Scholarships Awarded to Local Latino Students

<figure id="attachment_40839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-40839" style="width: 213px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-40839 size-medium" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017_RMHC_HACER…; alt="" width="213" height="300"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-40839" class="wp-caption-text">Jacqueline Puga plans on attending USD and majoring in mechanical engineering. Photo courtesy of RMHC/HACER</figcaption></figure>
Jacqueline Puga a recent Chula Vista High School graduate was casually checking her college applications online when she came across a message reading “congratulations.”
High school students wait anxiously for that very moment, but once it arrives they begin to wonder a different question, how they will be able to afford attending their dream school?
For some it means taking out loans or getting a summer job, but for students like Puga it means applying for scholarships.
This year, the San Diego County<a href="https://rmhcsd.org/rmhc-hacer-scholarship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER</a> scholarship program awarded 10 students of Latino descent a $2,000 scholarship each to help them continue their education. Puga is one of those students.
She plans on pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of San Diego.
Scholarship Chair and San Diego Mcdonald’s owner and operator, Christian Sandoval said every year they are amazed by the level of academic excellence, personal determination and leadership that the applicants demonstrate.
“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to help our local outstanding students achieve their goals and positively impact our community,” Sandoval said.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California works to provide scholarships for local high school students and HACER focuses on awarding Latino students.
Other awardees were: Claudia Bobadilla, Jonathan Bojorquez, Ariana Diaz-Rauda, Dariela Herrada, Sophia Kazmierowicz, Brandon Palacios, Kate Sequeira, Leslie Torres and Lizbeth Villar-Aguirre.
Puga said she was encouraged to take advantage of all opportunities by her mother and family.
“The reason why I’ve been able to achieve so much in my life is because of my parents,” Puga said. “I am very happy and humbled because this means that all my sacrifices were for something.”
Puga also mentioned that some high school students are so focused on doing good in school that they forget to dedicate some time to taking advantage of opportunities like scholarships. She is thankful for programs like the Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER scholarship and the support from her family, she said.
Potential universities that the other students are interested in attending include, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and UC Los Angeles.

Author

Andrea Lopez Villafana