
Pictured here, Sarah Ireland received Telluride Rotary's Service Above Self award and a $400 prize for outstanding community service. Sarah is going to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to study nursing, and she won this award because of her extensive volunteer service, on top of working part-time jobs, during high school. In particular, she earned EMS and EMT certification and worked as a junior firefighter and EMT at the Rico Fire Department.
Also pictured is our top scholarship recipient, Isaac Guerrero Garcia, who earned a $5000 scholarship. Isaac is attending Fort Lewis College and plans to major in History and Film. Isaac stood out as an accomplished and resilient young man. On top of working several part-time jobs, he also was active in community service and student government. Additionally, he has had to cope with a painful medical condition for the past six years. The committee was impressed by his positive demeanor and passion to study history and become a documentary filmmaker.
Telluride Rotary also awarded the following scholarships (click "Read More" for a list of recipients).
Could you make a difference in a high school student’s life by making a tax-deductible donation to the Telluride Rotary Foundation for scholarships? In addition to giving through our Donate Now button, you may mail a check made out to Telluride Rotary Foundation with "scholarships" in the memo line and mail to PO Box 1265, Telluride, CO 81435. Or you may donate through Venmo @T-ride_Rotary_Foundation and indicate “scholarships” with the payment.
$1,000 to Lylah Martin who will attend the New School in New York, where she will study journalism with a marketing or graphic design minor. Lylah participated in Rotary Youth Exchange and spent her sophomore year in Brazil.
$1,000 to Audrey Shoup who will study nursing at Regis University in Denver.
$1,000 to Lily Doyle who wants to be an art therapist and will attend Westminster College in Utah.
$1,000 to Sergio Hernandez Ramos who will attend CU Boulder and hopes to become a veterinarian.
$500 to Jocelyn Nieto who will study criminal justice at Colorado Mesa University
$500 to Nick Turrin who will study aerospace engineering at CU Boulder
And finally, we gave a $500 athletic scholarship for an outstanding athlete. This Scholarship is named after former Telluride Mayor John Micetic, who was a longtime member of Telluride Rotary. The John Micetic Athletic Award for $500 went to South Livermore, who excels at soccer, basketball, and lacrosse in addition to doing extremely well academically. He will attend CU Boulder and study electrical engineering.
Many thanks to our Scholarship Committee, chaired by Karen Lavender. She was assisted this year by Lauren Bloemsma, Marilyn Branch, Sarah Holbrooke, Judi Kiernan, Roger Wickham, Lynne Beck, and Doug Tueller.
“For as long as I can remember, the Telluride Rotary Club has been an active and vital participant in our Local Scholarship Night,” says Karen Lavender, who retired last year as college counselor at Telluride High. “These scholarships have proved essential in terms of ‘gap funding’—that is, helping students and their families cover the gap between the actual cost of college and the financial aid they receive from the institutions to which they matriculate. These scholarships have time and again allowed our local youth to realize their highest aspirations for higher education.”