DWSOC 2020 Scholarship Winners
The Democratic Women of South Orange County (DWSOC) is a charted club of the Democratic Party of Orange County. On May 21, 2020 the DWSOC was honored to present 7 scholarships to high school students in Southern Orange County for their commitment to promoting democratic ideals in their community.
Graduating High School Senior Students from Dana Hills High School, San Clemente High School and San Juan Hills High School competed for up to $1,000 in awards. 2020 is the 3rd year of our Scholarship Award Program and we remain steadfast in our commitment to graduating seniors at these three top public high schools in our communities..
Each of our Scholarship Award Recipients have demonstrated exceptional leadership, extensive community involvement and the highest concern for Democratic issues. We congratulate these amazing young Democrats, applaud them for their many accomplishments, and wish them well as they carry on their extraordinary work in the next phase of their education and careers.
Graduating High School Senior Students from Dana Hills High School, San Clemente High School and San Juan Hills High School competed for up to $1,000 in awards. 2020 is the 3rd year of our Scholarship Award Program and we remain steadfast in our commitment to graduating seniors at these three top public high schools in our communities..
Each of our Scholarship Award Recipients have demonstrated exceptional leadership, extensive community involvement and the highest concern for Democratic issues. We congratulate these amazing young Democrats, applaud them for their many accomplishments, and wish them well as they carry on their extraordinary work in the next phase of their education and careers.
Dana Hills High School
Julia Iacono
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San Clemente High School
Esther Mafouta March
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Julia Wengier
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San Juan Hills High School
Riley Goodfellow
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Amanda Picariello
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DWSOC Video Presentation for SJHHS Senior Award Night
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This has been an especially challenging year for this Class of 2020 graduates because of the current COVID-19 crisis. While other local political groups have backed out of their Senior Scholarship programs this year, the DWSOC remained committed to our local graduating high school Democrats and again had tremendous support for our 2020 Scholarship Program from its Executive Board, dedicated members and donors from within our community.
We were thrilled with the outstanding caliber of our applicants and the high level of their accomplishments. Each of our Scholarship Award Recipients has demonstrated exceptional leadership, extensive community involvement and the highest concern for Democratic issues. Our Award Winners have organized March for Our Lives demonstrations in honor of the Parkland school shootings and one of our recipients moved here from Broward County, Florida where Parkland High School is located. They have been members of the Students of Orange County for Change, a student-run organization that planned walkouts and marches advocating for stricter gun laws in California. Our award winning students have volunteered on local and congressional political campaigns, have advocated to our School Board and the State Department of Education on policy issues of student expression, and have exhibited journalistic research and writing talents well beyond their years. These students have been giving a voice to those who do not have the resources to advocate for themselves, registering and canvassing voters, raising the public consciousness of environmental issues, helping underserved communities, directly involved in issues of inequality and discrimination in their community, and so much more. Our Award Winners are intelligent, compassionate and strongly principled, and have revealed to our community the high level of character they possess. Extraordinary essays on what democracy means to them and what changes they would like to see in the world were thoughtfully written by our 2020 Scholarship Award Winners covering issues of: social injustice and oppression, voting rights and the integrity of elections, free speech and freedom of the press, the problems within our current criminal justice system, racial/gender/economic inequalities in our society, environmental public policy challenges, adequate access to quality health care, barriers to safe schools, and impediments to basic human rights and freedoms. “Our Scholarship Award Winners for 2020 continue to surpass our expectations of what we envisioned for this scholarship, their ability to mobilize individuals, find common ground and work with others to create positive change in the community is something we should all aspire to,” said Kim Anderson, President, DWSOC. Our 2020 Scholarship Award Winners are among the top students of their graduating class. They are Valedictorians, AP Scholars, National Honor Society members, Top Senior of the Year Finalists and have earned designations as California Scholarship Federation Gold Seal and Bi-literacy Seal Bearers. Among our Scholarship recipients are students who have already earned Journalism Awards as School Newspaper Editors, have earned accolades for their work and studies on a pre-med track, have started clubs in high tech and cyber security, and have received Human Relations Leadership Awards for their support of anti-bullying and design of racial sensitivity training programs. These 2020 Scholarship Award Winners will be attending some of the top University of California schools as well as a number of Ivy League schools throughout the country. They have set high career goals for themselves to become Human Rights and Environmental Attorneys, Physicians and Nurse Practitioners, Public Policy Advocates and Journalists, as well as high level Government Cyber Security Analysts and Female Technology Developers. We congratulate these amazing young Democrats, applaud them for their many accomplishments, and wish them well as they carry on their extraordinary work in the next phase of their education and careers. DWSOC was honored to present our seven (7) Scholarships via a Senior Awards Program video issued by each of their respective high schools on the evening of May 21, 2020. A virtual Awards Program was held this year in lieu of a formal Senior Awards Night program at each school. |
