Two Poway residents and one Scripps Ranch resident are among 22 recipients of Don Diego Scholarship Foundation scholarships that total $94,000 in 2026.
As the high school seniors graduate from high school, the scholarship funds will help them embark on higher education opportunities and pursue careers in an array of fields, said foundation officials.
Don Diego Scholarship Foundation Chairperson Kirby Morrison said the foundation is “elated” to celebrate the scholar-leaders, including a number of first-generation college students, during its 40th anniversary year.
The three top award winners of $10,000 each were Arya Bosworth, a Poway High School graduate, Zaya Kramer of Fallbrook and Angie Santizo-Gomez of Escondido.
Bosworth, 18, a Scripps Ranch resident, said she received two $5,000 scholarships through the Don Diego Scholarship Foundation.
One was the Ranglas Family Endowed Exhibitor Scholarship which was awarded to her based on her participation in the 2024 San Diego County Fair’s Fairbotics Competition. Her Poway robotics team, Mechanical Advantage, won first place.
“I allowed fairgoers to test out the robots and drive them around,” Bosworth said. “One robot threw rings. It was so wonderful to share robotics and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) with my community.”
Bosworth also received a $5,000 Spanjian Family Endowed Scholarship. She said she received the scholarship for being one of the top three exceptional Don Diego Scholarship recipients. The award is partly based on her high 4.59 GPA and recognition as Poway High Valedictorian, community service and other activities, and her plans to attend Harvard University in the fall where she will double major in mechanical engineering and also theater, dance & media.
Among her many activities she has been captain, lead builder and driver No. 1 for Mechanical Advantage, she has performed in a number of musicals, and during the pandemic she developed an online Computer-Aided Design (CAD) course that taught elementary school students how to design holiday ornaments over Zoom.
Bosworth said she will use her scholarship funds for tuition at Harvard.
“I was so excited,” she said about receiving her Don Diego scholarships. “It was so amazing and so wonderful. I felt incredibly honored.”
The following are two Poway residents who were honored with Don Diego and other scholarships this year.
Tessa Foust, 17
Foust recently graduated from the Cambridge School private school with a 4.68 GPA.
She received a $3,750 Zable Foundation 4-H Scholarship through the Don Diego program.
Courtesy Tessa Foust
Poway resident Tessa Foust received a $3,750 Zable Foundation 4-H Scholarship. She plans to study animal science at Santa Fe College. (Courtesy Tessa Foust)
Foust said she plans to use the funds for tuition at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla. She plans to study animal science so she can advance to veterinarian school.
“I’ve always loved and had an interest in animals and agriculture,” Foust said. “I’m extremely grateful to the Don Diego Scholarship Foundation and donors because they put in so much time to fund San Diego students. I’m grateful for everything that has led me to this point. Getting this scholarship will be extremely helpful.”
Foust aspires to be a large animal veterinarian or food animal veterinarian for meat-producing animals and chickens. She said she chose to study at Santa Fe College because it has a strong animal science program, is near a university she hopes to transfer to, and is located in an agricultural area.
“The scholarship is going to be a huge help in funding college and cutting costs since I’ll be going out of state for school,” said the 4-H Club member of four years.
Although Foust is not participating in the San Diego County Fair this year, she will attend the National Holstein Convention in Orlando, Fla. the last week of June. The convention, which features the Holstein breed of dairy cow, includes activities and competitions that she will be participating in with the Dairy Farmers of America.
“I’ve been involved in dairy projects with my 4-H Club and I’ve raised market steer for the past three years,” she said.
Sydney Harris, 18
Harris recently graduated from Poway High with a 3.96 GPA. She received a $5,000 Karetas Family FFA Scholarship and a $3,000 Junior Livestock Auction Scholarship through the Don Diego Scholarship Foundation.
Courtesy Sydney Harris
Poway resident Sydney Harris received a $5,000 Karetas Family FFA Scholarship and a $3,000 Junior Livestock Auction Scholarship. Shown here with her lamb named Arrow, Harris plans to study nursing at Creighton University. (Courtesy Sydney Harris)
Harris plans to use her scholarship proceeds to pay for tuition at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where she hopes to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing over four years.
“I would love to be a pediatric nurse in the future,” she said. “Being able to apply these scholarships to something I love in the future is not only inspiring but unbelievable.”
In the last two years, Harris has raised two lambs — Bow and Arrow — for the San Diego County Fair.
She was an FFA member for four years in high school and an officer of the club for three of those years.
“It taught me a sense of perseverance and leadership,” Harris said. “Going through high school we all change, and as I grew in high school I grew with FFA.”
She also earned $1,600 in scholarships combined from the Kiwanis Club of Poway and the Parent Teacher Student Association. Her scholarships will be added to a financial aid package at Creighton University worth $28,000 per year. Harris said she hopes to work part-time to be able to afford the full $70,000 per year in tuition.