The Minerva Club held its annual scholarship awards celebration at the club on May 1. Guest speaker Andrea Martinez, member services director of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA, encouraged students to get involved with their community as they strive for their personal goals. She said that everyone can make a positive impact by helping one person or one family.
There were 13 scholarships awarded in the amount of $1,200 each to graduating high school seniors from seven high schools in the Santa Maria Valley.
The 2016 recipients are: Carla Mendoza, Fabiola Mendoza-Ayala, and Nicole Yerena, all from Santa Maria High School; Tihanna Teniente from Delta High School; Bethany Bramble of Valley Christian Academy; Sofia Duran-Ibarra, Angelika Pasion, and Emily Ventura of Pioneer Valley High School; Evelyn Alvarez of Orcutt Academy; Maribel Orozco of St. Joseph High School; and Erinn Freeman, Hailee Silva, and Robert Velasquez of Righetti High School.
The tradition of recognizing high school honor students began in 1917 when the Minerva Club honored all 49 honor students at Santa Maria High School at a luncheon.
In 1952, the club began awarding financial scholarships to Santa Maria Valley high school students. The first scholarships, totaling $500, were funded by the profits from the sale of the club’s cookbook, the sale of strawberry shortcake at the annual county fair, and personal contributions. The annual honors student luncheon continued to be held through the 1990s and nearly $95,000 in scholarships were awarded.
Today the Minerva Trust Fund is funded through a bequest of $266,000 from the Maxine and Burns Rick estate, which designated that investment proceeds from this bequest be used for scholarships to be awarded to graduates of accredited high schools in the Santa Maria Valley. Since 2001, the club has awarded more than $273,581 in scholarships to deserving students. In total, the club has awarded more than $368,600 in scholarships since 1953.
Academic achievement, personal character, and community involvement are among the criteria considered in awarding these scholarships to students planning to attend an accredited institution of higher learning.
This article appears in May 12-19, 2016.
