Scholarship awarded in honor of veteran

The legacy of a Santa Clarita resident has given a local student the opportunity to continue pursuing her education and military service.

Cinthya Medrano is the first recipient of the $1,000 Duane R. Harte Memorial Scholarship for young people looking to serve in the military, given by the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley.

“We are extremely proud of Cinthya for staying the course to achieve her dreams in education and the military,” Boys & Girls Club CEO Matthew Nelson said in a statement.

Medrano, a Boys & Girls Club alumna and junior staff member, is pursuing her associate’s degree at College of the Canyons, which she will complete in the spring. After graduating, she plans to enlist in the Air Force and then attend California State University, Long Beach before joining the FBI.

“The club has become my second home,” Medrano said in a statement. “At the club, I received a lot of love and support that I was not able to receive at home. The club is very meaningful to me because I was able to create really strong and beautiful bonds with the kids and my coworkers.”

Currently, Medrano is working three jobs. She and her brother are the first in their family to pursue a college education.

The scholarship’s namesake Duane R. Harte served in the Navy Reserves for 23 years as a Senior Chief Petty Officer.

He was a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley and was involved in the SCV Chamber of Commerce, SCV Committee on Aging, SCV Historical Society, SCV Veterans Memorial Committee, Newhall Redevelopment Committee, Elks Lodge and Newhall American Legion before he died in November 2015.