The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic announced its 2013 scholarship recipients. Each year the organization raises money through a benefit luncheon in the spring to provide scholarships for area high school girls going to a four-year college or university, as well as to eligible college undergraduates who are members in good standing of one of the 26 NPC sororities.

For the first time, the Panhellenic is honoring two recipients with the Mary Ellen Gilstrap Memorial Scholarship. This is the organization’s top scholarship award. It was established in 2006 and dedicated to the memory of a long time Glendale and La Cañada resident, educator, volunteer, sorority member and friend, Mary Ellen Gilstrap.

Rebecca Villalpando of La Cañada is a recipient of the memorial scholarship. She will attend Tulane University in the fall and major in English. While attending La Cañada High School, she was a member of the freshman cheer squad, captain of her JV cheer squad, member of the varsity flag squad and varsity song squad. Villalpando was the founder and president of the local St. Bernard Project Club, an organization that raises awareness and money to help rebuild homes in New Orleans that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Katherine Chapman, from La Cañada who also graduated from LCHS, is the second memorial scholarship recipient. Chapman will be starting her senior year at the University of California, Davis. She is an active member of Delta Gamma sorority, where currently she is the vice president of Standards and chairman of the Honor Board. She is recruitment chair of the UC/Davis Panhellenic Council, and was appointed to the Panhellenic Judicial Council. Her campus activities include being a Campus Move-In Day counselor and a spokesperson for Summer Study Abroad. Chapman is a double major in international relations and Spanish, and was recently accepted into the UCDC program to intern and study in Washington, D.C.

Recipients of a Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic High School Scholarship included La Cañada residents and LCHS graduates Kathryn Battaglia who will attend Emory University, Kara Lankey who will attend Pacific University, and Erinn Quintana, a Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate who will attend the University of Colorado.

Recipients of a Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic College Scholarship included Marissa Gonzales of Montrose, a student at the University of Miami who is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. From Burbank are Celina Rodriguez, a student at Duke University who is a member of Alpha Delta Pi and Ariane Sadanaga, a student at Loyola Marymount University who is a member of Delta Delta Delta. Katherine Sobota from Altadena is a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who is a member of Pi Beta Phi also received a college scholarship.

The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic provides information and guidance to young women planning to register for the recruitment process and join a NPC sorority at a college or university. The alumnae Panhellenic welcomes any area alumni of an NPC sorority to join the group as a volunteer, either as a full time or associate member. The group meets in the evening on the second Thursday of each month from September to June. Visit www.glendalepanhellenic.org for more information on our group.

The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic, is a non-profit, community-based organization encompassing the Glendale, Burbank, La Canada, La Crescenta, Sunland and Tujunga areas, with member volunteers from many of the 26 sororities recognized by the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC). The charter is to support today’s young women in their pursuit of higher education.
Submitted by Janice PAUL