SANDPIPERS AWARDS 11 FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS TO PROMISING SOUTH BAY STUDENTS

On Tuesday, May 13, Sandpipers awarded 11 students four-year college scholarships and 7 additional students with one-time scholarships of $500. Scholarship recipients all have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0, have significant financial need, have actively participated in community service, live in one of the designated South Bay communities of Southern California, and are a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen as defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2014, these 11 students received four-year scholarships.  The amounts will vary each year depending on need:

• Jigar Bhakta: Mira Costa High School, attending Middlebury College, majoring in Economics
• Stephanie Caridad: Mira Costa High School, attending Williams College, majoring in English & Music Performance
• Abraham Garalde: Bishop Montgomery High School, attending CSU Long Beach, majoring in Linguistics
• Joshua Garza: North High School, attending CSU Channel Islands, majoring in Business and English
• Jazmin Guardado: Bishop Montgomery High School, attending Pepperdine University, majoring in Sports Medicine
• Sarah Juarez: Environmental Charter High School, attending Scripps College, majoring in History & Middle Eastern Studies
• Victoria Navarro: Leuzinger High School, attending Syracuse, majoring in Policy Studies
• Francisco Salas Helguera: Hawthorne High School, attending UC Berkeley, majoring in Architecture
• Paloma Williams: Palos Verdes High School, attending Chapman University, majoring in Integrated Education Studies
• Michelle Ziko: Leuzinger High School, attending UC Berkeley, majoring in Biology

For the first time, Sandpipers also awarded a one-time $500 scholarship to the following students:

• Noelle Funtanilla: Narbonne High School
• William Hawley: Palos Verdes High School
• Sara Lemieux: South High School
• Steven Lima: Leuzinger High School
• Ji Hyun Seong: West High School
• Kate Spence: Environmental Charter High School
• Amber Won: North High School

Over the next academic year (2014-2015), Sandpipers will pay out more than $230,000 to 44 students in the program. (Including the 11 students awarded this year.)  The funds were raised via Sandpipers’ fundraising events (Holiday Homes Tour, Fashion Show & Luncheon and For Our Children Food & Wine Festival), the Sandpipers South Bay Community Fund, The Murad Family Foundation, the Newman’s Own Foundation and individual donors.

About Sandpipers

Sandpipers is a 100% volunteer organization celebrating 82 years of service and is dedicated to serving the needs of the South Bay community through charitable and philanthropic programs such as Back to School Shopping, Holiday Baskets, college scholarships and community service. In 2012-2013, Sandpipers contributed almost $600,000 and thousands of community service hours to individuals and local non-profits in need. For more information visit www.sandpipers.org.