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REALTOR®: Silicon Valley REALTORS® present scholarship awards to 18 graduating high school seniors

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®, presented scholarship awards to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship.

Now on its 13th year, the REALTOR® scholarship program recognizes students who have exemplified outstanding achievements in academics, extracurricular/employment activities and community involvement. The selection committee included representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR).

Students who received scholarships from the Foundation, the schools from which they graduated, and the colleges and universities they will be attending this fall are: Shona Hemmady, Cupertino High School (Yale University); Vicki Landaverde, Fremont High School (San Jose State University); Fiona Kelsey Flynn, Gunn High School (Cornell College); Allis Yao, Homestead High School (UC Berkeley); Allison Barry, Leigh High School (Harvey Mudd College); Jessica Shiwen Cheng, Los Altos High School (Pomona College); Morgan Gautho, Los Gatos High School (Duke University); Annie Ho, Lynbrook High School (San Jose State University); Thomas Chen, Menlo-Atherton High School (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Dan Guo, Monta Vista High School (Stanford University); Nikhil Nag, Mountain View High School (University of Pennsylvania); Emily Chiu, Palo Alto High School (UCLA); Jennifer Huang, Prospect High School (UCLA); Renae Zelmar, Santa Clara High School (Soka University of America); Zara Jehan Sheikh, Saratoga High School (UC Riverside); Brittany Lynn Bolden, Westmont High School (University of Pennsylvania); Noama Iftekhar, Wilcox High School (UC Berkeley); and Alison Swayne Landes, Woodside High School (Boston College).

"As we mark the 13th year of the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Scholarship Program, we are very happy we are able to continue assisting our youth as they embark on their college careers," said SILVAR Scholarship Chair Nina Yamaguchi. "The seniors selected for the SILVAR Scholarship Program are very deserving of recognition. We are happy we can help our local students achieve their dreams."

"We feel fortunate to be able to give back to the community and to our youth through our scholarship program," added John Tripp, 2012 president of SILVAR's charitable foundation. "We also thank the teachers and staff in each high school for their help and participation in making this program the success that it is."

SILVAR members who attended the senior awards ceremonies at the selected high schools and presented the scholarships to the recipients include Chris Alston (Keller Williams), Carolyn Miller (Re/Max Real Estate Services), Jimmy Kang (Wells Fargo Home Mortgage), Vivian Wang (Coldwell Banker), Bill Rehbock (Coldwell Banker), Joanne Fraser (Coldwell Banker), Chris Trapani (Sereno Group), Mark Burns (Coldwell Banker), Mary Tan (Coldwell Banker), Dante Drummond (Alain Pinel Realtors), Robert Reid (Keller Williams), Nicole Maroko (Re/Max Real Estate Services), David Tonna (Alain Pinel Realtors), Russell Morris (Coldwell Banker) and Theresa Loya (Coldwell Banker).

 The scholarship program is a partnership effort between the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation and educators in SILVAR's service areas. Scholarship recipients are selected from the high schools in the communities served by the over 4,000 members of the local trade association.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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