Jaylen Dang is a future doctor. She’s going to the University of San Francisco, where the core values — care of the whole person, being people for others, and diversity in all its forms — are a good fit for her.
This year was difficult at Aptos High.
On Aug. 31, her classmate since 4th grade, Gerardo, was stabbed on her campus and died of his injuries. Jaylen was in the school pool at the time, unaware of what was happening. Later she learned that he collapsed not far from where she was.
She was not close to Gerardo, but he had said hi to her at Valencia Elementary when she was new student coming from Oakland.
“I will always remember his smile,” she said.
She was plagued by “what ifs.” What if she had medical training and could have helped as a first responder?
Jaylen Dang
The collective trauma experienced by students at Aptos High propelled her into action. She had started the Community of Science Club to embrace diversity in science, but the tragedy turned students toward medicine.
“As a school, we took a whole day to remember him and we did mindfulness coloring to grieve,” she recalled. “We made cards and wrote kind words in honor of him. After a week, I consulted my teacher who was my advisor for my club. I discussed with her that this event was how it secured my interest in medicine to help people heal from injuries. After brainstorming, I created a reflection survey to get an idea of how the members of the club were feeling. We brought in guest lecturers who became doctors and they showed us the weight of their field of work.”
She learned that despite the losses you will experience that are out of your control, those who survive give you hope and keep you going.
“I think that developing a support system and being able to hear other people’s stories of their experiences with losses helped me and my peers heal a bit more,” she said.
Jaylen had leadership experience to build on. As part of her involvement with the LEO club (leadership, experience, and opportunity), she helped raise $2,500 for a Gravity Water project to build a sustainable filtration system for a school in Nepal to have access to clean drinking water. The fundraiser was held during the pandemic, so Jaylen had to find creative ways to lead her team virtually, with no standard bake sales to raise money.
Jaylen is a four-time recipient of the SCCAL Scholar-Athlete Award, took six Advanced Placement classes and maintained a weighted grade-point average of 4.26.
A first-generation college student, she’ll major in biology. A bonus is that USF is only a 30-minute drive from her grandmother, and she hopes to spend more time with her.
The Emmett & Elise Geiser Scholarship awards up to $1,000 to graduating seniors from Watsonville High, Pajaro Valley High, and Aptos High who have earned at least one athletic letter. The award is renewable annually based on academic performance.
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31 Remarkable Students in a Remarkable Year
Community Foundation Awards Nearly $250,000 in Scholarships
When the Covid pandemic hit in spring of 2020, this year’s class of graduating seniors were in the middle of their sophomore year. Of their four-year high school career, almost half of it was via distance or hybrid learning.
And yet this year’s awardees still excelled in class, volunteered in the community, played sports when they could, participated in clubs and extracurricular activities, and worked paying jobs to help their families make ends meet.
“This year’s scholarship awardees stood out for how they stayed focused on their dream for college while also navigating extraordinary challenges of life during the pandemic,” says Susan True, CEO of the Community Foundation. “They volunteered hundreds of hours at food pantries and as climate stewards. They advocated for their own and their peers’ mental health. They founded clubs to help each other through grief and to build community among other first-generation college students. And they had fun–as music aficionados, costume designers, dancers, knitters, artists, actors, and standout athletes.”
Three-quarters of the awardees are first-generation college students, turning their parents’ and grandparents’ dreams of higher education into a reality. Among them are future teachers, engineers, computer scientists, biomedical researchers, physicians, and nurses. And every single one of them is focused on giving back to the next generation in gratitude for their own mentors and parents who aided their success.
“This community has a rich history of families caring for the future by establishing scholarship funds. It dates back to Henry Cowell’s family, to donors inspired by the movement for racial equity, to siblings honoring their parents’ dedication to teaching. It’s an honor to work with the people and families helping Santa Cruz County be a place where all generations can thrive,” says Julie Haff, president of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and retired superintendent of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District.
Meet the 31 local students who received scholarships through Community Foundation Santa Cruz County in 2022:
- Alpert Sharing Fund Scholarship: Angel Soto, Watsonville High (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
- Judy Anton Woman of Valor/Lupita Loves to Read Project Scholarship: Mariah Segura, Watsonville High (UC Davis)
- R.H. Beel Memorial Scholarship: Yazmin Diaz, Santa Cruz High (Pace University)
- Burton Scholarship: Peyton Croghan, St. Francis High (UC Davis); Arlette Del Toro, Watsonville High (UC Davis); Daniel Espinoza, Harbor High (UCLA); Haley Jiang, Harbor High (UCLA); Marissa Mengheang, Harbor High (Stanford University)
- Ernest V. Cowell Scholarship: Arden Emhoff, Santa Cruz High (UCLA)
- Bob & Betsy Darrow Scholarship: Sophia Clemente, St. Francis High (Santa Monica Community College); Rossy Hernandez, Harbor High (CSU Monterey Bay); Alicia Krusee, San Lorenzo Valley High (University of Arizona)
- Jack DeBord Memorial Scholarship: Abby Lahey, San Lorenzo Valley High (CSU Monterey Bay)
- Hank Garcia Jr. & Family Scholarship: Mandy LaMere, St. Francis High (University of Southern California); Danna Perez, Watsonville High (Cabrillo College); Diana Rocha, Pajaro Valley High (UCLA); Melissa Roman, Pajaro Valley High School (UC Berkeley); Wade Watson, Aptos High (UC Santa Cruz)
- Emmett & Elsie Geiser Scholarship: Betzaida Chavez, Pajaro Valley High (UC Santa Barbara); Jaylen Dang, Aptos High (University of San Francisco); Isaak Vargas, Watsonville High (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
- Isabel Fowler Sewell Scholarship: Sofia Fernandez, Pajaro Valley High (UC Santa Cruz) Cynthia Lopez-Fernandez, Pajaro Valley High (UC Santa Cruz)
- Bert & Carolyn Post Scholarship: Valeria Felix, Watsonville High (Cabrillo College)
- Louis J. & Mary Ellen Schultz Scholarship: Jackeline Barrientos, Harbor High (UCLA)
- Simunovich Family Agriculture Scholarship: Miguel Sanchez-Ramirez, Watsonville High (CSU Monterey Bay)
- Barbara J. Thompson Scholarship: Mackenzie Hearon, Harbor High (Cabrillo College); Morgyn Michelson, Harbor High (UCLA); Zulma Ramirez-Ortega, Harbor High (UCLA); Joel Sosa-Udave, Harbor High (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
- John L. Turner Scholarship: Ashley Mazon, Watsonville High (UC San Diego)
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Community Foundation Santa Cruz County helps donors and their advisors invest wisely in causes they care about, to provide grants and resources to community organizations, and to offer leadership around key local issues. The Foundation manages $200 million in charitable assets and provides customized and tax-smart giving solutions that resulted in more than $24 million in grants in 2021. Thanks to generous donors, over $183 million in local grants and scholarships have been awarded locally since 1982.