Kiwanis Club of Menlo Park awards $60,000 in scholarships to M-A students

The Kiwanis Club of Menlo Park awarded $60,000 in scholarships to six Menlo-Atherton High School seniors. Family and friends of the students recently attended an awards luncheon with members of the Club at Allied Arts Guild.

“There are more outstanding students than we can award scholarships to,” said John Martin, Scholarship Chair for the Kiwanis Club. “They are tops in their class academically, but their participation in community service projects is also a key component in our decision-making process. In addition, they have made real commitments to continue their community service in the years to come.”

“Two of the students, Ana Ramos and Izabel Sharp were Key Club members at Menlo-Atherton. This is a student-led high school service organization sponsored by our Kiwanis Club. In fact, most Kiwanis Clubs sponsor Key Clubs around the world,” added Louise DeDera, President of the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club.

These six students join many other Menlo Atherton High School students who have received scholarships from the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club for more than 40 years. Over $1.2 million has been awarded to local students during the lifetime of the Club’s scholarship program. Several named scholarships have been endowed by past members of the Club, and those, combined with other fundraising activities, have enabled the club to award scholarships and other grants to community organizations each year.

Pictured, left to right are John Martin, Chair of the Kiwanis Scholarship Committee; Jeff Caceres, Cal Poly; Natalia Lopez Castenada, San Francisco State; Andela Maldonado, UC Channel Islands; Ana Ramos Penagos, UC Riverside; Aaralyn Prasad. UC Santa Cruz; and Louise DeDera, Menlo Park Kiwanis Club President. Not pictured is Izabel Sharp, who will be attending USC.