Supporting education and youth in our community are two things that the California Rodeo Salinas prides itself on. Each year the California Rodeo Association awards five to ten scholarships for students graduating from Salinas Valley High Schools who are attending Hartnell Junior College or transferring from Hartnell to a University. Students of Salinas Valley high schools, who are seniors in the fall, may also apply if they will be attending Hartnell the following fall. Students must be 17 years of age or older and special consideration is given to Rodeo Committee Members as well as children or grandchildren of Rodeo Committee Members in good standing. The scholarship is run through the Hartnell College Foundation and more information can be found at: http://www.hartnell.edu/2017-2018-hartnell-scholarships-program. Applications are typically online in early January and due at the end of February each year.
There are five recipients this year who earned a total of $7,500: Maria Molinero Cazares, Jessica Santana, Ignacio Mendoza, Ashley Jones and Tatiana Ayala. Four of these individuals had an affiliation with the California Rodeo Salinas.
Maria Molinero Cazares, 22, will attend University of California, Irvine in the fall of 2017 majoring in Public Health Nursing and plans to return to Salinas to work at the Health Department as a Public Health Nurse.
Jessica Santana, 20, plans to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Science in Biology from the University of California, Davis and then apply to the UC Davis School of Medicine or Stanford School of Medicine specializing in Emergency Room Medicine.
Ignacio Mendoza, 24, will attend Fresno State University with a major in Plant Science and Plant Health with hopes to become a grower or Pest Control Advisor or Certified Crop Advisor in the Salinas Valley.
Ashley Jones, 21, plans to pursue a career in nursing and aspires to work in a local hospital. After working for a few years she will pursue her Masters to teach future Registered Nursing students.
Tatiana Ayala, 21, is transferring from Hartnell Junior College to the University of California, Santa Cruz this fall to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with the intention of staying local to put her degree to good use.
The California Rodeo Salinas wishes these young individuals the best of luck in their future studies and believes that assisting them with their education will allow them to make a positive difference in our community.
About the California Rodeo
The 107th California Rodeo Salinas will take place July 20th-23rd, 2017. The California Rodeo Association is a non-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the traditions of the California Rodeo Salinas and the West. We support the community and other non-profit organizations through the staging of the annual California Rodeo Salinas and other year round operations of the Salinas Sports Complex. Through donation of our facility, vending and fundraising opportunities during Rodeo and other events, the California Rodeo Association returns over $300,000 annually to local non-profits. For more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, log on to www.CARodeo.com or call the California Rodeo Office at 831-775.3100. -‘Like’ the California Rodeo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CARodeoSalinas or follow us on -twitter @CaliforniaRodeo for updates, photos and more.