Five years ago, we started a scholarship program for the children of our employees after one employee (who had not graduated from high school himself) approached us asking about help for his daughter who wanted to go to college. We became motivated to provide financial and planning assistance. The program has grown and we are excited to help many of our employees who do not understand the college preparation and financial aid process; we help them work through that process to help their children achieve that goal. We granted four $3,000 scholarships this year and are excited to see the program grow year after year.
Our recipients this year are:
• Katie (Cintiha) Rosas, Daughter of Fernando Rosas
(Parkrose Branch) – Katie is a full time student at PSU, majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Business Administration. She works two jobs to support her education: Supervisor at Jamba Juice and a Technical Course Support Specialist at PSU.
• Janet Silva Villanueva, Daughter of Alberto Silva
(Sherwood Branch) – Janet is entering her senior year at Pacific University pursuing a major in Psychology. She is a wrestler, involved in the Hispanic Heritage Student Association and volunteers at Centro Cultural. She also works at Metro T. Mobile as a customer service representative.
• Gustavo Calderon Perez, Son of Adolfo Calderon
(Hillsboro Branch) – Gustavo is a graduate of Aloha High School and will be entering his sophomore year at Oregon State University to study engineering. He participated in Varsity Basketball and Track and Field, and volunteered at the Hillsboro Hops to raise funds for Aloha’s cheerleaders. Gustavo also worked throughout high school and is currently employed at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
• Larisa E. Aguilar Santiago, Daughter of Mario Aguilar
(Sherwood Branch) – Larissa is majoring in accounting at PSU. She continues to be very active as a volunteer at St. Cecelia’s parish teaching 3rd to 5th graders religious education and leading the choir. She works in the Office of Finance and Administration at PSU.
In addition to the scholarships, we have helped our employees and their families with college preparation by getting them aligned with several programs designed to assist latino students and their families with college preparation. These programs include:
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Oregon 4-H Outreach Leadership Institute
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We look forward to continuing our assistance and motivation for our employees to help their children who are interested in setting a goal to attend college and properly prepare.
