April 30, 1999
El Cajon — Grossmont College Foundation will present $1,000 scholarship awards to 10 top students at the 37th annual Scholarship and Service Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Center on campus.
Students receiving scholarships
are Lily Caesar, Ung Cao, William Herrera, Randy Landenberger,
Celeste Mackey, Christian Ness, Marta Noriega, Toni Renier, Darci
Spiker and Wesley Shelton.
Applicants had to be full-time students, achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 and completed at least 12 units (or about four classes) at Grossmont College. A student's record of community and campus service was also an important factor in selecting the recipients.
"The caliber of students selected for these awards represents the educational success available to students attending Grossmont," said Dr. Ted Martinez, Jr., college president. "I'm impressed with the qualifications and goals of these ten fine students as well as their commitment and contribution to the community."
Lily Caesar lives in San Diego and is studying to be an orthopedic technician and then a physician's assistant. After 20 years working as an insurance underwriter, she decided to pursue her dream of working in the medical field. Caesar volunteers weekly at La Maestra Family Clinic, a non-profit clinic in City Heights, as well as volunteering with Neighborhood House and Meals on Wheels.
Ung Cao, of San Diego, is majoring in biology and will transfer to San Diego State University in the fall and then continue on to medical school. Born in Vietnam, Cao's father was a high-ranking military officer in South Vietnam during the war and in 1975, was arrested and the family's home was seized. Cao, his mother and five younger brothers and sisters faced hardships until the government released Cao's father and let the family immigrate to the United States. Cao volunteers at the Naval Hospital and is active in campus clubs. He tutors his peers at Grossmont and teaches Vietnamese to children at his temple every week.
Spring Valley resident, William Herrera, is majoring in sociology and plans to earn a doctorate and work as a counselor. His goal is to open a clinic to help families recover from domestic violence. Herrera volunteers at Gage Elementary School and assists in the Early Childhood Ministry at Skyline Wesleyan Church.
Randy Landerberger, of La Mesa, will graduate in June as a cardiovascular technician. He plans to combine cardiology with his story-telling and writing skills to be an advocate for cardiac care programs. He also wants to develop training software using three-dimensional animated models. Landenberger volunteers monthly with the San Diego Disaster Medical Assistance Team.
San Diegan Celeste Mackey, a single mother, is working toward her associate degree in Dietetics and will earn her associate degree next spring. She plans to combine her 20 years work experience in the food industry with her newly acquired dietetics education and work as a dietary manager in a skilled nursing facility. Mackey enjoys volunteering for her son's Boy Scout troop and at his school. She volunteers every Friday at Clairemont Senior Center assisting with lunch service and talking with senior citizens.
Christian Ness, of San Diego, graduated from Grossmont High School and is majoring in International Relations and Economics with minors in Spanish and German. She plans to earn her bachelor's degree and go on to law school, then seek work as a Foreign Service Officer with the federal government. Ness has coordinated the Great American Smokeout festival for the American Cancer Society. She plans to volunteer 40 hours a week this summer with Project Concern to research and develop ways to improve the living standards for people in developing countries.
Single parent Marta Noriega, lives in La Mesa with her two-year old child and is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School. At Grossmont College, she is majoring in Linguistics and plans to transfer and earn her bachelor's degree and teaching credential. Her career goal is to teach English as Second Language in a high school. Noriega is actively involved in welfare implementation and gets updates out to her peers on the CalWorks regulations. She serves as president of STEP-UP Club (Success Through the Education of Parents), which provides information and support to welfare recipients.
San Diegan Toni Renier worked 25 years in business but after being robbed at gunpoint, she re-evaluated her life and decided to pursue a career using her artistic talent. She is majoring in Advertising and Graphic Design with plans to transfer in the fall to SDSU. Renier has volunteered with the Chamber of Commerce, worked on the Miramar air shows, various 10K runs and at Bostonia School.
Darci Spiker, of Santee, is studying biology at Grossmont. She has a bachelor's degree in marketing and worked in sales until she decided to change careers. Her goal is to pursue a master's degree in Botany at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo next spring. She plans to study plants for use as natural medicine. Interested in fitness, Spiker has run in a number of charitable races and is a support rider for a Leukemia Team-in-Training member, where she provides encouragement and training advice during rides.
El Cajon resident, Wesley Shelton has traveled widely and lived overseas. From his experience, he believes in the importance of cross-cultural understanding and the important role the U.S. government plays in world. At Grossmont, he is majoring in communications and plans to pursue a bachelor's degree. His goals include employment in the U.S. Foreign Service. Shelton spent two years in South Korea where he taught free English classes and volunteered at a local orphanage. He remains active with the local Korean community and tutors Korean exchange students.
The scholarships are funded from proceeds of the Foundation's annual dinner and auction. The Foundation scholarships are among the numerous achievement awards and scholarships presented every year at the awards ceremony. Awards are made possible by donations from area service clubs, campus organizations, individuals and corporations.
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