By TR Robertson
Tuesday morning ten amazing Carlsbad students were honored at the 5th Annual Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Rising Star Scholarship Breakfast. The event was held at the Holiday Inn on Palomar Airport Road. The Rising Star program began in 1992 in Temecula under the leadership of Salley Meyers, who was in attendance at today’s celebration in Carlsbad. Six Chambers are now sponsoring Rising Star Programs, including Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista and Encinitas. Each month during the school year students are honored, at a breakfast, for the outstanding work they do at their schools both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Many of the students have overcome a number of challenges in their like and have shown tremendous leadership skills in the different programs they are involved in. The students selected each month have an opportunity to apply for scholarships awarded at the end of the school year. Ten students were selected from four Carlsbad Schools and will be receiving $1,500 scholarships to use toward the cost of education at the colleges they will be attending after graduation.
Bret Schanzenbach, President and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber welcomed those in attendance to the scholarship breakfast, then introduced J.R. Phillips of Phillips Company Real Estate Group, one of the sponsors of the Carlsbad Rising Star Program. Phillips led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Schanzenbach read the Mission Statement of the Rising Stars of the Year Program, “To bring the community together to honor our local high school seniors for demonstrating character, integrity, love of learning, involvement in school & comunity activities; and/or the ability to overcome challenging life circumstances without compromising their education. The core of the Rising Star of the Month is the student who makes a difference in their home, school & community with sincerity & passion.” Bret then introduced Rosemary Eshelman from Eshelman Appraisals and recently retired Student Special Services Coordinator and founder of the YES Collaborative in Carlsbad Unified School District, also a Rising Star sponsor. Rosemary spoke about the importance of the Rising Star program and her desire to support the students honored. Next on the agenda was the introduction of dignitaries in attendance, including Carlsbad Unified Superintendent Dr. Ben Churchill and representatives from County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s Office, Senator Catherine Blakespeare’s Office, Congressman Mike Levin’s Office, and Assembly Member Tasha Boerner’s Office. Each of the representatives provided certificates for the honored seniors congratulating them on their accomplishments.
Dr. Churchill spoke about the significance of education and the community’s commitment to prioritizing education, especially the business community. He said the districts program of creating Graduate Profile Attributes is assisting in providing quality education for every student in becoming and remaining lifelong learners.
The awarding of the scholarships to the ten seniors consisted of the introduction of the principal of the school the senior attends, the introduction of either a teacher/counselor that the senior wanted to speak about them and the introduction of the senior receiving the scholarship. Each person spoke about the senior and the student spoke about their involvement at the school, about their parents, about challenges they had overcome, and about the chosen field of study the student would be studying in college.
The Rising Star Carlsbad Chamber Scholarship Awards were given to the following students:
From Carlsbad Seaside Academy – Principal Jorge Espinoza – Marelyn Catano – Attending Mira Costa College then Wheaton College – career in medicine.
From Carlsbad High School – Principal Julie Redfield
Rachel Kann – Pacific University – Nursing
Sofia Tamayo – Harvey Mudd College – Electrical engineering
Ash Bering – Palomar College – ASL/Deaf Studies
Brandon Faulkner – Cal State Fullerton – Journalism/Foreign Correspondent
From Sage Creek High School – Principal Dr. Josh Way
Sophia Hersh – Purdue University – Kinesiology
Callia Chon – UCSD – Biology
Abigail Gehris – UCLA – Nursing
Michelle Antonio – UC Riverside – Business
From La Costa Canyon High School – Principal Justn Conn
Ava Lee – University of Washington – Political Science/Law
The Rising Star Sponsors for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce include:
Gregorio’s Restaurant
Phillips & Company Real Estate Group
Republic Services
Guide My Finance
The Jacob Scheriff Group
Your Ops Manager
Premier Chevrolet KIA
Eshelman Appraisals
Melanie Robertson Photography
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation – Discovery Center
Bluewater Grill Seafood Restaurant and Fish Market
Buffini & Company
Handel’s Ice Cream
Believe in Signs
Beach Plum Kitchen
Gelatolove
New Village Arts
Senor Gruby’s Strawberry Shack
For more information go to the Carlsbad Chamber Community Foundation at www.impactcarlsbad.com
