The Rotary Club of Solvang awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships to five Santa Ynez Valley Union High School college-bound seniors.
The Solvang Rotary Club raises most of its scholarship and grant funds from its fundraiser dinner in the spring. Rotary Club funds are then distributed to both local community needs plus and international projects.
“Our dedicated Rotary committee members were faced with selecting five gifted students from a record number of qualified applicants for the 2021/2022 calendar year,” said John Harmon, the club’s director of Youth Services. “The committee put in many long hours in determining our final scholarship winners.
“All of the students we selected have worked extremely hard to excel in high school preparing them for successes in college and beyond.”
The scholarship recipients are:
Andrew Bunke was accepted into the engineering program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall. He will pursue his degree in mechanical engineering with a career focus on renewable energy. Bunke has also earned the prestigious Eagle Scout award in scouting.
Pressley Melville will be attending Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego this fall, where she plans to earn a bachelor of science in business administration. Her goal is become an event planner or be employed in an eco-friendly company.
Isaac Swolgaard will be attending Brigham Young University in the fall studying cellular and physical biology. He plans to major in radiology with the goal of becoming a radiologist.
Lily Martinez will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall studying mechanical engineering. She plans to complete a four-year degree in mechanical engineering, then work toward her master’s in mechanical engineering.
Korina Jimenez will be attending California State University Sacramento in the fall. Her focus will be on speech pathology and early childhood development with a goal of becoming a speech pathologist for children.
Rotary International has 1.3 million members comprised of professional and business leaders in 33,000 clubs in 172 countries. In the Santa Ynez Valley, there are more than 100 Rotary Club members in four clubs Buellton, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez Valley and Solvang. These clubs are part of Rotary District 5240.
For more information or to learn how to get involved, visit rotarydistrict5240.org or the Rotary Club of Solvang website solvangrotary.com.
Caption: Rotary Club of Solvang presenting at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Senior Awards Night ( L to R):