The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Foundation (RCSRF) awarded over $40,000 in scholarships to 15 promising Santa Rosa Junior College students at the club’s weekly luncheon at Iron and Vine restaurant on May 7.
RCSRF’s scholarship chair Steve Olsen listed the accomplishments of the recipients that stood out from among more than 200 applicants. Each recipient is bound for transfer to a four-year school in fall 2025. “We were expecting maybe 50 [applicants],” said Olsen, who attributed the large response in part to the Oak Leaf News’ coverage of the application process.
For the first time in over 50 years of bestowing awards, RCSRF took on the task of selecting the recipients itself, a task historically delegated to Santa Rosa Junior College’s scholarship board. Such a large number of high quality applicants only added to the challenge.
“Rotary is a service organization, so our scholarships aren’t just about GPA,” Olsen said. “We want students with good grades whose chance of academic success is really high, but who also have demonstrated an interest in serving their community.”
Tiffany Nguyen, a business economics major, received the Jack Levar Memorial Business or Communication Studies Scholarship in the sum of $2,000. Nguyen, who served as president of SRJC’s Rotaract Club and student government vice president of marketing, plans to attend University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in the fall. The scholarship, renewable next year for a total award of $4,000, will assist her ambition to work in the fashion industry.
“I’m so grateful for this financial support; my future education is very valuable for me,” Nguyen said, adding that receiving the award feels like her hard work paying off.
U.S Army veteran Daniel Rodriguez Orejon received the $5,000 Levin Family Military Veterans Scholarship. Orejon continues to serve as a transportation management coordinator in the army reserves when not volunteering with Habitat for Humanity or the American Red Cross. After graduating from SRJC with an Associate of Science degree in fire technology, Orejon plans to transfer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt to pursue a bachelor’s in forestry and wildfire management.
The $2,500 RCSRF Directors Scholarship went to Anya Gagnon. Gangnon raises guide dogs and fosters kittens for Rohnert Park Animal Shelter, is a presidential member of the National Society of Leadership, volunteers at the Redwood Empire Food Bank and broke 28 records as a competitive swimmer for Analy High School and the Sebastopol Sea Serpents.
“I come from a family with a single mom, so it’s amazing that I can receive this financial support to my education and my dreams,” Gagnon said. “I feel really grateful and blessed.”
Rotary Club Director Diane Moresi, an educator for 40 years and former superintendent of Rincon Valley schools who served on the scholarship selection committee, believes the big picture is that the awards are an investment in potential future Rotarians.
“We don’t write that down anywhere on paper. It’s not in the criteria, but in reality, the things we look for in students are the things we look for in members,” Olsen said.
