Propelled by the energy of a “live” in-person meeting, the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada recently celebrated four local graduating seniors with scholarships of $3,000 each. The criteria for the award included their dedicated community service and schoolwork performance as well as being highly recommended by the staff of high school counselors. Another major component was the students’ future goals as the aim of the awards is to help youth to pursue their dreams of making a difference though higher education.

The scholarship recipients were Crescenta Valley High School graduate Amanda Rush Bova who will be going to the University of Oregon and La Cañada High School graduates Tessa Olivieri and Madison Tea, who will be attending San Diego State, and Daniel Woo, who be attending the University of California, San Diego.

With their family members present, each student was introduced and spoke about their past high school experience that helped them to focus on what they’ll be studying in college. Adding to everyone’s enjoyment was Nancy Leininger who gave an inspiration recounting of the encouraging words of wisdom by Dr. Seuss.

The scholarships are a key component of the Kiwanis’ mission to serving children with the awards geared to boost and inspire youth as they begin a new chapter in their lives. This year, however, there was a special twist to the clubs’ internal fundraising campaign. An anonymous club member stepped up and challenged the club by matching up to $5,000 in member contributions. With the gauntlet thrown down, in one short meeting the $5,000 was raised with additional donations raising the bar to $12,000, accounting for a 60% increase from previous years’ awards total. 

Kiwanis Club of La Cañada President Dennis Fors said, “It is gratifying to see such an outpouring of enthusiasm for the students as we recognize their achievements, and acknowledge their family for their wonderful support. We are confident the students will do great things as they are our future and have their whole lives ahead of them.” He ended by saying, “We hope the scholarships will show them just how much we believe in them and in their potential.”

For those interested in making friends and giving back while having fun, the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada extends an invitation to attend a meeting held every Wednesday at noon, which features the “Guest Speaker of the Week” program. To receive a private invitation to attend, email lacanadakiwanis@gmail.com. Also check out the website at lacanadakiwanis.org.

Submitted by Alice PEREZ