The Rotary Club of Castro Valley Announces $12,000 in Scholarships
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley Endowment Board is pleased to announce the recipients of the four scholarships awarded annually to graduates of Castro Valley High School: Jenny Tran, Jayme Lai, Cecilia (YuBao) Lin, and Travis Orem. Each scholarship recipient received $3,000.
Jenny Tran received the Rotary Club of Castro Valley Endowment Scholarship for her commitment to serve others, reflecting Rotary’s motto: “Service Above Self.” There are more than one million Rotarians and Interactors in more than 200 countries committed to “Service Above Self” in order to make a difference in their community, nation, and the world. Jenny models “Service Above Self,” serving in Castro Valley High School’s Interact Club, a student service club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Castro Valley, for all four years, including being a member of Interact 5170's District Council as the Area 2 Director her senior year, while earning a 3.86 (weighted) grade point average (GPA). Jenny currently plans on attending the University of California, Irvine with the career goal of becoming a high school Spanish teacher. Jenny is the daughter of Bang Tran and Nu Le of Castro Valley.
Cecilia (YuBao) Lin received the Owen Smith Scholarship named in the memory of the long-time Rotary Club of Castro Valley member, who along with his wife Erma, was committed actively promoting education, including understanding the principles of property rights, entrepreneurship, limited government and a free market. Cecilia was very active on the Castro Valley High School campus as she has served in InterAct for three years in addition to four years in the American Red Cross Club and Chinese Culture Club for three years while also volunteering for three years on Asian Youth Services Committee (Volunteer Service), a youth-led nonprofit organization that serves the Oakland community providing volunteer opportunities, such as Adopt-A-Park, and hosts monthly General Meetings to teach skills, including public speaking and financial management. Cecilia earned a 4.39 (weighted) GPA. She will be attending University of California San Diego with the career goal of becoming a data scientist or pharmacologist. Cecilia is the daughter of Wenqin Lin and Chunmei Wu of Castro Valley.
Jayme Lai received the Bob Waberski Scholarship named after long-time Rotary Club of Castro Valley member and former President, who retired as Castro Valley’s Fire Chief in 1993. Chief Waberski left a rich legacy of community service. Jayme was very active on campus during high school as a member of InterAct for three years, and service off-campus serving the youth groups of both Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and Transfiguration Catholic Church, while also working at Old Navy, and earned a 3.96 (weighted) GPA. She will be attending San Diego State University with the career goal of becoming an Orthodontist. Jayme is the daughter of Hue Lai of Castro Valley and Kayla Tran of Walnut Creek.
Travis Orem received the Sunrise Scholarship, awarded each year remembering the Sunrise Rotary Club of Castro Valley that merged with the Rotary Club of Castro Valley in 2013 becoming part of the Castro Valley Rotary Endowment. The Sunrise Club is remembered by having a scholarship carry their name, and honoring a student who exhibits their legacy of commitment to the Castro Valley Community, and National and International Service. Travis served in multiple clubs during his four years at Castro Valley High School, including the InterAct Club (three years) DCA Business and Marketing club (four years) and American Red Cross Club (three years). He also serves within the community while also working since 2015 both as a Mechanic-In-Training with Travis Specialized Transport during summers and as an Intern with the Leslie Peterson Real Estate Team. Travis earned a 4.21 (weighted) GPA. He will be attending University of California Davis with the career goal of becoming a naturalist or small business owner. Travis is the son of Sheryl Danielson of Castro Valley and Arliss Orem of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
On behalf of the entire Rotary Club of Castro Valley and Endowment Board, Endowment Chair Bruce D. Johnson commends all of the recipients for their commitment to investing their lives in serving others stating “The students who were selected all have marvelous personal stories. Some will be first college attenders in their family, and all are involved in a variety of school service and activities and community service. Each of the recipients is industrious, hard-working (in and out of the classroom) and involved in a variety of activities serving others at school and within the community. We are confident these students will excel and make a positive impact on everyone they impact throughout college and after! We are very proud of Jenny, Jayme, Cecilia and Travis.”
Castro Valley Rotarians John Aufdermauer, Heidi Hausauer, Bruce D. Johnson (Chair), Jim Negri, Margarita Ramos, Ray Wallace (Secretary), and Dan Willits (Vice-Chair/Treasurer) serve on the Endowment Board. For more information on The Rotary Club of Castro Valley and the Endowment, please visit www.castrovalleyrotary.org.
