Education – Farm Bureau honors six local students with scholarships

This year, $32,000 will be awarded; presentations will be held July 18 at Coyote Valley Sporting Clays

Published in the July 11 – July 24, 2018 issue of Gilroy Life

The Santa Clara County Farm Bureau has selected six local students for college scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to students majoring in agriculture.

This year, the fund awarded $32,000 in scholarships, thanks to a $30,000 donation from Linda Lester and $2,000 from American AgCredit. These awards will be presented at the Farm Bureau’s Summer BBQ, to be held Wednesday, July 18, at Coyote Valley Sporting Clays. The public is invited.

For more information, go to www.eventbrite.com (search for “Summer BBQ” in Morgan Hill).

The following students will be presented with scholarships:

• April Alger is a senior who attended Notre Dame High School in San Jose. She graduated in June with a GPA of 3.95. April will be attending Northern Arizona University where she will pursue a degree in Environmental Science while minoring in either Forestry or Range Science. April will be receiving $4,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund.

• Haley Bonfante is a senior at Live Oak High School and holds a GPA of 3.69. She will be attending the Santa Barbara City College in the fall where she will earn her general education in geological sciences before transferring to U.C. Santa Barbara to major in Hydrology. Haley will be receiving $4,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund.

• Jenna Fields is a senior at Ann Sobrato High School. She has a 4.06 GPA. She will be attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in the fall where she will major in Agriculture Communications. After graduating from college, she hopes to return to her community to advocate for and represent the agriculture industry as a writer and communicator. Jenna will be receiving a $8,000 scholarship ($6,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund; $2,000 from American AgCredit).

• Julianna Figone graduated from Gilroy High School last year. She is currently attending the University of Idaho where she is majoring in Agricultural Economics. After graduating she plans to attend law school at University of Idaho and eventually work as a Water Giths attorney to protect water rights for the ag industry. Julianna will be receiving $6,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund.

• Evan Huang is a senior at Lynbrook High School and will be graduating in June with a 3.74 GPA. He plans on attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to major in Food Science and pursue a career that contributes to providing safe and renewable food. Evan will be receiving $6,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund.

• Wyatt Wolfe is currently a senior at Gilroy High School and has a 3.97 GPA. Wyatt plans to attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he will major in Agricultural Systems Management. After graduation, he plans to return to Santa Clara County to pursue a career in irrigation and pest management systems. Wyatt will be receiving $4,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund.