BALDWIN PARK – A Sierra Vista High School senior who dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and eight other exceptional seniors received $10,000 in scholarships on May 10 from Baldwin Park Unified administrators, teachers and community supporters.

The top honor at the Joint Scholarship Ceremony went to Alana Resendez, a bilingual student inspired to study medicine by her mother’s battle against a neurological disease. Resendez received a $5,000 prize from the Ramona Burnham Scholarship Foundation.

The foundation was formed by the daughters of Burnham, a former Baldwin Park Unified teacher, to honor her legacy.
Students were evaluated for the awards based on their GPA, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, community service, employment, a personal essay, an essay on how an educator influenced their career goals, and financial need.

Resendez also won scholarships from the Lions Club, California Association for Bilingual Education, Baldwin Park Women’s Club and the Chicano/Latino Youth Leadership Conference. She is active in her school’s IDEAS Club, which helps undocumented students, AP Psychology Club, Debate Club, Dual Language Club and Life Teen Club. She also volunteers at the annual Relay for Life, at St. John’s Catholic Church and as a tutor for fellow students.

In her personal essay, Resendez described how, as a child in Mexico, she helped as her mother struggled to walk and speak.

“Even though my mother’s sickness was a hardship that we carried, it taught me that nothing is impossible,” she wrote. “Just as I helped my mom to walk, I will extend my arm to help others to walk their roads.”

In her essay on an educator, Resendez described how Sierra Vista High School teacher Charlene Fried welcomed her, guided her and inspired her when she moved to the U.S. and struggled to learn English.

The eight other scholarships were funded by the Baldwin Park Education Association (BPEA), the Baldwin Park Organization of Supervisors and Administrators (BPOSA) and Iota Pi Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (DKG).

Recipients are: Anais Aranda, Sierra Vista High, $1,000, DKG; Alexandra Moreno, Sierra Vista, $1,000, DKG; Luisa Valle, Baldwin Park High, $500, BPEA; Cindy Berganza, Sierra Vista, $500, BPEA; Wilmer A. Sanchez, North Park High, $500, BPEA; Ashley M. Reyes-Avila, Baldwin Park, $500, BPOSA; Alejandro Flores, Sierra Vista, $500, BPOSA; and Lourdes Melchor, Baldwin Park Adult and Community Education, $500, BPOSA.

PHOTOS

BPUSD_SCHOLAR_1: Sierra Vista High School senior Alana Resendez, center, received a $5,000 scholarship from the Ramona Burnham Scholarship Foundation, one of nine scholarships given at the Baldwin Park Unified Joint Scholarship Ceremony on May 10. She is joined by foundation representative Lauri Burnham-Massey, right, and Sierra Vista High School teacher Charlene Fried.

BPUSD_SCHOLAR_2: Baldwin Park Unified scholarship recipients Alejandro Flores, Cindy Berganza, Alexandra Moreno and Alana Resendez stand with Sierra Vista High School Principal H. Vincent Pratt, left, and Superintendent Dr. Froilan N. Mendoza, right, at the Joint Scholarship Ceremony on May 10. In all, nine students received scholarships.