A standing room-only crowd of family members and school staff
proudly looked on as teens collected nearly $210,000 in
scholarships Monday night at Gilroy High School’s Senior Awards
Celebration.
A standing room-only crowd of family members and school staff proudly looked on as teens collected nearly $210,000 in scholarships Monday night at Gilroy High School’s Senior Awards Celebration.
Including the awards handed out Monday, GHS’s graduating class of 2010 secured $942,000 in scholarships to put toward their education, according to Academic Coordinator Veronica Alfaro.
Teachers and coaches handed out various academic and athletic awards, including the President’s Education Award – given to 55 students who earned a grade point average of 3.75 or higher – and the athlete of the year awards, presented to Elise Ogle and Jesse Delgado. This year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, Jonathan Lam and Connie Kuang, were named male and female scholar athletes.
Various community members took to the podium, handing out scholarships on behalf of Gilroy Rotary and Chamber of Commerce, Saint Louise Regional Hospital, community leaders that had passed away and various philanthropic organizations.
Though smiles were plentiful throughout the ceremony, they were bittersweet as two families presented scholarships in the memories of children they had lost.
“Tonight is a very special night for me,” said Scott Kinkel, before presenting the $500 Erin Kinkel Memorial Scholarship in memory of his daughter – a GHS student who died in a car accident in 2004. “We’ve been up here for six years passing out awards. But this is the first year my daughter is up on the stage.”
Erin’s younger sister, Megan, is off to University of California, Berkeley, next year.
With a warm hug, Kinkel presented the award to senior Anna Collins-Taylor, who will attend Kansas State University next year.
“This year’s recipient has been chosen to receive this award because she exemplifies many of Erin’s best qualities,” Kinkel said, his voice breaking with emotion several times during the speech. “We see in her the same spirit for life, respect for other people, hard work and never-quit attitude. We expect great things from her. We know Erin is smiling in heaven knowing that (Collins-Taylor) is the 2010 recipient of her award.”
Lana and Joel Ailes, the parents of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, who was killed in Iraq on Nov. 15, 2004, also gave out a $500 scholarship in memory of their son. With a wide smile and a hug for both of Jeramy’s parents, Shaunie Hewell accepted the Jeramy Ailes Memorial Scholarship for her “leadership, community service, sportsmanship, and desire the change the world and make it a better place.”
Several students barely had a chance to get comfortable in their seats in between trips to the podium to accept awards. Ogle, who will attend Stanford University on a $48,000 academic and athletic scholarship, received a host of awards, including the Dennis DeBell, Rich Imler and Jan Kelley memorial scholarships, the Nina Edwards Scholarship, and the Gilroy Teachers Association Scholarship.
Seniors Mark Foley, who will attend George Washington University; Connie Kang, who will attend University of California, Berkeley; Kathryn Sinon, who will attend University of California, Riverside; and Rebekah Valencia, who will attend University of Southern California, also took home hefty scholarships, some of which had been previously announced.
View the list of recipients, with the exception of surprise awards.
