{"id":271008,"date":"2026-04-16T16:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271008\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T16:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:35:10","slug":"rotary-club-of-rancho-bernardo-awards-22k-in-scholarships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271008\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo awards $22K in scholarships"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo has presented a combined $22,000 in scholarships to 11 seniors from Del Norte, Mt. Carmel and Rancho Bernardo high schools.<\/p>\n

Each student received $2,000 during the club\u2019s April 2 meeting in The Heights Golf Club. The scholarships were sponsored by the Rotary club and the Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club Foundation.<\/p>\n

Scholarship Chairman Terry Heck said the scholarships are \u201ca testament to this club\u2019s generosity and commitment to our youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students are among the best in Poway Unified School District, Heck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey demonstrate exceptional character, a love of learning, a drive to succeed and a genuine commitment to helping others,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are an extremely inspiring group of young adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recipients are Del Norte High seniors Alina Butalid, Madiha Danish and Kamryn Mcmillian; Mt. Carmel High seniors Asher Bende, Andrew Kei, Ronak Patel and Alyza Sitts-Leyva; and Rancho Bernardo High seniors Sereen Al Shnini, Jack Focht, Maithed Lopez and Jonathan Ng.<\/p>\n

\"RanchoRancho Bernardo High seniors Jack Focht, Jonathan Ng, Maithed Lopez and Sereen Al Shnini. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n

According to Heck, what makes the nomination process \u201cespecially meaningful\u201d is that unlike other scholarship programs that require students to submit applications, the Rotary club has school counselors, teachers and staff members nominate those they think should receive a scholarship. The students did not know they were under consideration until notified of their selection.<\/p>\n

This makes winning a scholarship a true surprise for the students, Heck said.<\/p>\n

The nominators chose students in which they \u201csaw something special. Maybe it was strong character, compassion, resilience, leadership and in many cases the ability to overcome challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pool of candidates was filled with remarkable, thoughtful and driven individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club designated two of the scholarships for students with special needs to \u201crecognize students who have overcome developmental challenges while making meaningful contributions to their schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each of the students was introduced to share some of their activities, achievements, educational plans and career aspirations. After the awards were presented, they participated in a short Q&A session so they could elaborate on information mentioned during their introductions.<\/p>\n

Sereen Al Shnini would like to major in human biology and perhaps minor in global health at either UC San Diego or UCLA while also working as an emergency medical technician. Her long-term goal is to attend medical school so she can become a pediatrician for children in underrepresented communities. That goal was was inspired by living in war-torn Syria, which her family left when relocating to the area in 2023.<\/p>\n

Asher Bende plans to major in music education and aspires to become a music educator. Their extracurriculars have included becoming an Eagle Scout in the Scouting America program and being an assistant scout master, working on their Gold Award, being a member of San Diego Youth Symphony, Theatre at the Mount and in the Mt. Carmel Color Guard.<\/p>\n

\"DelDel Norte High seniors Alina Butalid and Madiha Danish. Not pictured, Kamryn Mcmillian. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n

Alina Butalid would like to earn a degree in nursing from Colorado State University so she can become a registered nurse. At Del Norte, she was a leader in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. She also completed a sports medicine internship.<\/p>\n

Madiha Danish wants to study human and cellular biology at a University of California school in order to work in the neurology field. During college she would like to work in research laboratories. Her extracurriculars include creating art, especially drawing and ceramics, and writing short stories.<\/p>\n

Jack Focht plans to study nursing at Boise State University and play club volleyball in its men\u2019s program. His career goals include becoming a midwife because of his interest in delivering babies and joining the U.S. Navy after college. At RB High he is on the volleyball team and participates in beach and school clean-ups.<\/p>\n

Andrew Kei would like to major in political science at a four-year university so he can have a career in public service. At Mt. Carmel, he led a school initiative advocating for action to address gun violence. He also founded two clubs \u2014 Students Demand Action and Create for Kids \u2014 was the Peer Counseling co-president, California Scholarship Federation vice president, a Sundevil Ambassador, in Academic League and played tennis. He also earned his first degree black belt in taekwondo.<\/p>\n

\"RotarianRotarian Maguy Feghali, Arilla St. Laurent Scholarship Award recipient Maithed Lopez and Chuck St. Laurent. The award was established to honor his late wife, who was an RB Rotarian. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n

Maithed Lopez, who was named the Rotary club\u2019s Arilla St. Laurent Scholarship Award recipient, wants to major in accounting at a four-year university. Her career goal is to become a corporate accountant. As for other activities, she plays the viola, is a Bronco Ambassador, peer counselor and founded the DECA club at RB High. She has also worked at the San Diego County Library for two years.<\/p>\n

Kamryn Mcmillian is going to study business, with a concentration in marketing, at California State University, Sacramento. Her stated career aspiration is to open her own marketing firm that focuses on representing and supporting young Black girls who want to start their own business. At Del Norte High she has organized initiatives and been a student leader.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Ng plans to major in public health at a four-year university and eventually earn his doctor of physical therapy degree so he can be an athletic trainer who specializes in runners. His extracurriculars include being on the varsity track and cross country teams, being a peer counselor and belonging to the Jesus Club and RBHS Cheengoos, which he said is a Christian Korean Club.<\/p>\n

\"Mt.Mt. Carmel High seniors Ronak Patel, Andrew Kei and Alyza Sitts-Leyva. Not pictured, Asher Bende. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n

Ronak Patel wants to major in biology and minor in sociology as part of the pre-med track at a four-year college. His career aspiration is to become a doctor who focuses on inequalities within healthcare and research. His other interests include art, martial arts and youth development programs.<\/p>\n

Alyza Sitts-Leyva wants to major in neuroscience at a four-year university and eventually attend medical school so she can work in the pediatric field. At Mt. Carmel, she is involved in the theater program. Last year she attended the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) training program, is the assistant district governor in the inaugural Interact District Council 5340 and for the past 18 months has been the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo\u2019s social media manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo has presented a combined $22,000 in scholarships to 11 seniors from Del…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[117723,117725,36746,117724,117722,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-271008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-del-norte-high","tag-mt-carmel-high","tag-poway-unified-school-district","tag-rancho-bernardo-high","tag-rotary-club-of-rancho-bernardo","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}