2017 Awards Reception Program 2017 Awards Program_FINAL_web | Page 6

Jessica Liu Lesly Macalino
Balboa High School
Will attend UC Merced
Donors: Margaret & Frank Morrow Burton High School
Will attend CSU San Francisco
Donor: Kaiser Permanente Northern
California Fund for Health Education
Both of my parents were from poor
farms and villages in China, and
they weren’t able to obtain the full
education they wanted. I want to
obtain a college degree so I can succeed
in life as a veterinarian and uplift my family’s
financial instability.
Even though my parents do not
understand how education works in
the United States, their words of
wisdom and support stick to me like
glue.
Jonathan Lopez Zahir Mammadzada
San Francisco International High School
Will attend CSU San Francisco
Donors: Jane & David Hartley Galileo High School
Will attend Goucher College
Donors: Rosalyn & Tom Chavez
I've learned that no barriers can
stop you from what you want to
do if you believe in yourself. No
matter how big a problem is, there
will always be a solution. Nothing is
easy, but nothing is impossible. I think of knowledge as a
lighthouse that illuminates my life
path. I want to use my knowledge to
enlighten and support others’ lives.
Renato Lopez Rivas Rodney Martinez
Menlo Atherton High School
Will attend UC Riverside
Donors: Ingbritt Christensen &
Samuel Gelpi, Ursula Gropper,
Anjali Tate & Greg Young,
Lynn Westphal & Michael Gropper Archbishop Riordan High School
Will attend UC Irvine
Donors: Patricia Munter &
Jeff Loomans
Being a first generation college
student makes me proud and allows
my family and parents to be as well.
The opportunity to combine higher
learning with my desire to contribute
to society will be a winning
combination. I will use the life I have
been blessed with to do great things.
2017 MERITUS SCHOLARS
97%
are first-generation
college students.
$
7 in 10
are from families making
<$40,000 per year.
83%
will attend college
in California.