By Mary-Justine Lanyon
A gasp went up from the audience at this year’s scholarship night when Principal Brian Keaney announced the numbers.
Sixty-nine graduands were awarded 160 scholarships totaling $107,000.
“You have opened doors for these students,” Keaney told the donors. “Some know what they want to do, some are not so certain. But your money gives them confidence.”
And to the seniors who are about to graduate Keaney said, “We believe in you with actual dollars. You will make a difference. Don’t you dare doubt yourselves.”
Valedictorian Nina Hidajat was awarded the first scholarship of the night.
The first award of the night – a $2,500 Ted Roy Charily Foundation scholarship – went to Nina Hidajat, who was announced as the Class of 2026 valedictorian on May 20. Cindy Gardner of the Rim of the World Communities Scholarship Council then awarded memorial scholarships from 13 other families. The council, she reminded the audience, has been founded in 1957. This year they awarded scholarships to all 56 applicants in the amount of $46,500. “With the generosity of the community,” Gardner said, “we are able to give every applicant a scholarship, give them that little encouragement.”
Then, one by one, representatives of school and community groups went to the podium to announce and award their scholarships. the Mountain Sunrise and Lake Arrowhead Rotary Clubs awarded multiple scholarships totaling $36,000. Other groups also rewarded multiple students with awards. Soroptimist International of Rim of the World gave out eight $1,000 scholarships. The Women’s Club of Lake Arrowhead awarded 13 scholarships.
The UCLA Mountain Bruins is currently supporting nine Rim-area students attending UCLA. This year they recognized Nina Hidajat, who has chosen UCLA as her college. The Cal State San Bernardino Mountain Communities Scholarship Society has awarded $700,000 to 200 students over the past 20 years. This year they recognized Jayden Grow, who they will support for all four years he is at Cal State.
As they have every year, the Lake Arrowhead Rotary Club gave a token to the students who had maintained a GPA of 4.0 or above. This year that meant that 37 students received awards of $100.
Principal Keaney had opened the evening by saying it takes a village. “How luck are we to spend our time here?” he asked. He told the audience that the seniors “know some of you but some are strangers, sharing your generosity. Students, thank the audience,” he instructed. As one, the seniors began applauding.
Brenden Watson received one of the scholarships awarded by the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club.
“We want to prepare our students for college, career and community,” Keaney said.
As for the community piece, he asked the audience to stand and sing along with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”
“When you have doubts – and they will happen – our message to you is – Don’t stop believing.”
He closed the evening by repeating that “it takes a village and we have a generous village.” He then asked all seniors who had received a scholarship to stand. All those on the stage stood as the audience applauded their hard work and their success.
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