May 13, 2004

Leland and Pioneer students win scholarships

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Students from Leland, Pioneer and other local high schools received Kiwanis Turnaround Scholarships on May 6 from the Kiwanis Clubs of Willow Glen Sunrisers and Almaden Valley at a special ceremony at Lou’s Village in San Jose. The clubs award the $1,000 scholarships to students who have turned their lives around to achieve higher grade points and go on to college.

Some of the 32 students, all from San Jose schools, actually saw their GPAs rise from 1.0 or below to over 3.0 and even several 4.0s. San Jose Unified Superintendent Dr. Linda Murray presented the scholarships to each of the students, after noting their achievements. Then the students gave a short thank you and explained what the scholarship means to them. Most will now go on to college, planning a couple of years at a community college and then on to a four-year institution.

Four students at Pioneer High School won turnaround scholarships. From left, they are Jose Vasquez, Robert Bardsley III, Tierney de la Lama and Josh Todd. Tierney, who plans to study music and dance, improved her GPA from a 1.9 to a 4.0 while Jose Vasquez went from a 0.67 to a 3.56.

Leland scholarship winners Jimmy Singh and Bethany Campbell breathe a sigh of relief that their speeches are over.