The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR), has presented scholarship awards to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship.
SILVAR's scholarship program, now on its eighth year, 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 SILVAR.
Students who received scholarships from the Foundation, the schools from which they graduated, and the colleges and universities they will be attending are: Philip Chang, Cupertino High School (UC San Diego); Kenneth Finnegan, Fremont High School (UC Davis); Vijay Prabhakar, Gunn High School (Duke University); Chelsea Wong, Homestead High School (UC San Diego); Melissa Solin, Leigh High School (UC Berkeley); Natthawut Wongsrikasem, Los Altos High School (UC Davis); Rachel Holland, Los Gatos High School (Brigham Young University); Tanya Gupta, Lynbrook High School (UC San Diego); Abigail Morin, Menlo Park Atherton High School (UC Santa Barbara); Lisa Merkhofer, Monta Vista High School (Williams College); Ariana Promessi, Mountain View High School (UC Berkeley); Paula Yoffe, Palo Alto High School (UC Berkeley); Simon Williams, Palo Alto High School (UC Berkeley); Linda Oseso, Santa Clara High School (UC Berkeley); Jason Nguyen, Saratoga High School (UC Berkeley); Matthew Lee, Westmont High School (Art Center College of Design); Reanne Gopez, Woodside High School (San Jose State); and Kristen Lee, Prospect High School (UC Berkeley).
"In our industry, we feel fortunate to be able to give back to the community and our local scholars through our scholarship program," said Cindy Luedtke, chair of the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. "By providing scholarships to very deserving individuals, the members of our association feel that we can help local students grow, succeed and achieve their dreams."
"We are happy we are able to assist the deserving winners in beginning their college careers," said SILVAR Scholarship Chair Nina Yamaguchi. "The nominees for the SILVAR Scholarship Program are always among the cream of the crop. This year was no exception."
Representatives of SILVAR attended senior award ceremonies at the various high schools and personally presented the scholarships to the winning students. They also thanked the teachers and staff in each high school for their help and participation in making this program the success that it is.
In Palo Alto, Cristina Page of Cashin Company recognized seniors Paula Yoffe and Simon Williams of Palo Alto High School, for their academic achievements and outstanding community involvement. She presented them each with a $1,000 SILVAR Charitable Foundation scholarship award. Yoffe and Williams will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall.
"I want to thank the teachers and staff of Palo Alto High School for their help and participation in making this program the success that it is," said Page. "The scholarship program is a partnership effort between the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation and the wonderful educators in our service areas."
Another Palo Alto senior, Vijay Prabhakar of Gunn High School, also was recognized and received a $1,000 scholarship presented to him by Toby Vanderbeek, a Realtor with Intero Real Estate Services.
Other SILVAR Realtors who presented the scholarship awards were Chris Alston (Keller Williams, Cupertino), David Hunt (Coldwell Banker, Cupertino), Doug Larson (Coldwell Banker, Cupertino), Raylene Khan (Sereno Group, Los Gatos), Susan Sweeley (Alain Pinel Realtors, Los Altos), Dennis Byron (Byron & Associates, Los Gatos), Mark Burns (Coldwell Banker, Cupertino), Mary Tan (Coldwell Banker, Cupertino), Steve Peters (Alain Pinel, Saratoga), Bill Gorman (Coldwell Banker, Saratoga), Amir Shahkarami (Coldwell Banker, Cupertino) and Russell Morris (Coldwell Banker, Los Gatos).
The scholarship program is a partnership effort between the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation and the educators in SILVAR's service areas. Scholarship recipients are selected from the high schools in the communities served by the more than 4,000 members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®.
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 email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.