College students presented with scholarships

NORWALK – Several student scholarships were presented at a recent Cerritos College Board of Trustees meeting. Tera Lim of Long Beach received the $500 Perez-Medrano Scholarship which was established in memory of Joe Medrano, father of Cerritos College Board of Trustees Secretary Marisa Perez. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding female students who major in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field.

Tera is a first-generation college student pursuing her degree in computer science. She currently works as the only female tutor in the College’s computer science lab and looks forward to transferring to California State University, Long Beach next fall. Tera would like to become a software developer.

Annie Ayala of La Puente and Daniel Jaramillo of Bellflower accepted a $250 award from the Dr. Sandra Salazar STEM Scholarship, established by Cerritos College Board of Trustees Vice President Dr. Sandra Salazar.

Annie is a first-generation college student who has just completed her first year in the order to demonstrate the importance of a college education for her children. Annie plans on transferring to California State University, Los Angeles next year and would like to explore career possibilities involving information technology and nursing.

Biology major Daniel Jaramillo is the first in his family to attend college. He is determined to start fresh with college after struggling through high school. Daniel is off to a great start, having made the Dean’s List every semester. After the premature death of his father due to heart disease, Daniel aspires to become a doctor. He plans to transfer next fall to complete his bachelor’s degree and enroll in medical school with a specialty in pediatrics.

The Foundation also presented a scholarship from Trustee Dr. Shin Liu. The $500 Dr. Shin Liu International Student Leadership Award was presented to John Conti of Bellflower. Established in 2013, the scholarship recognizes outstanding international students who are actively involved on campus.

John is an international student from the island of Saipan in the South Pacific. He has always had a passion for music, but was pursuing a career in nursing to make his parents proud. After earning his A.A. in natural science, he decided to audition for the Applied Music program, took private guitar lessons, and was encouraged to give a career in music a try by his instructors and his parents. John will be attending California State University, Long Beach in the fall.

The $1,000 Roodzant Family Scholarship was presented to Chantel Arnold of Westminster by Dr. Jerry Roodzant.

The Roodzant Family Scholarship was established in 2012 by Dr. Jerry Roodzant, alumnus and member of the Foundation Board of Directors. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding second year dental hygiene students.

Dental hygiene major Marlen Ramirez of Long Beach and speech pathology major Michelle Barba of Bellflower received the Bellflower Rotary Club Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship recognizes outstanding students enrolled in a career technical education program. The scholarship was presented by Dr. Wilford Michael, member of the Bellflower Rotary Club, former Cerritos College president/superintendent, and member of the Foundation Board of Directors.

Students Madeline Ortiz of Walnut Park and Phung Dong of Downey received the $500 Alice Wang Scholarship established in honor of Alice Wang, the wife of Foundation board member J.P. Wang.

The Wangs actively support academic endeavors of low-income students through scholarships. Annually, six $500 scholarships are awarded to single mothers who major in child development who demonstrate outstanding academics.

The $500 Anthony J. Franklin Memorial Scholarship was awarded to automotive technology major Ricardo Medina of South Gate.

The scholarship was established by Kimberly & James Corbitt in memory of their son, Anthony J. Franklin. Anthony had been pursuing his education in automotive technology when his dream was unexpectedly cut short when he was involved in a fatal car accident on June 3, 2010. This scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student enrolled in an automotive program at Cerritos College.

“These scholarship winners are fine examples of the caliber of students we have at Cerritos College,” said Steve Richardson, executive director of the Cerritos College Foundation.

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Published: Aug. 14, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 18