Ron and Sue Breyer, co-Presidents of the organization, “these scholarships are intended for students with good citizenship, a G.P.A. between 3.0 and 3.9, and who really desire a college education but whose family must shoulder the full responsibility for paying for that education.”

This year’s $5000 scholarship recipients are as follows: Avery Perez, Western Center Academy; Dystany Hodges, Hamilton High School; Paulina Garcia, West Valley High School; Camille Williams, Hemet High School; and Savannah Sawyer, Tahquitz High School. Rashad Bennett from Helen Hunt Jackson College Prep High School received a $500 scholarship. The Hemet Education Foundation is able to provide these scholarships each year with funds earned through their only fundraising program – the “Bucks-a-Month Club” — in which HUSD employees make monthly contributions via payroll deduction.

-Sue Breyer

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