PCF Awards Local Students $41,000 in Scholarships

Investing in the next generation

Auburn, Calif. – 19 students received exciting news that they are Placer Community Foundation (PCF) college scholarship awardees, many of whom were surprised at their high school graduation ceremonies last month.

“We are proud to award these deserving students and grateful to our donors who invest in the next generation,” said Veronica Blake, Placer Community Foundation CEO. She explained the students will be pursuing an array of interests, including engineering, mechatronics, political science, theater, welding, and more.

Scholarships from the Foundation were issued in varying amounts reaching up to $4,000 per student, some with annual continuation eligibility for four years. One student benefiting from the Ben Parra Scholarship Fund, a fund at PCF that awards annual scholarships, is Taylor Belisle-Lopez (pictured above) of Lincoln High School. Taylor will attend UC Santa Barbara in the fall, where he plans to major in Chemical Engineering.

“I am immensely grateful for the assistance that this scholarship will provide me,” said Belisle-Lopez. “It will aid me greatly in achieving my goal of obtaining a college education and has brought me one step closer to making my dream of a career as an engineer a reality. It’s very reassuring and motivating to know that my hard work has not gone unnoticed, and I am honored to receive an award which is associated with such an inspiring man and which has now opened so many new opportunities for me.”

In total, Belisle-Lopez is eligible to receive up to $16,000 in scholarship funding over four years to make his dreams of becoming an engineer a reality. As Belisle-Lopez and the other scholars prepare for college in the fall, the Foundation would like to acknowledge the following donor funds and/or their family who made these scholarship grants possible:

• A. Jerald Saladana Scholarship Fund
• Al Saladana Scholarship Fund
• Ben Parra Scholarship Fund
• Carmen Tindall Wilson Scholarship Fund
• John G. and Lillian M. Walsh Family Scholarship Fund
• Ken and Janice Forbes Geil Scholarship Fund
• Larry D. Mitchell Memorial Scholarship Fund
• Richard and Doris Sayles Family Scholarship Fund

Members of the community are invited to start their own fund in support of community interests with Placer Community Foundation. To get started, visit: http://placercf.org/start-a-fund/.