Seventeen win Rotary Club scholarships Seventeen win Rotary Club scholarships (March 24, 2004)

By Jonas Raab
Special to the Almanac

Seventeen local high school seniors will be awarded a total of $60,000 in scholarships from the Rotary Club of Menlo Park at its 18th annual scholastic achievement awards banquet, set for April 2 at the Boys & Girls Club in East Palo Alto.

Scholarships will go to students from Menlo-Atherton High School, Sacred Heart Prep, Eastside Prep and Menlo School for achievements in academics and community service.

"Grades are important, but we really look for community service work," said Betty Toguchi, chairwoman of the scholarship committee.

The scholarships are intended to help with college tuition costs.

The winners

Marissa McGee of Eastside Prep, the East Palo Alto private school, will receive the largest award: the $10,000 John D. Russell scholarship, named for a long-time Rotarian and a mentor at Menlo College.

Marissa, who has been accepted to attend Stanford, is a varsity basketball and volleyball player, and editor in chief of her school's newspaper.

"My acceptance letter from Stanford was the ultimate Christmas present," she said. "Being accepted early [admission] has definitely lessened the stress that is a result of the entire college process."

Marissa is interested in studying economics and psychology, having taken a psychology course at Stanford's summer session for high school students.

Julie Stamm, a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School with a passion for art and literature, will be awarded the $5,000 Rotary Club's Doris & Ormond Rector scholarship.

While legally blind, Julie has excelled in academics and community service. She volunteers at a camp in Napa for the blind and visually impaired and participated in a program at her school called Best Buddies, which seeks to integrate special education students with mainstream peers to promote awareness and equality.

Other winners are:

** Robert Paroli scholarship for $5,000: Jamie Cole, Eastside Prep.

** Marcella & George Cleese scholarship for $5,000: Diana Sompron, Menlo-Atherton.

** Major scholarships for $5,000 each: Matthew Kelly and Obed Reynaga of Menlo-Atherton; and Chantelle Brown of Eastside Prep.

** Merit award scholarships for $2,000 each: Arianna Vaewsorn, Jonathan Wu, Megan Martin, Owen Frivold, Nicholas Vallarino, Rajiv Ayyangar and Terence Kitada of Menlo-Atherton; Scott Norton of Sacred Heart Prep; Jupiter Chavez of Eastside Prep; and Stephen Chait of Menlo School.

INFORMATION

For more information on the Rotary Club scholarships and how to donate money, call Maya Sewald at 377-6647.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.