Presentation
It is always an exceptional honor to present our annual Scholarship and graduation stole finalists. San Ramon Rotary has a long history of encouraging the youth in our community. The recognition that we give today is one step toward this goal of honoring young people who embrace the spirit and mission of Rotary. Toward this end, every year we recognize graduating Interact seniors who have given 50 hours of community service over their high school career. This year, there are six recipients:
Alyssa Hu 50.00 hours
Ellie Miyasaki 51.55 hours
Cindy Zhu 75.50 hours
Stephanie Li 87.50 hours
Stephanie Lau 99.55 hours
Danielle Lee 197.5 hours
The Chairperson and leader of the committee, Patti Hennigan scholarship selection committee who deserves tremendous accolades for her works. Other members included Mike Thelen, Steve Porsche, Gary Sloan, Judy Lewis and Michael Roberts. The scholarship process entails a detailed application followed by an interview. Candidates are judged based on their academics, two letters of recommendation, financial need, community service and the quality of an essay and a personal statement. This year our club is distributing $16,000 this year.
The winners of this year’s scholarships:
Nathan Oliveria has a 4.10 GPA and has aspirations to become an Orthopedic Surgeon which is not too unusual given that his mother is OB/GYN. Nathan excels in spots, whether it is water polo, baseball or rock climbing, no one can deny that he is an athlete. During his high school years, Nathan went from 125 LBS to 205 LBS with 11% body fat. His father and grandfather are Rotarians which no doubt contributed to his volunteering for such organizations as Meals on Wheels, Kids for Hunger, and various pandemic mask drives. He participates in a Physical Therapy Internship in preparation for his professional exploration of medicine.
But the thing that distinguishes Nathan and impressed our committee was his perseverance, empathy and sacrifice as he dedicated himself through the school year to care of his mother who developed stage 4 cancer. Nathan thrived both academically and personally through athletic injury, family tragedy and academic challenge.
Nathan Oliveria received a $1,000 scholarship.
Maison Erridge has a 3.56 GPA who is studying Microbiology when she is not lifeguarding, being the captain of the water polo team, working on the year book and working three jobs to save enough money to go to college. Despite her busy calendar, Maison finds time for community service in such activities as soup kitchens, animal shelters, the National Charity League and providing our troops with supplies. But it is Maison’s love of science and higher education that made an impression on the committee. It was clear to us that Maison SO values the opportunity to go to college that no amount of work or challenge will dissuade this young committed woman from reaching her goals. When you meet Maison, you know you have met a genuine person. She is truly special.
Maison Erridge also received a $1,000 scholarship.
The next two awards for $1,250 go to two women who are very much alike on the one hand but very distinct and different on the other. While Melody and Mikal are twins with similar achievements, their interests and approach toward life are quite different.
Melody Mulugeta has a of GPA 4.19 with an interest in Media, Communications and Theater Arts. She is an award-winning actress at Cal High with a Best Dramatic Actress award. She is co-President of the Black Student Union, and a track and field athlete. She is a volunteer with the California Scholarship Federation and will receive a Life Membership Award in recognition for her long commitment. She was the co-founder of the COVID Relief Club distributing over 500 aid packages to Oakland homeless shelters and she volunteers at the Pleasanton Senior Center.
But Melody’s distinguishing characteristic is her commitment and mastery of social media. She managed to generate almost 1 million “likes” on Twitter and 40 million global impressions. Melody is committed to social justice and equality and has sought to overcome stereotypical images of Black Americans. Toward that end Melody is a staff writer for the school newspaper and an intern with Making Us Matter, a non-profit organization established to promote racial awareness.
To quote from her scholarship essay: “I began to gain a level of maturity that helped me retrieve my lost identity. Incidents like racist graffiti in bathrooms, the N-word drawn across parking lots, the KKK Halloween costume…strengthened my resolve… to make the school a more welcoming environment by raising awareness about the impact of institutional racism.”
I would not be surprised to find Oprah Winfrey replaced by Melody in a few years.
Not to be outdone Mikal Mulugeta has an equally impressive array of skills and accomplishments. She has a 4.05 GPA with a passion in Political Science and Theater Arts. Mikal was also an award-winning actress at Cal High having received the People’s Choice Award and winning a silver medal for monologue at a state wide competition. Yes, she is on the track and field team, is the other co-President of the Black Student Union, the other co-Founder of the Covid Relief Club and a writer for Human Central an online media organization where she was recognized as among the top ten contributing writers. In addition to her volunteer work with the Pleasanton Senior Center, she served as Social Justice club member and tutored under-privileged kids.
Mikal’s work with the San Ramon City Attorney crystalized her aspirations to have an impact on the world through politics and government. A quote from her essay:
“I hope to be the best person I can be for public service, in line with the ideals of the San Ramon Rotary Club which is service to others while advancing world understanding, goodwill and peace”
It would not surprise me if Mikal is soon to be one of our Congresswomen or Senators in the coming years. Mikal demonstrated to us that she is inquisitive, poised, energetic, and mature deserving of our recognition for one of our scholarships.
The recipient of our $1500 award was Meghana Balabhadruni who has a GPA of 4.31 focusing on Molecular and Cell Biology hoping to one day become a physician with a concentration on preventive medicine. Through the application of biology, nutrition and holistic medicine, Meghana hopes to make a difference in the world. She has begun that process as President of Science Alliance and Linquest and founder of “Speak without Fear” school clubs. Her classical Indian dance, flute playing and high meditation skills is a testament to Meghana’s balance and harmonious balance in the world.
There is no other way to say it. Meghana is smart. She has been a lab trainee researching the relationship with COVID and diabetes through statistical analysis. She served as a Research Artificial Intelligence intern where dietary solutions for diseases were explored. One of the recommendations we received identified Meghana as her most outstanding student this year. She also received first place in a medical competition. She has been described as diligent, with an insatiable intellectual curiosity which is matched only by her tenacity for pushing boundaries.
But personal achievement is but one aspect of this scholarship recipient. Through the Science Alliance, Meghana assisted 5th graders on their oral and written presentation for science projects. The Speak Without Fear Club she founded in 2019 teaches others oratorial skills.
And she teaches meditation to others but when she realized that access to meditation skills were limited in some communities, she taught it in Spanish.
Meghana has found her center and discovered that she can have a meaningful impact on the world in the process. It is our pleasure to assist her on her journey through this $1,500 scholarship.
In recognition of San Ramon Rotary Club’s special $2,500 Memorial Award, the selection committee seeks to identify among scholarship candidates someone who represents the values of departed Rotarians. Educators, Community Advocates and significant contributors to our club and community, we honor our fellow Rotarians with this award.
Stephanie Woon with a 4.00 GPA is such a deserving recipient. She is interested in Kinesiology and becoming a physical therapist for special needs children. This scholarship winner “lights up the room”. Her energy is infectious, her commitment sincere and her disposition authentic. She is a Varsity Tennis Team captain and participates on the track and field team. Like many scholarship winners, she volunteered in community organizations including serving as a Girl Scout for 13 years, participating in Dress a Girl around the World club, and becoming a Cornerstone Fellowship Preschool teacher. But Stephanie’s distinction was in her empathy and compassion toward those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). After seeing how students with IDD were poorly treated on campus, Stephanie researched and found a way to transform a way students could interact and normalize genuine friendships between students with and without IDD.
Stephanie is the founder and President of a Best Buddies chapter, an organization dedicated to ending the isolation of people with IDD by offering social mentoring to build genuine one-to-one friendship, providing integrated employment, leadership development and inclusive living. As if this was not enough, Stephanie is establishing a similar program for younger kids in elementary school call PALS. Through bi-monthly meetings Stephanie is integrating all students to encourage inclusion, mutual respect and friendship. She has also sought to incorporate a base curriculum among elementary schools to provide the resources in the development of PALS programs across the community.
To accomplish this success, Stephanie navigated through a reluctant school administration and advocated for those who could not advocate for themselves. This passion, vision and commitment makes Stephanie Woon a perfect recipient of the Memorial Rotary Scholarship Award.
Danielle Lee
Our final award was for a $7,500 four-year scholarship to provide tuition support at the college of the recipient’s choice. The recipient of this award is no stranger to Rotary. In addition to her 4.32 GPA, Danielle Lee amassed almost 200 hours of community service through the Interact Club. She served on the Interact for all 4 years currently serving as Communications VP for the club. She has been the District Governor for 5160 Interact clubs. She has served as a San Ramon Teen Council member, a curriculum designer for STEM power, and was the Treasurer for Junior State of America Club.
Danielle’s community service and leadership has been astounding. She has worked on youth projects ranging from drug abuse prevention, technology literacy for seniors, math and reading instruction, environmental clean-up campaigns, homeless shelter support, clothing, book and food drives, fund raisers, cards for the troops, the hospitalized and the elderly. Whether it was toy drives, sandwich making at the Trinity Center, painting rocks for positivity, hygiene packages, gardening events, smoke detector organization, meals on wheels, or International support in Morocco, Danielle played an key role. As District Governor she supported Interact District members to fund Best Buddies projects to benefit programs like Stephanie Woon’s at Cal High and beyond. Danielle has been an integral part of the Interact club’s success most recently had the vision to introduce the “key sight words project for Kindergartens” that has been adopted by many elementary schools this past year.
We have watched a pretty shy Freshman in the shadows of her elder siblings emerged to shine her own light upon us and become a charismatic, disciplined, respectful with good humor whose capacity knows no bounds. Her love of Rotary was best represented by Tristyn Barker, District 5160 Interact Chairwoman and Advisor:
“Danielle Lee is the heart of the Interact District Council for District 5160. Her passion for service, leadership and Rotary is an inspiration to Interactors, Rotaractors and Rotarians…. It is evident that Danielle cares deeply for her community and will be a lifelong Rotarian that focuses on Service Above Self and our Youth Service Programs!”
It was San Ramon Rotary Club’s distinct pleasure to award Danielle Lee with our highest scholarship award.
Terry Koehne thanked Gary for the presentation and congratulated the award recipients and parents. Terry asked if any parent knew any part of the Four Way Test for Rotary. No one did. But the mother of the twins, remembered a part of Mike Thelen’s Thought for the Day and won a bottle of wine!
The next meeting will be held on May 5th with Mr. Barry Toby as our greeter.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary Sloan
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