Farm Bureau awards $55,000 in scholarships
EL CENTRO – Imperial County Farm Bureau announced on Friday that it has awarded $55,500 in scholarships to 29 local students who are pursuing educations and careers in the agriculture industry.
“We are always impressed with the great group of student applications we receive each year, and this year was no different,” said ICFB Executive Director Brea Mohamed. “We applaud this year’s students for continuing to pursue their goals during these uncertain times. We are optimistic that they will succeed in their education and return to the Imperial Valley after college to become assets of our local agricultural industry.”
ICFB administers five different scholarship funds: Matthew LaBrucherie Memorial Scholarship, Raul Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship, Jack & Pauline McConnell Memorial Scholarship, Vern Highley Memorial Scholarship, and Imperial County Farm Bureau Scholarship.
This year, 10 Matthew LaBrucherie Memorial Scholarships were awarded for a total of $10,000. Winners were two Imperial Valley graduating high school seniors and eight current college students:
•John Cummings,
2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending New Mexico State
• Anika Herrera, 2020 graduate of Calexico High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Cameron Abatti, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending University of Colorado Law School
• Kimberly Aguirre, graduate of Calexico High School, attending UC Davis
• Sarah Grizzle, graduate of Holtville High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Wyatt Hensley, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Gavin Macias, graduate of Imperial High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Sydney Mange, graduate of Freedom Academy of Imperial Valley, attending CSU Fresno
• Keeley Poloni, graduate of Holtville High School, attending UC Davis
• Daniela Soto, graduate of Calexico High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
Six current college students received Raul Rodriguez Memorial Scholarships this year for a total of $5,500. They were:
• Bradley Denton, graduate of Central Union High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
• Derek Denton, graduate of Central Union High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
• Charles Peraza, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending New Mexico State
• Keeley Poloni, graduate of Holtville High School, attending UC Davis
• Daniela Soto, graduate of Calexico High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
• Mariah Zendejas, graduate of Calipatria High School, attending Arizona State University
Two current college students earned Jack & Pauline McConnell Memorial Scholarships for a total of $5,000. They were:
• Bradley Denton, graduate of Central
Union High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
• Derek Denton, graduate of Central Union High School, attending Cal Poly Pomona
This year, Farm Bureau’s 2019 Vern Highley Memorial Scholarship recipient, David Lopez Larios, will be attending his first year of college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after taking a year to serve as a California FFA State Officer.
“He is a great representative of Imperial County and our local FFA Program, and we are certain he will prove as a very deserving recipient of this scholarship,” Mohamed said of Larios.
The Imperial County Farm Bureau Scholarship is the organization’s oldest scholarship and is supported each year by the annual Farm Bureau Scholarship Barbecue.
“Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to hold our Scholarship Barbecue that would typically raise funds for this scholarship,” Mohamed said. “Despite this, we were very fortunate that businesses and community members were supportive in donating directly to our scholarship program this year, ensuring that our local students did not miss out on this scholarship opportunity.”
With that support, Farm Bureau was able to award 26 Imperial County Farm Bureau Scholarships for a total of $35,000. Recipients were 14 Imperial Valley graduating high school seniors and 12 current college students:
• Kailah Alvarez, 2020 graduate of Southwest High School, attending University of Arizona
• Alejandro Calero, 2020 graduate of Southwest High School, attending University of Arizona
• Hannah Cartee, 2020 graduate of California Virtual Academy, attending Arizona Western College
• John Cummings, 2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending New Mexico State
• Jake Currier, 2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Jessica Friley, 2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Anika Herrera, 2020 graduate of Calexico High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Abigail Hester, 2020 graduate of Holtville
High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Lindsay Lemert,
2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School
• Madison Mills, 2020 graduate of Southwest High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Kalin Morse, 2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Imperial Valley College
• Haylee Ray, 2020 graduate of Imperial
High School, attending New Mexico State
• Kendall Shields, 2020 graduate of Imperial
High School, attending Harvard University
• Brandi Whittle, 2020 graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Cameron Abatti, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending University of Colorado Law School
• Kimberly Aguirre, graduate of Calexico High School, attending UC Davis
• Dulce Estrada, graduate of Chula Vista Adult Center, attending Imperial Valley College
• Sarah Grizzle, graduate of Holtville High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Wyatt Hensley, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending Oklahoma State
• Gavin Macias, graduate of Imperial High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Sydney Mange, graduate of Freedom Academy of Imperial Valley High School, attending CSU Fresno
• Charles Peraza, graduate of Brawley Union High School, attending New Mexico State
• Keeley Poloni, graduate of Holtville High School, attending UC Davis
• Brett Thomason, graduate of Southwest High School, attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Nathalia Vasquez, graduate of Calexico High School, attending UC Davis
• Mariah Zendejas, graduate of Calipatria High School, attending Arizona State University
Mohamed noted the success of Farm Bureau’s scholarship program owes itself to the community’s support. “ICFB is grateful for the support it receives which enables this vital program that helps students who are pursuing agriculture related degrees,” she said. “Ensuring the young generations continue pursuing careers in agriculture is very important to the Imperial Valley and our local agriculture industry.”
The County of Imperial, through its Ag Benefit Fund, will continue to match agricultural scholarships up to $3,000 per student a year.