Dr. Julius Sokenu: Hi, everyone, my name is Julius Sokenu, the Moorpark
College President. Welcome to our scholarship
ceremony this afternoon. It is a pleasure to have
you here with us. Whether you're a student or
you're one of our faculty, staff and
administrators, or you're one of our generous
donors, or a community partner, today, we're here
to celebrate the recipients of the various
scholarships that will be awarded. Moorpark
College students have been resilient and they have
thrived during this Covid-19 pandemic, and we know
it has not been easy. Moorpark College supports
students by providing direct emergency
funds, low cost food and numerous other
supports. Our faculty, staff and administrators
have risen to the challenge. You are our donors and
you are committee members have risen to the
challenge. Today, we are awarded
$181,766
with 87 scholarship awards to
227 recipients. Kudos to
our donors. Our donors give because they believe
in the power of education to transform lives. They
know that Moorpark College builds pathways to
prosperity. They give because they are alums. They
give because they were inspired by a faculty
member, or staff member, or an administrator, or a
peer of theirs while they were here at our
institution. They give in memory of a loved one,
and in so doing, empower others to thrive. They
give because as industry partners, they are
beneficiaries of the high quality, student
centered learning that is responsive to workplace
needs. Our donors give because they believe in equity,
they believe in inclusion, and they know that we
are stronger when we embrace our diversity. Your
generosity has made Moorpark College among the
best of its peers, in the state and national and
internationally. Moorpark College has received
numerous accolades, which you all should be proud
of. We're an Aspen 150
college. We're actually an Aspen 30 college. Out of 150 best
colleges in the country, we're narrowed down to the top
30, according to the Aspen Institute. We're also a
champion of higher education awarded to us by the
Campaign for College Opportunity, which is an
organization that looks at how well colleges
prepare students not only for education and for
transfer and careers, but how well they prepare
diverse populations of that to do that work. We're
best community college as identified by
intelligent.com by college value. And our
nursing students pass the NCLEX at a 100
percent success rate. So do our rad techs by
the way, and our Child Development Center is NAEYC
accredited. I am proud to tell you that this year,
one of our students, Gerald Richardson the Third
is a Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Award winner.
Gerald gets $40,000 to attend any
four year institution he wants. And Gerald was a
recipient of a scholarship from you previously. We
do all of this work in partnership with our
faculty, with our administrators, with the students,
and you our donors, and most importantly, we do
all of this work with the Moorpark College
Foundation. The Moorpark College Foundation are
advocates for the work that we do. The Moorpark
College Foundation is ably represented by board
members who you will see announcing and bestowing
awards this afternoon. On behalf of our foundation
is Board Chair Jill Haney. No one, no one is a better
advocate for Moorpark College than Jill. College
presidents get a couple of benefits and gifts as
they take on their responsibilities, and one of
them is to have a Foundation Chair, who not only
believes in the work that we do, not only has
experience the work that we do, but continues to
work towards making us better. Please help me to
welcome our Board Chair Ms. Jill Haney.
Jill Haney: Thank you, Julius. I'm very honored to serve as
Board Chair and to work with you and the rest of
the board at the Foundation. Right now, I'd
like to welcome everyone to the 2021
Moorpark College Foundation Scholarship Awards
Ceremony. We're happy to have you all here to join
us in the celebration of the students that have
been granted scholarships for the coming year.
These scholarship awards are in four categories.
Gifts and grants from community organizations,
memorial gifts, awards from the Moorpark College
organizations and departments, and Moorpark College
Foundation awards. The scholarships that are being
awarded today have come through the Moorpark
College Foundation in the form of gifts from our
generous donors, grants from local, state and
public organizations, and from our dedicated, local
industry and community partners. None of this
would have been possible without the continued and
ever-growing commitment to Moorpark College
students. This year we are especially appreciative
to all of our supporters of the needs of our
students during this last year, Covid have grown
significantly. The donors and community and
college partners of the Moorpark College
Foundation have weathered these troubled times as
well, and yet they have empowered us to increase
our annual giving to the Moorpark College students.
We have donors that have increased both the number
of scholarships they are offering, as well as
increasing the dollar amount of their donations.
In all cases, Moorpark College students are the
beneficiaries. Before we begin, we would like to
think Maria Perez Medeiros in our Scholarship
Office for all of her hard work this year,
coordinating the applications, facilitating for
all of the scholarship award committees, and for
thoughtful correspondence with our donors. She
works really, really hard behind the scenes and we
would not be able to do this without her. We'd
also like to thank Alicia Hoffman, our Foundation
coordinator, for producing the slides for each
award and for generating the program for this
event. Our first category will be gifts and grants
from community organizations. I'd like to
introduce Moorpark College Foundation board member
Tim Weaver, who will present these awards. Thank
you. [Tim Weaver]: Thank you, Jill, and thank everyone. It is my
pleasure to announce the scholarship recipient in
the category of gifts and grants from community
organizations. In all, we have had more than
186 applicants in total for all
awards in all categories. And this year we had 70
scholarships review committees. We'd like to thank
these students for their time and dedication to
filling out those applications and the
participants on each of those 70 committees for
the time and commitment to the Moorpark College
Foundation mission. New and increased gifts for
both the fall and spring semester in include AAUW
of Thousand Oaks, which is also called the
American Association of University Women, Alex and
Sylvia Sullivan Scholarship, Caroline Esparza
Nursing Scholarship and the Scherzer International
Scholarships. These enhanced gifts are much
appreciated and have allowed the Foundation to
grant 39 new awards to deserving Moorpark
College students. So without further delay, let's
get to the awards. And these are the words from
community organizations. The first one is the
AAUW of Simi Valley. There's one recipient.
And that recipient and by the way, AAUW of Simi
Valley, has the mission to empower women and their
families. And so that's the purpose of the AAUW of
Simi Valley. The first recipient. Congratulations
to Ariana Leticia Vergara. The next category is
AAUW of Thousand Oaks, by the way, there are three
different chapters and there's one in
Camarillo as well. And and the AAUW of Thousand
Oaks really also wants to improve the lives of
women and their families. And it's been a real
help to students, as you'll see. We have two
recipients of that award. The first recipient is
Heryka Lima Ferreira. And the second recipient is
Lindsay Riskey. Congratulations to the both of you.
The next category is Altrusa International, Inc.
Club of Oxnard, and you can see that they invite
more than 500 clubs and common
goal of community service, and the scholarship is
designed to support student achievement. We have
two recipients of that scholarship fund. The
first is Claire Jacqueline Alison. The second
student is Lindsay Riskey. Congratulations to you
two students. The next category is Jamee Pablo
Ball Scholarship for single parents. And
this scholarship is set up for single parents in
the nursing program. We have one recipient of that
award, and that's Ariana Leticia Vergara.
The next scholarships category
is Montobbio Benson. And you can see that Stan
and Joanne Bensen, consistent supporters of
Moorpark College, established this scholarship
designed to encourage and sustain Moorpark student to
establish a record of academic strength. That
recipient is Jeff Jung. Congratulations, Jeff.
The next category is Caroline Esparza
Nursing. This is the Adventist Health Simi Valley
Hospital to honor Caroline Esparza, Chief
Operating Officer. And as you can see, this has
consistently been I mean, Caroline has been in the
health care business for over 35 years.
And there are five recipients
of this scholarship fund. The first is
Alexis Nicole Dunham. The next one is Katrin
Lindsay. The third is Nicole Misicka. For Christeen
Trina Rivera. And the last one is Samantha Simington.
Congratulations to all five of you. The next
scholarship category is Clarissa Dong, which is an
anthropology multimedia. This is
established by a former faculty member,
Clarissa Dong. The scholarship recognizes a
student who is passionate about
anthropology and multimedia majors. One recipient
and that recipient is Diana Hamideh.
Congratulations to you, Diana.
The next scholarship is Clean Power Alliance
Voyager. Students pursuing this scholarship is for
those students pursuing studies in energy related
fields. As you know that California wants to
become totally green by 1935, I
believe. And so there's going to be a lot of
studying in this particular area. There's four
recipients of this. The first one is Brianna
Mary Fernandez. The second recipient is
Adailton Nali. The third is Shannon
Noel O'Keefe. The last is Krista Tucker.
Congratulations to the four of you. The next
category is Field Hockey Federation. This was
established by Tom Harris, and he has another one
right after this. He is a Moorpark College
existing Foundation member and also retired
Moorpark College engineering professor. This
scholarship is given to students who play or coach
field hockey. And as you know, we have that field
as you enter Moorpark College with the
field hockey. We have one
recipient and that recipient is Jaden Henry-
Brooks. The next category is Tom Harris
Engineering. And again, this was established by
Tom Harris. And this is a student majoring in
engineering who are ready to transfer to a
four year college or university in the fall
semester. There's one recipient of that, and that
name is Luke Makoto Takara Barrella.
Congratulations to you, Luke. Next one is Invicta
Nursing. And this is done from Kristine Mayor,
an alumna of the Moorpark College Nursing
Program, established the Invicta Scholarship. The
scholarship is offered to students in the nursing
program who are continuing their studies in the
fall semester of 2021 Moorpark
College and have completed at least 15 hours of
community service hours.
We have one recipient and that recipient is
Lindsay Rickey. Congratulations, Lindsay. The next
category is Moorpark Women's Fortnightly Club.
This is the Lorraine Radabaugh Honorary
Scholarship and we have two recipients of that.
The first one is Marie Elizabeth Curtis. The second
recipient is Sara Jo Ramsey. The next category is
National Notary Foundation Communications. This is
it's for
communications majors. We have one recipient of
that and that person is Anne Dilsizian. And
congratulations, Annie. The next one is
Non Nocere Nursing. This is one set up by Kristine
Mayor, alumna of the Moorpark College Nursing
Program, established a second category, as I said
before. And this one also is offered to students
in the nursing program. We have one
recipient, Katrin Lindsay. The next category is
NSDAR Don José De Ortega Chapter, Marcia Stower
Scholarship. And this is for a nursing student and
it is a $2,000 scholarship to a student
in their second year of a two year nursing program.
It's based on the academic record as well as
extracurricular activities, including community
service, as well as financial need. We have one
student, Ariana Leticia Vergara. Next category is
Sage Publications, English Department Writing
Awards. Sage Publications is the only publisher in
the Thousand Oaks area and they publish books
worldwide. This scholarship is set up for English
English department students with excellence in
writing. And we have four students that are
recipients of this award. The first is Kylie
Serman, Literary Analysis. The next student is
Isabelle Delman, Literary Research. Next is Kirk
Seitz, Research, and the last one is Sawyer
McNicoll, in Research.
Congratulations to all of you. The next one I'm
particularly proud of, is Scherzer
International. These are for continuing students.
These are scholarships set up for students in
particular need, financial need. And we have 12
recipients of this. All 12 that applied
received scholarships. The first one is Karina
Arteaga. The next is Abigail Katrina Austin-
Wood. Kadin Bolton. Alyssa Brook. Alanah
Elexis Cole. Rachel Coleman. Jessica Marie Collins.
Ivoree Denisa Gerena. Marie Megrish. Chantal
Nolli. Ethan John Pante. Krista Lew Uchimiya.
Congratulations to all of you for getting
this important scholarship. The next one is Simi
Valley Education Foundation. This
scholarship supports the continuing students of
high achieving students who also live and do
community service in Simi Valley. And we have two
recipients of that award. Zachary Gwennap and
Sahaiel Khan. Congratulations to the two of you.
Next, we have a large scholarship. It's Southern
California Edison. It's for STEM students in the
program. This is their fifth year that Southern
California Edison has provided this
$25,000 grant. And their purpose is those
students who change lives and families and
communities through education. The first student
and we have 20 recipients is Luke Makoto Takara
Barrella. Aylah Nusrat Chaudhary. Anthony
Felix. Callum Guizar. Isaiah Marciano Huma.
Simran Kang. Agnieszka Renata. Thi My Duyen Le.
Victoria Nguyen. Shannon Noel O'Keefe. Lesly
Ortiz. Alvaro Scott Perez. Jemina Claire Rivera.
Eden Corey Rosales. Consuelo, Daniela Sandoval.
Eliana Monique Sandoval Nali. Kamilla Jocelyn
Scarano. Palak Sharma. Sydney
Skorpen. Dylan Swanson. And that concludes the
list. And congratulations to those 20 scholarship
recipients. The next category is Southern
California Kaiser Permanente. This is for
radiologic technology students. We have 11
scholarships in this category. The first one is
Teresa Ceja. Wendy Del Rio. Alexa Gibson.
Christian Lopez. Juan Lopez. Roberto Palomino. Mike
Sabonjian. Salene Scamardo. Nicholette Swartley.
Briana Tamayo. Sarah Williard. Congratulations to
each of those radiologic technology
student recipients. The next category is the Alex
and Sylvia Sullivan Music Award.
Sylvia is on the Moorpark College Foundation Board,
as well as being a retired faculty member of
Moorpark College. And she has two other categories
after this. One for nursing and theatre
arts. But the first one is music. But she has been
giving these scholarships for a long time. And
this recipient is Emily Hernandez. In
nursing is Claire Jacqueline Alison. Alexis Nicole
Dunham. James Gallant. The next is Pedram
Mohammadhossein. Next one is Jazmin Sionit.
And the third is theatre arts, and that's Jasmine
Brooke Glavey. The next category is to Takeda
Thousand Oaks Biotechnology. And you can read
the pertinent information with Takeda Thousand
Oaks Biotechnology. The important thing is
they were a sponsor of the last biotech
job ready forum that we held on campus. One of
their employees, Samantha Sale, is also a director
of our Moorpark College Foundation, and she's one
of our newest members. So we're looking forward to
her assistance and support of Takeda Thousand
Oaks Biotechnology. We have one recipient of
that award, and it's Jemina Claire Rivera.
Congratulations to you, Jemina. The next category
is Van De Genachte Book Vouchers. And this
scholarship was established due to the generosity
of Romain Van De Genachte, his impact on the students
in the Ventura Community College District is
significant and it will be perpetual. We have 12
recipients of this award. The first is Will
Wilbert Ac. Marissa Anaya. Jasmine Boyle.
Krystal Delgado. Rizzo Farrow. Joel Gonzalez.
Jaden Henry-Brooks. Alexis Hernandez. Autumn
Madrigal. Olivia McKnight. Emma Nguyen. Parsa Sadri.
Congratulations to each of these award
winners. The next category is the Mary Ann Walker
Child Development Scholarship, which has legacies
in leadership. This degree in early child
education is funded by Senta Green and in
support of Mary Ann Walker, the alumna. And we
have two recipients of this award. The first one
is Nicole Ballote. And the second is
Beatriz Fontenla Lago.
And that concludes my portion of the reading and
congratulations to all the student scholarship
recipients in the gifts and grants from community
organizations category. Next, I'll bring back our
department chair, Jill Hainey, to present the
memorial awards. Thank you. [Jill]: Thank you, Tim. Next
memorial awards always hold a special place in my
heart and I think everybody's hearts, because of the
personal connections each of these scholarships
have to the college. These awards are in
loving memory of past faculty and staff members,
students or the family members of the people that
Moorpark College has touched throughout the years.
We are honored that these memorial awards have
found a home and Moorpark College and that our
students are uplifted by the helping hands
extended from these generous family members and
legacy gifts. New memorial awards this year
include the Lisa Ferguson Memorial Scholarship,
the George Floyd Memorial African-American
Scholarship, the Ignacio and Perez Health Care
Scholarship, and the Michael Joseph Pielaet
Scholarship. Here are this year's award winners.
The first one is the Phyllis Arnold Art and Visual
Art Scholarship. This scholarship was established
by Phyllis Arnold's family to honor her love of the
arts at the college and in the community. The
students who apply for the scholarship are
evaluated on a portfolio of their art and a
personal essay. And we have one recipient. That is
Carson Davis. Congratulations. Our next award is
the Frank Bianchino Psychology Scholarship. Dr.
Frank Bianchino served Moorpark College for over 30
years as both a counselor and a psychology
instructor. Inspired by his mentor, Vikto Frankl,
Dr. Bianchino made people, especially children, a
priority, always taking time to listen so he could
honor their true, authentic selves. It is an honor
to award a scholarship in his name, allowing his
inspirational legacy to live on. We have two
recipients for this award, Amanda Melody
Goldwater and Lauren Perlmutter. Congratulations.
Next, we have the Hugo Ekback Film Television Scholarship. The
Hugo Ekback Scholarship was established by his
family and friends in his memory. In the late 70s,
Hugo created film studies at Moorpark College. The
courses were so popular, University of California,
Los Angeles and University of Southern California
students came to Moorpark College to attend.
He worked very hard to find film equipment so
students could experience every aspect of making
films. History of Motion Picture was one of his
most popular courses. Professor Ekback was much
loved. And we have two recipients of his award,
his scholarship, I'm sorry. Bryan Christopher
Page and Sherrie Lynn Richman. Congratulations.
The next, we have the Lisa Ferguson EATM
Scholarship. Established by extraordinary Thousand
Oaks resident Nancy Ferguson in memory of her
beloved daughter, Lisa Ferguson. Nancy honors her
daughter by providing this scholarship to
deserving EATM student. Nancy has been a longtime fan
of America's Teaching Zoo and continues to develop
relationships with the students and animals during
her monthly visits. We have three scholarship
award winners, Clare Burke, Amanda Craig, and
Yiwen Tsao. Congratulations.
Next, we have the Jason Fleagane Scholarship.
Established in memory of a Moorpark College
student, Jason Fleagane, who is ready for his dream
of completing studies at California State
University Northridge. In his name and with the
memory of his dream, his family supports any
students who are willing to work hard and is
transferring to a four year college or university.
And we have four scholarship winners for this
award. Baylee Ann Carroll, Alexis Nicole Dunham,
Anthony Felix, and Simran Kang. Congratulations.
Next, we have the George Floyd African-American
scholarship. This scholarship was established in
memory of George Floyd by a former dean and some
of the Moorpark College African-American faculty
members and is award to continuing
Moorpark College students who have used their
education to contribute to and uplift the
African-American community or have worked to
improve White and Black race relations. And we
have one recipient. Stanley Opondo Ayieye
Thank you.
Next, we have The Haddad family, Osher Nursing
Scholarship. Established by the family of Barbara
Haddad. Barbara was a graduate of the Moorpark
College Nursing Program. The scholarship is
awarded to students continuing in the nursing
program with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. And we have
two scholarship winners, Ariana Leticia Vergara,
and Kim Philip Laruga Pepito. Thank you.
Congratulations.
Our next scholarship is the Glenna Meadows Nursing
Scholarship. The Glenna Meadows Memorial Nursing
Scholarship was established by her family to honor
Ms. Meadows' memory and her devotion to the
nursing profession for over 30 years. We have one
recipient. Allison Lopez. Congratulations.
Our next award is the Dr. Gary L. Ogden Biological
Sciences Scholarship. The scholarship honors
former Moorpark College biology professor, Dr. Gary
Ogden, who believed in using science to explain
the world in keeping with his values. The
scholarship is established for outstanding
students majoring in biological sciences, either
transferring to a secular university or continuing
at Moorpark College. And we have two recipients at
Edvina Agadjanova and Katharine Cassidy
Sontag.
Our next award is the Jean Osborne Music
Scholarship. Established to honor Jean Osborn, a
music teacher at Moorpark College, for many years.
Keeping her memory and values alive, her family
and friends support a student majoring in music or
music education. And we have one recipient for the
scholarship. Emily Hernandez. Congratulations.
Our next award is the Myles David Penix Veteran
Scholarship. Sergeant Myles Penix first served in the
Navy as a Seabee. After an honorable discharge, he
enlisted in the Army, where he had a thriving
career and received several awards and medals and
ribbons. He's also a proud of his leadership roles and
assignments he served through NATO. Sergeant Penix
planned on becoming a lawyer. The hope is that the
recipient carries on his love of higher education
in the US Armed Forces. And we have won
scholarship recipient. Rodolfo Gurrola. Thank
you. Congratulations.
The Ignacio M. Perez Health Care Scholarship.
The family established a scholarship in memory of
their father, Ignacio Perez. Ignacio believed
education opened doors of opportunity to reach
the career of choice. A father of nine children,
He encouraged all of them to obtain a degree in
any field of study, especially his six daughters.
The scholarship is awarded to students majoring in
biology, nursing or rad tech programs. And we have
four recipients.
We have two, I'm sorry. Hayley Anderson and Pejman
Rohanifar. Congratulations.
The Michael Joseph Pielaet Scholarship. One of
the oldest of 12 siblings, Mike, has always been
the rock of his family community. The nurses,
physicians and staff who cared for Michael in his
last weeks and days provided compassionate comfort and
precious empathy. His wife, Pat, recalls, "I was
humbled by their kindness. I remain ever grateful
for their role in easing Michael's transition from
this world. That is why we think it's only fitting
that the scholarship in his name go to those
pursuing a career, a degree in the field
of health care."
And we have four recipients. Martha Aikiriza, Aaron
Borkovec, Marie Elizabeth Curtis, and Jessica
Spencer. Congratulations to all of you.
And we have the Stephen Conrad Rafter Memorial
Scholarship. Established in loving memory of
Moorpark College student Stephen Conrad Rafter.
In his two years at Moorpark College, Stephen was
a successful student majoring in English,
dedicated to student government and the role of
students in decision making. The student awarded
the scholarship is involved in campus activities
and maintains a GPA of 3.2 or higher.
We have two recipients. Rachel Ariana Spellman and Benay
Rita Taylor. Congratulations.
Now we have this Stephen Conrad Rafter Osher
Nursing Scholarship. This was the first
scholarship established in memory of Stephen
Conrad Rafter. The scholarship is awarded to
students in the Moorpark College nursing program,
maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and are continuing
in the program in the fall semester. And we have
two recipients. Samantha Simington and Jazmin
Sionit, Congratulations.
Now we have the Jason...
Jason D. Raufman Scholarship.
Established in memory of a UCLA transfer student
who had been achieving and
engaging Moorpark College student. This
scholarship recognizes a student transferring to
University of California with having earned a
GPA of 3.5 or higher. We have one
recipient. Shayan Gheidari. Congratulations.
Our next award is the Frank Sardisco Art
Scholarship. And it's created by his family to
honor his love of arts at Moorpark College and
community. Applicants for this scholarship are
evaluated by a portfolio of their art and a
personal essay. And the picture that you see here
is the art created by the recipient of this
scholarship. And her name is Molly Hazel Earl.
Congratulations.
Our next scholarship is the John and
Daniel Sherwood Memorial Scholarship. It's a
perpetual tribute to two brothers who were
Moorpark College students and transferred to
university to complete their studies. Although
five years apart in age, both enjoyed studying
history. John was interested in communication and
aspired to work on documentary films. Daniel
leaned towards political science and
teaching and was passionate in debate. Family and
friends to honor their energetic spirits with a
scholarship. The recipient will transfer to a four
year college or university and is a registered
voter. And we have one recipient of the scholarship,
Victoria Kaitlyn Nguyen. Congratulations.
Our next scholarship is the A. E. Truman Music
Osher Scholarship. Albert Truman became a
classical guitar teacher at age 50 after selling
his engineering firm. He continued his passion
for teaching until his death at age 88. His wish
was to help others pursue their love of music. The
scholarship is awarded to a music major who has
participated in Moorpark College music production
and events. And we have one recipient. That is
Emily Hernandez. Congratulations.
Our next award is the Laurie White EATM
Scholarship. And I'm very excited to be able to
present this. I know Karen and Gary White, her
parents, they're great people and just really
happy they established this award in Laurie's name.
Laurie was a 2006 graduate of the Exotic
Animal Training and Management EATM program and said
her EATM years were her best years. She received a
Master's in Education in May 2013 at Claremont
Graduate University and was a high school science
teacher. Laurie passed away in July 2013. Karen and
Gary White established the fund in their
daughter's name to provide scholarships to
qualified second year EATM students. And we have three
recipients.
Chantal Nolli. Yiwen Tsao. And Amanda Jean
Vandenberg. Congratulations.
The Shawn Williams EATM Scholarship. Shawn was a
lifelong animal lover, especially reptiles and
elephants. He was a 2006 EATM graduate and
worked with animals for a few years. He was a
state of California employee when he died at age
35. He is survived by his parents, Tom and
Terrie Williams, wife, Susan, who met at EATM and his two
daughters Brooke and Hailey. We have one recipient,
and that's Jacob Weldon Betancourt.
Congratulations.
We'd like to congratulate this year
award winners and once again, thank the
loving family members for their continued
commitment to Moorpark College students. Next, I'd
like to introduce Moorpark College Board Member
Michael Hoffman to present the Moorpark
organizations and department scholarships.
Michael Hoffman: Thank you very much, Jill. In addition to
serving on the Foundation board, I also teach at
the college as a faculty member and work as the
Career Education Grant Director. In these capacities, I'm
able to see firsthand the excellent work that's
happening at Moorpark College, even during the
pandemic. Moorpark has continued to develop new
and exciting programs for both career
education and transfer students. We've added many
new non-credit courses and programs in the areas
of basic skills, for English, for mathematics, career
preparation and personal development. All of these
new courses and programs are designed to help the
college's students embrace cultural competency and
to promote social justice through civic engagement.
Many of the new and existing awards in this
category were created to affirm the ongoing
commitment that our colleges, organizations and
departments have to diversity, equity, and
inclusion. Here are the recipients for this year.
The Academic Senate Scholarship. The Academic
Senate of Moorpark College works to provide an
environment that is conducive to its faculty
membership providing instructional excellence to
our students. It is particularly pleased to offer
three scholarships this year; each one is given to
a student of excellent, exceptional qualities. The
first is Luke Makoto Takara Barrella. Sarah Jo
Ramsey. And Jemina Claire Rivera. Congratulations.
The next, the ACCESS Scholarship. This scholarship
is established for Accessibility Coordination
Center and Educational Support Services (ACCESS).
The students majoring in any discipline who
demonstrate assistance to other students. The
recipients of this year's scholarship are Evan Schwartz
and Tyler Williams. The next category is the
the Art Osher Scholarship students who win the
scholarship are judged on the art pieces that they
submit. And the recipient this year is Molly Hazel
Earl. And you saw a piece of Molly's art in a previous
award that she received. The next scholarship is
awarded from the Associated Students of Moorpark
College, from the board of directors there, is
excited to award the Managing Crisis Scholarship
to Moorpark College students who enrich life at
the college with their commitment to excellence in
academics, leadership, and campus involvement. But
this year, they were adversely affected by the
corona virus. The 10 recipients
of that award are Luke Makato Takara Barrella,
Sydney Jessica Flamm, Kathryn Anne Givvin, Zachary
Gwennap, Hyun Jin Kim, Christian Lezi, Simrat Pal
Singh Libra, Jemina Claire Rivera, Eliana
Monique Sandoval Nali, Iswarya
Vimalan Jeya. The next category is the biological
sciences department. Iit's established by the
biology department faculty to encourage students
to continue in different fields of biology. The
recipients must have a GPA of 3.0 and
be transferring to a four year college or
university in the fall semester. This year's
recipient is Katharine Cassidy Sontag.
The next category is the Brian Wolverton
Anthropology Scholarship. In 2008, Brian
Woolverton graduated with an associate of arts
degree in cultural anthropology from Moorpark
College. He wanted to better understand different
cultures and dreamed of applying his knowledge for
the betterment of others. Brian joined the U.S.
Army after graduation and was assigned to the 10th
Mountain Division in New York. He was deployed to
Afghanistan, where he was killed in a Taliban
attack on his operating base in August 2009. He
was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and
Purple Heart. He was unable to realize his dream
of continuing his studies. But in his memory, the
scholarship is awarded this year to Diana Hamideh.
The next category is the Classified Senate
Scholarship. The Moorpark College Classified
Senate awards scholarships to well deserving
students who are either classified employees or a
dependent, rather, of a classified
employee at Moorpark College. The three recipients
for the scholarship are Kane Hudson Agar,
Marcella Hernandez, and Kristen Robinson.
Congratulations to you. The next scholarship is
the Eddinger Family Arts and Science Scholarship.
This was established by former Moorpark College
president Dr. Pam Eddinger. The scholarship is
designed for students who are majoring in the arts
and sciences. The recipient of this year's
scholarship is Andrea Natalia Scarano.
Sorry about that, Andrea. Andrea Natalia Scarano.
The next scholarship is the... Congratulations. The
next scholarship is the English Department
Scholarship, and it's funded by donations from the
English faculty and it recognizes outstanding
English students who represent the very best of
Moorpark College students. The department is happy
and proud to recognize their achievements. There
are two recipients of the scholarship this year.
They are Isabelle Delman and Navya Hari.
Congratulations. The next set of scholarships are
the Fred Kavli Scholarships. Fred Kavli has his
name on one of the buildings, a local
philanthropist has his name on one of the
buildings at Moorpark College and awards
scholarships in science related fields. The fields
are biology, chemistry, computer science,
engineering, mathematics, and physics. There's one
recipient for each category this year. The
recipients are, in chemistry, Palak Sharma. In
computer sciences, Jinhong Kim. In engineering,
Isaiah Marciano Huma. In mathematics, Agnieszka
Renata Kaufman. In Physics, Sydney Skorpen. The
next scholarship is one that's near and dear to me.
It's funded by my wife, Dr. Joanna Miller, and me.
Joanna was a full time journalism faculty member
for more than a decade at the campus. And
it's given to a journalism student who is
continuing their studies at a four year university.
This year's recipient is Ryan Bough.
The next scholarship is the LGBTQIA+ and
Allies Scholarship. It was established by
distinguished faculty chair Sally Ponce O'Rourke for a
professor at Moorpark College who will be retiring
this year. It's awarded to a student who
demonstrates that they are or have been an
advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community during
their education at Moorpark College. The recipient
this year is Shayan Gheidari.
The next scholarship is the Ranford Hopkins and
Cynthia Barnett Multicultural Day Scholarship. This
honors the efforts of Professors Hopkins and
Barnett to create and develop Multicultural Day on
campus. That day, which is it takes
over the campus for the day, highlights the
college's commitment to advancing a global
perspective and the scholarship, further honors their
legacy by recognizing the development of a
cultural literacy and a multicultural mindset in
the context of a complete educational experience.
The recipient for that scholarship is Gerald
Richardson III. The next scholarship is the
Dr. David K. Murphy Scholarship. This scholarship
honors retired Moorpark College chemistry
professor, Dr. David K. Murphy. The award is
given to a student demonstrating excellence in
chemistry and will continue studies at Moorpark
College or transfer to a four year college or
university in the fall semester. The recipient for
that scholarship is Iswarya Vimalan Jeya.
The next scholarship is the Outstanding Computer
Science Scholarship. This was established to honor
a student's outstanding performance in computer
science courses as recognized by the family. And
the scholarship this year goes to Eden Corey
Rosales. The next scholarship is the Producer's
Choice Film, Television and Media Scholarship.
It's established to help students in the film
television media program write, shoot, and edit a
short film. Recognizing the expense and
difficulties in film and television production.
This scholarship will help students reach their
goals. The recipient of the scholarship is Sherrie
Lynn Richman. The next scholarship is offered by
the psychology department on campus. Psychology
department faculty establish the scholarship to
support students who completed two psychology
courses and enrich the college both in the
classroom and through community service. It
recognizes a student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
and who are continuing their studies. There are
three recipients for the psychology scholarship
this year. They are Kathryn Givven, Kathy
Rodriguez, and Kathleen Soto Gisler. Next is the
Dean Bryant Schubert Nursing/ Osher
Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes students
in Moorpark College's nursing program and maintain
a GPA of 3.0 or higher and continue their studies
in the fall. Brenda Shubert was the director of
the college's nursing program for many
years before becoming a dean. And the recipient of
this year's scholarship is James Gallant.
Congratulations, James.
Next is the Spirit Memorial Scholarship, aptly
named. It was established in the memory of spirit
the mountain lion by Mara Rodriguez,
rather, the Zoo Development Coordinator at
America's Teaching Zoo. That's our zoo at Moorpark
College. The recipient of this scholarship has to
demonstrate the spirit of it for exotic animal
training and typify the type of
spirit that you have and was shown by the mountain
lion spirit that we had. The recipient this year
is Jacob Weldon Betancourt. The final
scholarship for organizations and departments is
the David K. Wagner Science Scholarship. The
scholarship honors one of Moorpark College's
founding faculty members, in 1967 when the college opened.
The awards given to a student who shows
exceptional promise in science. This year's award
goes to Weda Latif. Congratulations to all of
the students on their awards. At this point. I'd
like to bring back Tim Weaver, my fellow board
member for two scholarships.
Tim: Okay, I apologize, I missed a couple of scholarships,
and these are under the community organizations.
The first one is the Simi Valley Education
Association. There was one recipient of that award,
and that is Luke Makato Takara Barrella.
And the next scholarship was the Simi Valley
Moorpark College Continuing Student. There are
two recipients of that scholarship, Zachary Gwennap,
and Sahaiel Khan. Congratulations to you, too. And
lastly, under the Fred Kavli scholarships, the
various ones that we read by departments, under the
biology department, there was one recipient of
that award and that was Shayan
Gheidari. Pardon me. So we apologize for those missed
scholarships. And now we will turn it over to
Jill Haney for our final Moorpark College
Foundation awards. [Jill]: Thank you, Mike, and thank you,
Tim.
I have to say that seeing all these awards and all
of the students that will be
benefiting from them, I'm so grateful to be
serving as Chair of the Moorpark College
Foundation and to be promoting the wonderful work
that all our board members and the staff, along
with the executive team of the college are doing
to continue and grow scholarship opportunities.
This year marked our first annual campaign that
launched in October of last year. The campaign was
designed to build awareness and support for
scholarships, our rising scholars, and for our new
basic need center on campus. The annual campaign
has allowed us to increase our scholarship giving
by $20,000. It has raised funding
for our Rising Scholars program, which identifies
first generation college students in middle school
and provides them with tutors and mentors and assists
them through Moorpark College and on to a transfer
institution. And we have raised more than
$50,000 for our basic needs center called
Raider Central, which is located in the campus
center and provides assistance to students
struggling with food and housing insecurities. All
of this work has been done by the Moorpark College
Foundation, and I want to thank President Sokenu,
all of our board members, and our staff and the
executive team of the college for their donations,
their hard work, the dedication, and all the
efforts they have made to make this possible. So
now, I'm very pleased to announce the
2021 Moorpark College Foundation Scholarship
Award winners.
These are Distinguished Faculty Chair awards.
Because of the pandemic, a
Distinguished Faculty Chair was not chosen this
year. Traditionally, the Moorpark College Academic
Senate acknowledges a faculty member who embodies
the best of what college has to offer students in
the classroom and in service to students with this
honor, and the Foundation establishes a
scholarship in their name with the option for the
faculty member to continue the scholarship. Those
who have chosen to award scholarships this year
and the recipients are as follows. And there's a
picture of the Chair, because when you get this
award, you also get a Chair. So our recipients for
Gene Berg Science, Shayan Gheidari. For the Clint
Harper Education is Beatriz Susana Fontenla Lago. The
John Loprieno Theatre Arts is Ricci Bester. The
Sharon Manakas Health related field is Kari
Joy Esseff. And James Peddy EATM is Gillian Kalmey.
Congratulations to all of you.
And our next scholarship is the Continuing Student
Scholarship. This scholarship was established by
the Foundation and is funded through a variety of
fundraising activities. The goal of the
scholarship is to support students who will be
continuing their educational pursuits at Moorpark
College. And the recipients of this scholarship
are Stanley Ayieye, Alanah Cole, Maria Echeverria, Heryka Lima
Ferreira, and Adailton Nali Junior. Congratulations to
the recipients.
Our next scholarship is the Moorpark College
Textbook Scholarship. The Foundation established
the Moorpark College Textbook Scholarship to help
students continue their studies at Moorpark
College by providing funds for textbooks. I
remember when I went to school how expensive those
textbooks are. Thirteen students have been awarded the
scholarship for this year. And the awardees are,
Karina Arteaga, Stanley Aiyeye, Kadin Bolton, Alyssa
Brook, Rachel Coleman, Gabriel Hoffman, Sahaiel
Khan, Heryka Lima Ferreira, Maria Megrish, Ethan
Pante, Consuelo Daniela Sandoval, Yiwen Tsao, and
Krista Uchimiya.
Congratulations to all the recipients. Our next
scholarship is the Honors Program Scholarship. Two
scholarships were designed by the Moorpark College
Foundation to recognize the achievements of
students in Moorpark College Honors Program: The
President's Honors Scholarship for Continuing
Student, and The President's Honors Scholarship
for a Transferring Student. And the recipient of
the scholarship. The President's Scholarship for
a continuing student is Jessica Marie Collins. And
the President's Scholarship for a Transferring
Student is Emma Clare Hawes. Congratulations to both
of you. Our next scholarship is the James Walker
Teaching Scholarship. This scholarship was created
in the honor of Dr. James Walker's 10 years of
service as Moorpark College President. Reflecting
his passion for excellence in teaching, the
scholarship is awarded to students who will be our
future teachers. And the recipient of this
scholarship is Beatriz Susana Fontenla Lago.
Congratulations.
Our next scholarship is the Outstanding Scholar
Competitor Award for Forensics. The award was
created by the Moorpark College Foundation because
Forensics is a co curricular activity, this award
emphasizes academic excellence and competitive
success. It is awarded each year to the student on
the team who exhibits the highest standards of
academic achievement coupled with competitive
success. And the recipient this year is Erin
Ruiz Van Buren. Congratulations. Our next award is
the Pielaet Morad Award for Outstanding Speaker in
Forensics. Named for David Pielaet and Feras Morad
forensics team members whose time at
Moorpark College was separated by over 30 years.
Both men embody excellence with multiple national
championship wins and dedication to their
community. Both lives were and were tragically
ended in the summers after they were on the team.
David's in a tragic car accident and Feras as the
victim of a senseless murder. This award is given
to the top student who has completed their
competitive career on the team and reflects the
values of these men. And the winner of this award
is Annie Dilsizian. Congratulations.
The next scholarship is the Wyman Strong Award for
Forensics. Named after two former coaches who
founded the Moorpark College team, Jim Wyman,
director of Forensics at Moorpark College for
nearly four decades, and Dick Strong,
founder of the team in
1971. Together, they built the number one community
college forensics program in the nation, while also
creating a safe place for students of all ages to
discover and develop their talents and
use them as a springboard for life success. This
award is given each year to the
outstanding first year competitor on the team. And
the recipient of the scholarship is Jane Walgren.
Congratulations.
And next, we have
the Osher Foundation Scholarships that were
awarded prior to the ceremony. We have 21
recipients and they are Martha Aikiriza, Abbey
Katrina Austin-Wood, Aaron Borkovec, Tatiana
Caputo, Ryan Chamoun, Lauren Faciana, Cheska
Facturan, Whitney Gibson, Jessica Hahn, Jennifer
Hernandez, Fatima Latif, Kim Phillip Laurga
Pepito, Gerald Richardson, Lynne Robnett, Oscar
Rojes Esqueda, Mahsa Sadri, Eliana Monique
Sandoval Noli, Andrea Natalia Scarano,
Samantha Simington, Kieu Thi Mai, and Noah Wilkes.
Congratulations to all of you.
And at this time, I would like to turn it back to
our esteemed president, Julius Sokenu. Thank you.
Dr. Sokenu: Thank you so much, Jill and Mike and Tim and our
wonderful Moorpark College Foundation board for
your dynamic work and support of our students.
I also want to thank our faculty and staff
for your excellence and much appreciated work on
behalf of the college community. We've come to the
end of the awards ceremony today. And what
you'll notice over the course of this afternoon is
that not only are our students phenomenal and many
of them earned multiple awards, but that the
generosity that has been shown to us by our donors
will help so many individuals accomplish their
dreams. I really do want to thank you all for
not only your generosity, but your commitment to
the work that we do. Jill mentioned our annual
campaign. That annual campaign continues. And I
ask you to please go to our Moorpark College
Foundation page and look through our Moorpark
Foundation and to find out a little bit more about
our annual campaign. This Foundation does not,
it's one of the more,
what's the word I'm looking for, nascent
foundations. We are a small but mighty group, but
we need your support and our students need your
support. So I ask that you please go back to our
Foundation page and look at the work that
we're doing to help make sure that our students
are fed, that there are scholarships available for
them, and that we build a pipeline and a
pathway for students who do not see college in
in their list there. Those middle school students who we
bring and help support coming to our college and
then transferring to universities and to great
careers. I do want to, as I said, this is a
call to action of sorts. I ask that you please,
for those of you who are graduating, join our
alumni association. I do want to thank you if you
have already joined the alumni association, but if
you haven't, please do so. For those of you who
are alums and who are here today celebrating the
successes of our scholarship recipients, please
join our alumni association. We are trying to
reinvigorate the alumni association and your
participation will help to that. As members of
the alumni association, there are series of benefits
that you get, but one of the most significant ones
is they have access to our career transfer center
whenever you need it. And you can come in and have
them review your resume, you can come in and look
for jobs as well as get guidance. I want to
also thank those of you who have donated to us in
the past and ask you to please continue to do so.
A very big thank you again to Maria, to
Alicia, to John Loprieno, who is our interim
director of our Foundation, as well as the
advancement and marketing efforts. The work that
we do at this college in
terms of advancement, is really the brainchild and
the support of John's not only motivation, but
passion for our campus. And I appreciate the work
that John's done this year. And we continue to do
this great work with the Foundation. I thank
every one of you for being here. For those of you
who have earned scholarships, I know you will put
it to tremendous use. And again, have a great
summer. Have a wonderful rest of the year. Please
be safe. We at Moorpark College are thankful for
your support and we wish you the very best. Thank
you. Good evening.