Calif. strawberry growers present scholarships

Nation's Restaurant News, June 9, 2003

WATSONVILLE, CALIF. -- The California Strawberry Commission awarded 20 scholarships to high-school seniors as a part of its scholarship program for the 2003-2004 academic year.

The California Strawberry Growers' Scholarship Fund also will present an additional 67 scholarships to continuing college students throughout the state.

The awards are scheduled to be handed out during luncheons held in Watsonville, Santa Maria and Oxnard over the next several weeks. Students will attend the festivities with their families, friends, teachers, counselors and local dignitaries.

"The California strawberry industry is proud to support these students as they pursue their education and is delighted to watch them excel through the years," said Neil Nagata, president of the Commission's scholarship award program and the Growers' Scholarship fund.

Eligible students must have at least one parent who has been employed as a strawberry farm worker for the past two consecutive seasons. In addition, students must attend a vocational school, junior college or four-year university to qualify for the scholarship.

The 20 Califomia Strawberry Scholarship recipients are Leopoldo Acevedo and Andrea Ramos Arellano, from the Orange County/San Diego area; Deicy Baez, Yasmin Carrauza, Luis Herrera, Alfredo Vieyra and Miguelina Zapien from Oxnard; Olivo Avila and Armando Lagunas from Santa Maria; and Jessica Fernandez, Lucia Fernandez, Norberto Fernandez and Rosio Romero Fernandez, Vanessa Garcia Gonzalez, Luis Jimenez, Blanca Melgoza, Mercedes Quintero, Edgar Raygoza, Osvaldo Rocha and Maria Zamora, from the Watsonville-Salinas area.