Left to right: Heather Poland, John Bechler, Yarazeth Solorzano, Azeddine Bourta, Jr. and Mary Lynn Morin
Mary Lynn Morin
The May meeting of the Robson Ranch Ladies Social Club was held Wednesday, May 7 at the Robson Ranch Grill. It was a special meeting, hosted by Mary Lynn Morin, honoring the three Santa Cruz Union High School seniors who received this year’s RRLSC Book Scholarships. John Bechler, Azeddine Bourta and Yoseli Solorzano were the recipients, each receiving a $1000 scholarship. John Bechler is attending Central Arizona College in the fall and Azeddine Bourta, Jr. will continue his education at Grand Canyon University. The only female to receive one of the scholarships this year was Yarazeth Solorzano who will be attending Northern Arizona University.
Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, the only high school in Eloy, has almost 550 students in grades 9 through 12 and nearly 50 teachers, administrators and staff members. The school sets high ideals and expectations for all its students. Respect and responsibility among students and adults within the small learning environment is paramount to the everyday learning experience that produces students such as John, Azeddine and Yoseli.
In addition to the 2014 scholarship recipients, parents and other family members were invited to join the students at the luncheon. Heather Poland, guidance counselor at SCVUHS, also was present and expressed her thanks to the members of the RRLSC for the Book Scholarship program that has been in place since 2010. Other honored guests were Joanne Galinda, vice president of the Governing Board of Education for SCVUHS and Ariel Tarango and Tiffany Ibara who received two of the first scholarships awarded in 2010. Both are graduating from Northern Arizona University this year and spoke to the group about the importance of the scholarships to them and offered advice to the 2014 recipients.
Mary Lynn Morin, who started the scholarship in 2010 with Mary Beth Fisher, thanked Linda Gayer, Barb Sewell and Jill Stettler for reading the scholarship applications and selecting this year’s recipients. The luncheon ended with Mary Lynn presenting the scholarship certificates to John, Azeddine and Yarazeth who spoke briefly of their plans for the future.
The Santa Cruz Awards Evening also was held on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. Mary Lynn and Mary Beth attended the ceremonies and presented the students with their $1000 checks.
In the 10 years since the Book Scholarship was established, $14,000 in scholarships has been awarded to students from Santa Cruz Valley Union High School. This has been possible through fundraising events such as concerts at the Paramount Theatre and calendar and cookbook sales. This year’s funding came from the sale of the cookbook, Prelude and Coda. Mary Lynn thanked everyone who submitted recipes to Prelude and Coda, everyone who purchased a cookbook and those who made donations to the scholarship fund. She thanked Linda Gayer and Mary Beth for their help in selling the cookbook, Ann White for her dedication in 2010 when it all began and Betty Peterson and CORR for its continued support of the scholarship.
The Robson Ranch Ladies Social Club is a charitable organization of women organized in 2007 at Robson Ranch Arizona by Mary Beth Fisher and Carol Simmons. It was founded on three principles: Charity, Friendship and Education. In 2010 the Robson Ranch Ladies’ Social Club Book Scholarship became an important part of the organization and exemplifies its continuing dedication to charitable giving and education. If you would like to make a donation to the RRLSC Book Scholarship Fund, please contact Mary Lynn Morin at [email protected] or 520-836-9740.
“One of the greatest obstacles to escaping poverty is the staggering cost of higher education.” Chris Van Hollen