Schools
El Cerrito High Seniors Win 10 of 23 Scholarships in District
When the 23 winners of the $1,500 scholarships given by the Retired Educators Scholarship Fund to seniors in West Contra Costa schools were announced this year, 10 of them were from El Cerrito High.
At the annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon on May 31, the West Contra Costa Retired Educators Scholarship Fund (WCCRESF) awarded $1,500 scholarships to 23 WCCUSD (West Contra Costa Unified School District) seniors. Many students had the opportunity to become reacquainted with their elementary, middle school and high school teachers. It was a festive day where students, their parents, friends and former teachers celebrated their accomplishments. Dr. Bruce Harter, school district superintendent, made an appearance and mingled with the winners and their families.
The students will be attending UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Cal State East Bay, Cal State Sacramento and Contra Costa College, as well as the University of Wisconsin, Mills College, Willamette University, Duke University, Harvard, MIT, Syracuse, University of Rochester, and Brigham Young University.
This year, 10 El Cerrito High School seniors were awarded scholarships. These students include Imani Sanders and Jennifer Welden, each of whom had a parent graduate from El Cerrito High. The other winners are Thamar Collier, Taylor Doty, Cindy Su, Nathaniel Segal (aka Magical Nathaniel), Sheila Bauzon, Lydia Breksa, Brian Seegers, and Shea Harrison, whose mother, Michele, teaches Special Education at ECHS. On June 6, the students were honored again at the ECHS Senior Awards Night.
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In order to qualify for the scholarship, these seniors are in the upper half of their graduating class and have participated in organizations, work experience, and community service. In written essays the students provided a look into their busy lives and showed their accomplishments, as well as their struggles.
In 1977, the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA), Division #58 representing all retired employees of the Richmond Unified School District (now the WCCUSD) began awarding college scholarships to high school seniors. The first year, an award of $100 was given. To date, the Fund has granted a total of $491,950 to 428 seniors throughout the district, now awarded by a separate board, the WCCRESF. For more information about this organization please visit the website at wccrescholarship.org.
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Janet Duer Smith is a member of the board of directors of the West Contra Costa Retired Educators Scholarship Fund.
