MARTINEZ, Calif. – At the Pleasant Hill-Martinez American Association of University Women (AAUW) June Brunch, college scholarship and Tech Trek camp awards were presented to nine students from local schools. It is the mission of AAUW to break down barriers for women and girls by promoting education and supporting their personal and professional growth. Each recipient was honored by members, family, and friends.
Four very deserving high school seniors were recognized for excelling in their high school years, not only with excellent grades, but also in community service and leadership ability. They were each awarded a $1,000 AAUW scholarship in recognition of their achievements.
This year’s recipients of Pleasant Hill-Martinez AAUW Scholarships are Laura Maule and Taravat Lakzian from College Park High School, and Amy Moran and Joyce Figueroa from Alhambra High School.In the Fall, Laura, who is interested in Neuroscience, is going to UC Berkeley, and Amy is headed to Cal Poly with a Liberal Studies major in Elementary Education. Joyce will attend San Diego State University to study Speech-Language Pathology. Taravat is off to UCLA and would like to go into the Physiological Sciences field.
Pleasant Hill-Martinez is proud to award these young women its 2016 scholarships. This branch of AAUW strongly supports its Local Scholarship Fund in many ways. Two of the fundraisers were the Italian Festa held at Viano Winery and a Silent Coffee Klatch, which the membership generously supports.
Tech Trek, a program of AAUW California started in 1998, is a Science and Math camp aimed to encourage girls who will be entering eighth grade in the fall to consider careers in science, math, engineering, or technology. The camp features hands-on activities in math, science, and related fields. All sleeping, eating, instructional, and recreational facilities are located on a variety of university campuses throughout California where camps are held. Campers will be exposed to programs in fields such as astronomy, engineering, chemistry, marine biology, and environmental studies to enhance their learning experience and introduce the students to a variety of potential career areas.
In 2016, five girls from Martinez and Pleasant Hill attended the Tech Trek camp in June at the Sonoma State University campus. The following local seventh grade outstanding students were chosen because of their passion for math and science: Julia Beaty and Lexi Alford (Martinez Junior High School), Isabella Martinez and Isabella Triana (Sequoia Middle School), and Jazmine Cano (Valley View Middle School).
This past year, the branch has raised money for these scholarships by holding several events including fundraisers at a local Tahoe Joes restaurant. AAUW members are very generous to support this local cause. Also, the Martinez Kiwanis Club granted money to the Tech Trek Program. Festa Italiana funds support Tech Trek as well.
Congratulations to all of these exceptional young women.