OROVILLE – For 9 recent high school graduates, one of the most important and expensive tools that they will need during their educational career – a laptop – would no longer be an expense to them, but a gift for them.
Emily Bozarth, Cesar Miranda, Sherri Alvarenga, Alanah Hancock, Aton Johnson, Zinziel Valdes-Bennett, Erika Contreras Garcia, Lamar Collins Jr. and Catalina Reynoso were recipients of the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Steering scholarship. On Saturday, Aug. 13, the nine locals would be presented with $500 and a brand new laptop to accompany them during their educational journey
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Each year, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Steering Committee provides $500 scholarships to local high school seniors registered at their respective colleges. But 2022 proved to be a year with some changes, thanks to a grant funded by the United Way of Northern California. The grant played an instrumental part in purchasing the nine laptops for the students, said chair member and Oroville City Councilor Janet Goodson.
“So often, our rural communities are neglected,” said Goodson. “We live in a very challenged community right here and when it came across my eyesight, that this fund was going to be made available, I said thank you – I know why this opportunity presented itself.”
During a previous committee discussion, it was said that students would frequently start college without a new computer, said David Goodson, co-chair of the committee.
“What I will tell you is that this is the instrumental tool,” said President of United Way Larry Olmstead. “This (laptop) is really your life nowadays in our current world and definitely in your college experience.”
Emily Bozarth, a recent graduate from Hearthstone School in Thermalito, has plans to study computer science at Butte College before she transfers to a four-year university.
“It’s a lot for me because since my major is computer science, a lot of my classes will be online,” said Bozarth.
The grant that helped fund the purchase of the computers was issued shortly after the murder of George Floyd, said Olmstead. The solution came after the nonprofit wanted to find a lasting aid for the community.
“Everyone was putting up a sign and we wanted something that wasn’t just a response today; we wanted to know what we could do that is going to be lasting and help the community,” said Olmstead. “The purpose is to do this – to get into a community where it counts, and help those people who are helping the community.”
To end the event, Lamar Collins, principal of Las Plumas High School, provided parting words with the students.
“Now that you’ve finished high school, you have a foundation, and it’s important to build on that foundation,” said Collins. “It’s great that organizations will help you. Once you get that degree, and once you get your career established, I want to encourage you to give back. Don’t forget the people who helped you along the way. Success is nothing if you don’t reach back and give somebody what somebody gave you.”