The Cameo Professional Auxiliary for the Assistance League of Long Beach hosted graduates from its mentoring program, as well as their family and friends, during a June 7 luncheon.

The luncheon honored the graduating class of 11 LBUSD high school seniors who completed the comprehensive mentoring program.

“All of our students are going on to college, and have earned a $3,000 continuing education scholarship,” said mentoring co-Chair Bernice Banares. “In addition, many of them have earned special scholarships. We wish them well in their future.”

This year’s graduates were Ayrem Yeudiel Lemus, Ruby Tejeda, Dayanara Reyes, Marley Garcia-Hernandez, Rainier Uy, Trinity Wachter, Felicity Pena, Treewith Khuansarn, Aileen Galvan, Olivia Suarez and Ricardo Resendiz.

Former Cameo student Logan Pope, a recent graduate from UC San Diego, gave the graduates his top “dos and Don’ts about how to succeed in college.

“It’s especially important to use the resources available,” he said. “The fact that you are a Cameo graduate means you have resources to pull from. Your mentor doesn’t stop being your mentor when you graduate. Reach out to them.”

Cameo’s mentoring program is designed to guide underserved Long Beach high school and community college students by helping them identify and fulfill their college and careergoals. In addition to mentoring, the students also attend monthly enrichment workshops and cultural activities, and complete paid summer internships in partnership with PacificGateway. They receive funds annually to buy books and academic materials; each graduate also receives funding for technology equipment to support their college experience and academic scholarship funds.

Sponsors included The Kovak Family, The Long Beach Running Club, Virginia Baxter and David Pagnotta, Debby Mather (the Elizabeth Anne Cottrell Memorial Scholarship), former Cameo Chairs Lynda and Michael Dowlen, the Kiwanis Club, and the Rosi Pedersen Memorial Scholarship.

Seen at the Scene: Becky Kovacs, Brian Fuller, Pat Paris Appleby, Sandy Nevarez, Gus Esparza, Danita Humphrey, Margaret Warren, Virginia Baxter, Debby Mather, SharonChavez, Naomi Blackmore, Maria Harris, Rosemary Zarn and Christina Mansour.

Dramatic Allied Arts Guild

Dramatic Allied Arts Guild President Claire Rand welcomed the 85 or so attendees at the Long Beach Yacht Club on June 9 to celebrate what DAAG is all about – granting scholarships in the arts to students at Long Beach City College, Cal State Long Beach and Musical Theatre West. This year, the guild awarded $31,000 in scholarships.

DAAG was founded in 1964, initially presenting fashion shows, hosting free high school symposiums for students of drama, art and music, and giving lessons to members (ukulele was the most popular). Beginning in 1970, the guild began giving scholarships to high school students, Rand said during the event, and in 1976, DAAG officials decided to award students in the arts at LBCC and CSULB. A few years later, a scholarship to Musical Theatre West was also included.

Scholarship Chair Janice Peterson began the program by introducing each of the students with a short personal interview. These “interactive chats” were enthusiastically welcomed as a new approach to the introduction of the 2026 scholarship winners of the Dramatic Allied Arts Guild. Following the interviews, the performers demonstrated their marvelous talents. One of the students mentioned how he was advised to “try something new” and began his journey in the music world; another was inspired by the opera music in the movie “Moonstruck.”

A former recipient of the DAAG award is now employed by MTW and Bethany Price, of CSULB, mentioned she had been a recipient of the award — and it encouraged her to continue her education.

The recipients this year were Luciano Gomez, Francisco Baldonado, Claudia Hernandez, Jashon Roberts, Benjamin Ross, Carolina Lopez-Mazariegos, Lillian McFarren, MarissaRamos, Megan Jess, Minseo Kim, Aden Cujudo, William Pearce, Kaylee Watts and Iva Calderon.

Gorgeous centerpieces of pink tulips accented with various art objects denoted each of the arts, highlighted by the black-and-white linens.

Among the special introduced guests were Hayley Sanford, Bethany Price, Paul Garman, Sarah Monteiro and Shyra Compton. They shared a few words about the value of their partnerships in recognizing deserving arts students, and expressed a strong desire to continue the collaboration and support. Peterson introduced Kay Berg, the incoming 2026-27 DAAG president.

Seen at the Scene: Victoria Gammer, Cheryl McNulty, Marisa Autrey, Stephanie Davis, Penny Wilds, Laurie Gilmore, Marsha Jeffer, Lesley Scheller, Nancy Koblensky, ColletteAnderson, Susan Townsend and Julie Tonks.

News of Social events with charitable purposes may be sent to Shirley Wild at spwild@verizon.net. Please include a contact phone number. Send high-resolution jpeg photos, by attachment, to spwild@verizon.net and include group name and identification of individuals from left. Call Shirley at 562-594-9468 for more information.