Battin Announces Winners Of The 11th Annual 37th Senate District Outstanding Senior Of The Year Scholarship

PALM DESERT – Senator Jim Battin (R – La Quinta) awarded a total of $9,200 in scholarship funds and gift certificates to Eastern and Western Riverside County students at a breakfast held in Cathedral City, and at a luncheon held in Lake Elsinore on Saturday, May 7, 2005.

Eastern Riverside County Winners are as follows: First Place of $2,000.00 – Blair Greenwald of Palm Springs High School; Second Place of $1,000.00 – Benjamin Taborsky of La Quinta High School; Third Place of $500.00 – Breeanna Fujio, also of La Quinta High School; and a Special Merit award of $500 was given to Ruth Aleman of Amistad High School. Western Riverside County Winners are as follows: First Place of $2,000.00 – Tony Tran of Moreno Valley High School; Second Place of $1,000.00 – Brittany Downey of Temescal Canyon High School; Third Place of $500 – Casey Jordan of San Jacinto High School; and a Special Merit award of $500 was given to Jessica McDaniel of Hamilton High School.

All student nominees and parents were invited to the award ceremony breakfast at the Doral Resort in Cathedral City, or the award ceremony luncheon at the Diamond Club in Lake Elsinore. Each nominee received a Senate Certificate of Recognition, a $25 gift certificate to Staples Office Supply Store, and a State of California lapel pin. Students must be nominated by the Principal of their school. Battin invites the Principal from every high school in his district to send both a male and a female nomination. Students are judged by two separate panels of judges, comprised of community leaders from their geographical region.

“Our community should be very proud of all of these outstanding students. Not only are they all extremely talented, hardworking and intelligent, but especially inspirational are those students who had to overcome very difficult obstacles in their effort to achieve academic excellence. Recognizing these incredible young people is both an honor and privilege,” stated Senator Jim Battin.

The scholarships were presented as part of the 11th annual 37th Senate District Outstanding High School Senior of the Year program. Battin established the scholarship program in 1995 when he served in the State Assembly. He then continued the program when he was elected to the State Senate in 2000. Nominations, ceremonies, and awards are held on both ends of Riverside County—Eastern and Western, which Battin represents in order to allow students to compete against their peers. Judging panels are also comprised of community leaders from the eastern and western regions of Battin’s district. The scholarship program is not a state funded program, and is the only scholarship sponsored by a Legislator in the State of California. Including this year’s awards, over $90,000.00 has been awarded by Battin for outstanding achievement since the 37th Senate District Scholarship was established.

37th SENATE DISTRICT OUTSTANDING SENIOR OF THE YEAR SCHOLARSHIP

NOMINEE LIST

Nominees from Eastern Riverside County included: Ruth Aleman and William “D.J.” Jordan of Amistad High School; Holly Oliver and James Love of Beaumont High School; Priscyla Rios and Sergio Rosas of Cathedral City High School; Gabriela Alarcon and Sergio Ceja of Coachella Valley High School; Nadia Marquez and Eric Rausch of Desert Hot Springs High School; Nicole Purdy and Julio Vazquez of Indio High School; Breeanna Fujio and Benjamin Taborsky of La Quinta High School; Joseph Marks of Mt. San Jacinto High School; Jennifer Phan and Christopher Sacks of Palm Desert High School; Blair Greenwald and Andrew Wilson of Palm Springs High School; Kerry Golds and Garrett Hookey of The Palm Valley School.

Nominees from Western Riverside County included: Ashlynn Garcia and Gabriel Cervantes of Buena Vista High School; Melissa Cahoon and Deon Webb of Canyon Springs High School; Brittney Braswell and Irvin Stevens of Centennial High School; Crystal Ries of Corona High School; Ambrosia Iapala and Gabriel Segura of Elsinore High School; Mercedes Ramirez of Gordon Kiefer High School; Jessica McDaniel and David Quinonez of Hamilton High School; Jade Clemons and Brandon Koepp of Hemet High School; Bethany Peak and Tony Tran of Moreno Valley High School; Jacquelyn Aina and Christopher Enochs of Norco High School; Woo Jung Lee and Hector Vargas of Paloma Valley High School; Baby Deompoc and Luis Carranza of Perris High School; Victoria Hermosilla and Casey Jordan of San Jacinto High School; Brittany Downey of Temescal Canyon High School; Te’Angela Bell and Scott Ponce of Valley View High School.