{"id":292954,"date":"2026-04-30T10:24:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T10:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292954\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:24:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T10:24:07","slug":"2026-oc-avid-senior-standouts-earn-431000-in-scholarships-ocde-newsroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292954\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 OC AVID senior standouts earn $431,000 in scholarships \u2013 OCDE Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Quick look: A total of $431,000 in scholarships was awarded to 42 graduating seniors during the 2026 OC AVID Senior Standout Recognition and Scholarship Presentation, held April 15 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The event honored 57 students for academic achievement, leadership and perseverance.<\/p>\n

At the Irvine Barclay Theatre on April 15, 57 graduating seniors from Orange County high schools were recognized as AVID Senior Standouts, with 42 students awarded a combined $431,000 in scholarships.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the Orange County Department of Education, the annual event<\/a> celebrated one senior standout from each participating high school with a senior AVID class. Each honoree was introduced by a teacher or school representative and presented with a certificate and medallion.<\/p>\n

AVID<\/a>, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a nationally recognized college-readiness program. About 30,000 students across Orange County \u2014 including 16,000 at the secondary level \u2014 are currently enrolled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe caliber of talent from this year\u2019s seniors was extraordinary,\u201d said Dr. Denise Harshman, OCDE\u2019s coordinator of Advancing Learning<\/a>. \u201cMany of these students are pursuing careers in the healthcare field at top universities, reflecting both their academic preparation and commitment to serving their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full-circle moments<\/p>\n

Harshman also reflected on a memorable moment during the ceremony, when Estancia High School teacher Luis Gonzalez introduced a student after sharing that he had stood on the same stage 11 years earlier as an AVID scholarship recipient.<\/p>\n

\u201cA special moment came when a teacher took the stage to introduce his student and shared that he had stood there 11 years earlier as an AVID scholarship recipient,\u201d Harshman said. \u201cSeeing that kind of impact come full circle was meaningful for everyone in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BriseydaBriseyda Cabrera Mejia of Estancia High School poses with family members after being recognized as a 2026 AVID Senior Standout. (Photo courtesy of the Orange County Community Foundation and Photo Deli LLC)<\/p>\n

Two students were invited to speak during the event, sharing reflections on their AVID journeys.<\/p>\n

\u201cAVID led me to become a confident leader, achieving my goals and taking risks,\u201d said Briseyda Cabrera Mejia of Estancia High School. \u201cThrough guidance and support, I have become a determined and optimistic person, focused on serving my community and taking on opportunities to become successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow student speaker Delver Camacho of Santiago High School also shared how AVID shaped his perspective and future goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAVID helped me embrace my background and the experiences that make me who I am,\u201d said Delver Camacho of Santiago High School. \u201cIt taught me discipline, resilience, and the value of hard work, empowering me to pursue my goals with one thought in mind: \u2018S\u00ed se puede!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Scholarships support future goals<\/p>\n

The event included welcome remarks from Harshman and congratulatory remarks from OCDE Chief of Staff Dennis Cole. Additional presentations were led by OCDE staff and AVID educators, including the recognition of all senior standouts and the presentation of scholarships.<\/p>\n

To be eligible for scholarships, students were required to participate in AVID for at least three years, including their senior year, maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA and be nominated by an AVID teacher or coordinator. Applications were evaluated based on academic performance, leadership, service, home responsibilities and written responses before being reviewed by donors.<\/p>\n

Since 2008, more than $16.9 million in AVID scholarships have been awarded through this initiative, supported by longstanding community and corporate partners committed to expanding opportunities for students.<\/p>\n

For those who would like to revisit highlights from the ceremony, including a full list of honorees, the digital event program is available on the Orange County AVID website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quick look: A total of $431,000 in scholarships was awarded to 42 graduating seniors during the 2026 OC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-292954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292954","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=292954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}