UKIAH – Mendocino College Foundation recently presented nearly $150,000 in scholarships to high school and college students planning to continue their education at Mendocino College. Foundation Board members, College trustees, staff, and faculty honored the recipients during the annual Scholarships Awards Ceremony.

The total amount of awards represented the largest since the Foundation began its yearly awards program, says Channing Cornell, Foundation Vice President and chair of the Scholarship Committee. The Foundation’s scholarships are designed to assist the students with payment of tuition and books for a full school year, explains Cornell.

Students receiving the Mendocino College Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarships in the amount of $1,700 each included Erin Anderson, Ignacio Ayala-Aguilar, Ayari Barajas, Carrie Bishop, Whitney Briggs, Darleen Castanon, Anna Chairez, Vicente Chavez, Kayla Chesser, Seth Chew, Lauran Colvin, Kirsty Cordell, Jared Dobbs, Lezlie Elmer, Melissa Field, Luke Gardner, Linda Gibson, Tomas Gonzales, Alejandro Gonzales, Artoun Gostantian, Zachary Hedges, Emmanuel Jimenez, Meghan Kidwell,

Amber Lofton, Susan Madison, Barbara McKey, Maria Mendoza, Gabriel Ray, Melanie Rose, Jovita Ruiz, Geddy Throne, Renee Tompkins, Kathleen Wagner, and Stacey Weil-Dye.

Recipients of the Foundation’s $1,700 Evelyn R. Foote Scholarships are Alejandro Berumen, Kelly Boss, Karl Caukwell, Gloria Cornett, Justin Floyd, Orion Guerra, Emily Houghton, Sallie Jacobson, Stephanie Jensen, Joanna Johnson, Darlene Klaiber, Treanna Leher-Nelson, Jesus Macias, Claire Mansell, Penny McGahey, Amanda Mueller, Marcela Parra, Apolinar Reyes Murillo, Diana Rico, Jarin Sharma, Oliva Villa, Whitney Vonfeldt, and Hugo Zaragoza.

Additional award winners included Gonzalo Parajon Sequeira, the Thomas M. Evans Scholarship in the amount of $2,500; Wendy Brouwer, the George R. Szanik Scholarship, $2,500; Jane Khoury, the Jim Meyer Scholarship, $2,000; Kelly Stanton, the Carl J. Ehmann Scholarship, $2,000; and Kat Payne, the Mary Oosting Fine Arts Scholarship, $1,000.

For the Nursing Program, recipients included Amy Arrendondo and Megan Hoover, the Karen L. Atkinson Nursing Scholarship, $1,250 each; Anne Holloman and Marlana Navarro, the Heidi Marie Daniel Nursing Scholarship, $500 each; Kathey Goodson, Adriana Murray, and Aaron Stauffer, the Kathleen Kohn Fetzer Family Foundation Nursing Scholarship, $1,250 each.

Recipients of the Bernard Osher Foundation Scholarships, also $1,000 each, are Kymber Denevi, Scott Diebold, Jovita Ruiz, and Diana Sanchez.

Selected to receive the Directors/Trustees Annual Fund Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each, jointly presented by Trustee Wade Koeninger and Mendocino College Foundation President Tom Herman, were students Seanen Bevilacqua, Corinne Chaulk, Karla Jimenez, Amy Moss, Rebecca Richey, and Gabrielle Summers. Prior to announcing the award winners, Koeninger thanked the Foundation Board and College trustees for bringing the combined award to fruition. He said members of the boards and Superintendent/President Kathryn G. Lehner deserved credit for making it happen. Herman added his own thanks, recognizing Koeninger for his contributions. “Wade is an individual we should all admire,” Herman said.

This year’s number of awards and total award amount represents an increase of approximately 5% over last year’s totals. The Mendocino College Foundation allows for an increase in the scholarship dollars in its budget each fiscal year.

For more information about Mendocino College Foundation and ways to contribute, call the Foundation office, 707-467-1018.