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Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation announces 2017 scholarship awards
Mary Kay Groth presented the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation scholarship award to Ginger Wang Brown. She is pictured here with Brown and her parents at Los Gatos High School's senior awards night.
The Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR), presented scholarship awards to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship.
Now on its 18th year, the Realtor scholars 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 SILVAR.
"The seniors selected this year are very deserving of recognition not only because of their academic accomplishments, but also for their contributions to their communities," said Nina Yamaguchi, the Realtor foundation's scholarship program chair. "We are happy we are able to assist the deserving winners in beginning their college careers."
Students receiving scholarships, the schools from which they are graduating, and the colleges and universities they will be attending this fall are Manasa Gogineni, Cupertino High School (UC Davis); Meryem Esa, Fremont High School (Santa Clara University); Archer Olson, Gunn High School (UC Berkeley); Yu-Ying Chua, Homestead High School (UCLA); Madeleine Gibbons-Shapiro, Leigh High School (Georgetown University); Simge Yildiz, Los Altos High School (UC Davis); Ginger Wang Brown, Los Gatos High School (Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo); Carolyn Zhong, Lynbrook High School (Carnegie Mellon University); Megan McDonnell, Menlo-Atherton High School (Northwestern University); Lucas Chang, Monta Vista High School (Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo); Shayla Tonge, Mountain View High School (Chapman University); Zoe Dellaert, Palo Alto High School (University of Chicago); Aryan D'Rozario, Prospect High School (UC Santa Cruz); Megan Bettencourt, Santa Clara High School (UC Davis); Julie Cai, Saratoga High School (New York University); Ariana Sadar Ghahary, Westmont High School (UC San Diego); Poojita Dasika, Wilcox High School (UCLA); and Rogelio U. Sanchez, Woodside High School (UC Riverside).
The Realtors who presented the scholarships to the recipients at their respective senior award ceremonies were Chris Alston (Keller Williams Realty), Mark Burns (Referral Realty), Nina Daruwalla (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage), Mary Kay Groth (Sereno Group), Penelope Huang (Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty), Young Jacob (Intero Real Estate Services), Theresa Loya (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage), Bill Moody (Referral Realty), Russell Morris (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage), Moise Nahouraii (Referral Realty), Jose Padilla (Alain Pinel Realtors), Robert Reid (Keller Williams Realty), Mary Tan (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage), David Tonna (Alain Pinel Realtors) and Denise Welsh (Alain Pinel Realtors).
"Our scholarship program is a way our Realtors are able to give back to our communities and to our youth, who are our future. The program is truly a partnership effort between the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation and the wonderful educators in our service area," said Eileen Giorgi, 2017 president of the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation.
The scholarship awards presented by the Realtor foundation are made possible by donations from members of the local trade association. Since its inception, the program has provided $324,000 in scholarships to high school seniors in Silicon Valley.
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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.