Scholarships
The SNA Scholarships are presented in honor of Tom Rische, who started the scholarship award many years ago. The Rische Family continues to support our youth through their generous donations. Scholarships are given to individual students based on a cumulative point system that includes; Academic Achievement, Letters of Recommendation, Community and School Involvement, Leadership, and Responsibilities and/or Family Need. Student’s parents must be members of the SNA to qualify for a scholarship, and students must have resided in Seaside for their Junior and Senior years, at a minimum.
We are currently accepting memberships and donations to add to the scholarship awards that will be presented in May, 2024. Many thanks to all of the SNA Resident Members, Business Partners and Scholarship Sponsors, who make these awards possible through membership dues and generous donations.
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SNA 2023 Scholarship Winners!
SNA Scholarship Chair, Kelly Wedel, along with the Scholarship Selection Committee, Perry Shields, Lisa Nichols, and Tricia Blanco, are pleased to announce, Ian Pirotto and Aleen Khedesian, as this year's scholarship recipients! They were awarded $1500 each, toward their college expenses at our General Meeting on Wednesday, May 24th, at Sea Aire Golf Clubhouse. The money was raised from SNA membership dues, and from our generous Business Partners and Scholarship Sponsors. Bios below, as presented by Perry Shields.
Ian Pirotto
For four years, Ian was an active member of the Spartan Choir, Comedy Sportz, Connect Club, Drama Club, and GSA, with leadership roles in Choir and GSA. Ian was a Center Theatre Group Ambassador in their Sophomore year, which I am well-acquainted with, being a Drama teacher and having had students take part in the same excellent program. Felipe Sanchez, then the director of the program, had this to say: “Ian’s mindful approach to developing their leadership style, positive attitude, initiative, and commitment to excellent work inspired CTG’s community of artists, educators and students during their tenure as an Ambassador. ”French teacher Barbara LaSage had this to say: “Ian is a gifted multi-talented well-rounded student with an incredible thirst for knowledge… they are an artist par excellence and a gifted storyteller. On numerous occasions Ian has entertained their class with their expressive reading of one of their creative, witty and imaginative stories.“
Ian’s unweighted class rank is number one out of 453. Ian will be attending UCLA.
Aleen Khedesian
Aleen has been a member of the California Scholarship Federation, Best Buddies, Apollo Athena, and Connect Club, almost all for her four years of high school. In addition she has been a member of the Cross Country and Track and Field teams for three years. She has been involved with Family Connect Memory Care and Girl Scouts of America for almost her whole high school career. Carlene Schultz, one of Aleen’s English teachers, had this to say: “What truly sets Aleen apart is her heart. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. This rare quality distinguishes her among her peers…It is incontestable that Aleen’s classmates truly value and respect her sentiments and guidance as a positive influence both inside and outside of the classroom. I would like to read a portion of Aleen’s personal statement: “I've always believed that having compassion is of great power. My compassionate nature has allowed me to step into the shoes of others, feel for their struggles, understand their lives, and be willing to provide support, help and most importantly, kindness. This has shaped my decision to become a civil rights lawyer.”
Aleen ranks 30 out her class of 453, putting her in the top seven percent of her class academically. Aleen will be attending USC.
Congratulations to Ian and Aleen for their outstanding accomplishments, and to our SNA member parents!
SNA 2022 Scholarship Winners!
SNA Scholarship Chair, Kelly Wedel, along with the Scholarship Selection Committee, are pleased to announce, Elle Takahashi and Brooke Maille, as this year's scholarship recipients! They will be awarded $1500 each, toward their college expenses at our General Meeting on Wednesday, May 25th, 7:00 pm, at Sea Aire Golf Clubhouse. The money was raised from SNA membership dues, and from our generous Business Partners and Scholarship Sponsors.
Elle Takahashi will be attending Keio University in Japan as a Global Information and Governance Academic Program student. In the fall, she will be majoring in architecture in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies. Her plan after college is to work as an architect in Japan to build experience and complete graduate studies in the United States in order to utilize her knowledge and experience internationally and contribute to this community that she grew up in. She is so grateful for the Seaside neighborhood that she grew up in, not only because of this opportunity but also because this neighborhood is one of the reasons why she grew a passion for architecture. As an adolescent, she loved volunteering at Seaside Heroes Park to beautify the neighborhood, and going on walks to see the beautiful homes in this warm and welcoming community.
Brooke Maille will be attending the University of Southern California this fall with a major in Neuroscience and intended minor of Screenwriting. Brooke was Editor in Chief of South High’s newspaper, the Sword & Shield, after two years of being an editor. Over the past four years, she has been a part of her school’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams, winning Best Improved her freshmen year and promoting to varsity her junior year for both teams. In addition to her involvement in school sports, Brooke also participated in Youth & Government and won 1st Alternate for Girls State. She recently received academic awards in English and Social Science, in addition to Mathematics the previous year. Involved in many service clubs, Brooke has spent many hours tutoring fellow students, planning school events, and cleaning Seaside Hero’s Park. Outside of school, Brooke works part time at Redondo Beach’s Mathnasium.
On behalf of the Seaside Neighbor Association, we wish these young women success in their endeavors.
SNA 2021 Scholarship Winners!
Our 2021 Scholarship Winners, Seaside Residents Danny Ma and Patrick Melia, have excelled in many areas while attending high school, despite their senior year taking place during the covid pandemic.
Thank you to all our generous Members and Business Partners, because of you the Seaside Neighborhood Association will award each of them a $1,500 scholarship in May.
The following are brief summaries of their accomplishments complied by our Scholarship Chair, Kelly Wedel.
Danny Ma is ranked #7 in his South High School class of 450+ students. During his high school years he earned Honor Roll every semester, while also participating and /or holding leadership positions in Orchestra, Cross Country, Track and Field, Interact Club and California Scholarship Federation. His volunteer services included time helping at Torrance Memorial Medical Center and accompanying The Young Artists Orchestra of Los Angeles for community events. He is now working on the highest rank achievable in Boy Scouts of America, The Eagle Award. Among his many academic and participation awards, Danny earned Commended Scholar (PSAT), President's Volunteer Service Award, and was a National Advanced Placement Scholar. Danny’s future field of study will be Psychology and Neuroscience, which will help him decide on his career in the medical health field. He will be attending UC San Diego in the fall.
Patrick Melia presently has a 4.17 GPA and has taken predominately AP and Honor classes while attending Bishop Montgomery High School. His classes focused on the STEM subjects (Science,Technology, Engineering and Math) As a School Ambassador he represented the school at various events such as open houses and recruitments, as well as community services. He devoted many hours working with exchange students. He represented Torrance in Junior Lifeguard competitions. He also found time to work as a Lifeguard, an after school Child Care Aide and as a Camp Counselor. Patrick earned the Daily Breeze All Area Swim Team Award and the US Life Saving Life Guard of the Year Award The American Legion South Bay Post 184 chose Patrick for participation in its prestigious leadership and citizenship program, California Boys State. He hopes to to pursue an engineering related field with the US Navy and focus on ocean related careers. He received a nomination for the US Naval Academy and US Merchant Marine Academy by Congressman Ted Lieu and will be attending the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
On behalf of the Seaside Neighbor Association, we wish these young men success in their endeavors.
SNA 2020 Scholarship Winners!
SNA Scholarship Chair Kelly Wedel, is pleased to report that eighteen high achieving Seaside high school Seniors applied for the Seaside Neighborhood Association’s 2020 Scholarships. Every applicant was worthy, a tribute to their families and their neighborhood. Due to our generous sponsors and members, winners Megan Hulsy and Lauren Krause each were awarded a $1500 check towards their college expenses. The 2020 SNA Scholarship Selection Committee was chaired by Kelly Wedel, and included Perry Shields, Lisa Nichols, and Tricia Blanco.
SNA 2020 Scholarship recipient Megan Hulsy, took 11 Advanced Placement (AP) classes at SHS, played in the band and volunteered weekly at Pugnation and Friendship Foundation. She states: “I plan to major in the study of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at UCLA.. I discovered this field of study in my work as a clinical research intern at Harbor UCLA Medical Center under the direction of Dr. Miller. I hope to contribute to the study of antibiotic resistant organisms such as MRSA and to be part of a scientific team aimed at understanding these pathogens.I love the study of Biology and I am eager to begin life as a student at UCLA.”
SNA 2020 Scholarship recipient Lauren Krause, whose academic ranking was #17 in her RUHS class of 741 students, was a student athlete at BMHS and then at RUHS, as well as League of Women Voters Student Representative. “I am so thrilled to receive one of the SNA's scholarships this year,” she writes. “I have lived in the Seaside neighborhood my entire life and have grown to love the community and its festivities. Throughout my years in high school I played varsity basketball and was involved in ASB. I cannot wait to attend UCLA to study Cognitive Science, a combination of Psychology and Computer Programming. Go Bruins!”
SNA 2019 Scholarship Winners!
The academic accomplishments, talents, and volunteer spirits of the young people in the Seaside area were a huge source of pride for the Seaside Neighborhood Association (SNA) Scholarship Selection Committee as they perused student applications for our 2019 College Scholarships. Every one of the students who applied was impressive and worthy of recognition.
SNA is very pleased to announce that Samantha (Sammie) Kuo and Natalie Ibarra will be awarded $1500 each toward their college educations at our General Meeting on Wednesday, May 29th, 7 pm at Sea Aire Golf Clubhouse. The money was raised through membership dues, Business Partners and Scholarship Sponsors.
Sammie Kuo, a lifelong Seaside resident, is ranked 38th in the 2019 South High class of almost 500 students. Among many other activities, Sammie was team captain of SHS volleyball and active in Youth Leadership at her church, the Lighthouse Community Church. She is particularly proud of her role in reviving the South High service club Apollo/Athena (A/A), which under her tenure as President went from 9 to 99 members. As she wrote, “A/A is a demonstration of the positive impact that unity and dedication can bring {when} youth…come together and serve a bigger community.”
2019 Winner Natalie Ibarra lives out the credo of service that her co-recipient described. She is a founding member of Lets.Give, a grassroots volunteer organization created by high school students across Los Angeles in 2015. Natalie’s involvement in this outreach has been astonishing. According to the group’s Advisor, she and the collective led over 300 high schoolers to provide sneakers to middle schoolers in Watts, drove to Bakersfield to deliver 6000 items of clothing to migrant farmers, built gardens and murals in areas of need, and much more. Moreover, she is in student government and other clubs at South High, volunteers at Torrance Memorial, is taking four Advanced Placement courses this year and maintain a 4.1 grade point average!
The 2019 SNA Scholarship Selection Committee was chaired by Kelly Wedel, and included Perry Shields, Lisa Nichols, Julie Meenan and Tricia Blanco.
SNA 2018 Scholarship Winners!
The SNA was thrilled to award both Courtney and Cole with a $1500 scholarship at the May 30th SNA Meeting and Celebration. Courtney’s parents are Brad and Kim Heath who live on Avenue C. Cole Rossi is the son of Jeanne Rossi, who lives on Mindora Drive. Both students currently attend South High School.
SNA 2017 Scholarship Winners!
The Seaside Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce the two high school seniors who won the 2017 SNA Scholarship Awards.
They were selected from a field of fourteen students who live in the Seaside Neighborhood. The selection was made by three judges, using a point system based on academic achievement, community/school involvement, letters of recommendations, and financial circumstances. Although, all nominees were exceptional students, there were two that reached the highest level of points.
We are very proud to announce our two winners:
Jacob Downey, whose parents are Wade and Rosie Downey on Linda Drive, and Joseph Mills, son of Kevin Mills and Judith Kraft who live on Sunnyview.
Jacob and Joseph both attend South High School, and will graduate in June 2017. Jacob is an outstanding student with a 4.22 weighted grade point average, while Joseph has a 4.36 weighted grade point average. Both young men are very active in the school and our community, and were highly recommended by their teachers and mentors to go on to higher education.
Congratulations to Jacob and Joseph for their accomplishments, and to our SNA member parents!
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