By: Eric de Guzman
Among those recognized on Senior Awards Night was Senior Teia Barbosa. She said in an email that she had been awarded the Gold Cord, the Maroon Cord, the $500 Club Z! Scholarship for academic achievement, as well as the $10,000 Minnis Scholarship.
“My cheerleading coach, Jennifer Garcia, told me about Club Z!,” Barbosa said, “and Ms. Byler told me about Minnis.”
Barbosa said that she greatly needed these scholarships, as the price to pay for her top choice for school, University of San Francisco (USF) had been too much. After deciding to go to community college to transfer, Barbosa said, these scholarships will help to further her education and pay for whatever she needs. When she found out that she had been awarded these scholarships, Barbosa said that she felt grateful and humbled.
“There were so many times in high school where I felt that my academic successes were never good enough,” Barbosa said. “Winning these scholarships allowed me to realize that I was recognized for my hard work that I so badly wanted to be recognized for,” Barbosa said.
It was tough earning the scholarships, Barbosa said. Winning the Minnis Scholarship meant a lot, Barbosa added.
“I was actually in the counseling office the day the Minnis Scholarship was turned in, and Ms. Martinez said, ‘Look at this stack of applications, this is all your competition’,” Barbosa said. “Although I felt that everyone who applied was worthy of the scholarship,” Barbosa said, “I knew that it would be difficult to win that scholarship.”
Barbosa said that she plans to go to Ohlone Community College. She hopes to transfer to a four year college, hopefully USF for Hospitality and Business Management.
Senior Brianna Williams was also awarded scholarships on Senior Awards Night, having been awarded the $20,000 Minnis Scholarship as well as the $2,000 Shirdi Sai Parivaar Scholarship. She learned about these scholarships from the College and Career Center and her mother, Williams said in an email.
“For the past couple of years my mom has been struggling [to pay] for bills in the household,” Williams said. “Day after day she would tell me to fill out scholarships so I would have the money to go to college without ending up in debt like she did. Being awarded these scholarships helped me out so much.”
Williams said that she was ecstatic upon finding out that she won the scholarships; she had called her mom and they both cried on the phone. For her, Williams said, earning the scholarships was not necessarily easy or hard, but it was based on how you introduce and portray yourself through writing.
“I plan to use part of the scholarships to help pay for tuition,” Williams said, “as well as some of it to help pay for expenses college requires such as a laptop, books, and room and board.”
Williams advised those going into senior year, looking for scholarship opportunities, to pay attention to deadlines, to start early, and never stop applying.
“Even if you feel discouraged,” Williams said, “it never hurts to try.”
Barbosa advised upcoming seniors to remember that even though they may feel that they have not made a large impact throughout high school, that does not mean that they are not worthy to receive scholarships.
“There were so many times where I felt that I had to go big or go home when it came to getting involved in high school or else I felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” Barbosa said. “Remember that applying to scholarships just means that you’re showing others what you’ve done! Big or small. Your impact makes a difference and your high school story means a lot to those reading it.”