Zonta Club presents scholarships
On Tuesday evening the Zonta Club of Porterville held its annual Scholarship Awards Program and Z Club Installation of officers at Nuckols Ranch. The ceremony included the recognition of the current Granite Hills High School Z Club officers and the candle lighting installation ceremony of the 2022-23 officers.
Special recognition was also given to Tiffany Ross, the current Z Club and Avid advisor at Granite Hills, for her support and guidance of the Z Club. Granite Hills is currently the only local high school with an active Z Club but Zonta stated it’s happy to announce Porterville High’s Z Club will be returning next year.
After the Z Club installation, the club recognized the 2022 Scholarship Award recipients. Anahi Ramos Silva from PHS was awarded the first ever Marcia Brown Scholarship. Marcia Brown was an active member of the Porterville Zonta Club and chairperson of the Scholarship Committee until her untimely death in September of 2021.
‘This scholarship was made possible by community donations received by Zonta in Marcia’s name. The scholarship is given to a high school senior planning to major in the Health Care field.
Marcia attended Porterville High School and went on to become a Clinical Lab Technician at Sierra View Medical Center. Anahi plans to attend Claremont-mckenna College majoring in Biology with a minor in Oncology.
Anna Bedolla-gutierrez of Granite Hills was the winner of the Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship through Zonta International. The Young Women in Public Affairs award is given to a graduating senior who demonstrates a commitment to public service and civic causes. While attending Granite Hills, Anna was a member of Link Crew, Rotary Interact, Heart Warmers, and served as Vice President of Z Club this year.
She volunteered her time with the Central California Family Crisis Center’s Candlelight Vigil and the CCFCC Children’s Christmas Parade entry. Anna will be attending Fresno State in the fall majoring In Nutritional Science.
The final scholarship award of the night was the Porterville College Reentry Endowment Scholarship awarded to Tana Davidson. The Re-entry award is given to a Porterville College student who has experienced life challenges but is committed to completing their education. Tana is a single mother of three who found her life’s calling through her experience of having an infant who spent seven months in a Bay Area hospital f15 years ago. This is where her passion for nursing began.
Tana will earn her Associate in Nursing this semester and will continue her education with Western Governors University in the Fall. Tana’s goal is to earn both her bachelor’s and master’s in Nursing.
The program concluded with a special presentation of funds from the Marcia Brown Estate to the Zonta Club of Porterville. These funds will allow the Club to continue offering the Marcia Brown Scholarship for years to come. The Club stated it’s grateful for this gift.
The Zonta Club of Porterville stated it’s honored to assist these three young women in fulfilling their dreams.
Those interested in joining Zonta, can visit their web site at zontaclubofporterville.org for more information.