See the list of Gavilan graduates on page 5 of this issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

The 2020 graduating class from Gavilan College, who saw their commencement ceremony postponed, will get to cross the stage in December, promised Superintendent and President Dr. Kathleen A. Rose.

“Your student leaders polled the student body (recently), and the results showed a clear preference for delaying commencement until it can be held in person, rather than holding a virtual ceremony May 22,” she said in a letter to students. “It is my promise to you, that we WILL host your graduation ceremony on the Gavilan College campus, and you will have the opportunity to cross the stage, receive your diploma, and mark this milestone with friends and family.”

Congratulations to the class of 2020!  See the list of graduates on page 5 of this issue of Morgan Hill Life.

Dean Tran

Congratulations, also, to Sobrato High School grad Dean Tran, who recently learned he has the honor of being named a 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of only 161 students nationwide.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced this year’s list May 21. Tran will attend Stanford University in the fall. He and other presidential scholars “have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, technical expertise, leadership, citizenship, service and contribution to school and community,” according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Presidential Scholars Class of 2020 will be recognized for their outstanding achievement at a special ceremony this summer as public health circumstances permit.

We encourage local children and teens with creative aspirations to participate in a special art competition for kids entitled “Morgan Hill Together.” (WATCH VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE.)

Marilyn Wendt, a mother of three in Morgan Hill, came up with the idea of a city-wide window art competition and fundraiser for the disaster relief fund, which currently provides support to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition will give an outlet for students K-12 and their parents to engage in a meaningful way to show support for our community, engage in a philanthropic cause, and to demonstrate their artistic and creative abilities.

The competition is a joint effort of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, El Toro Culture and Arts Committee, the Morgan Hill Unified School District and the city of Morgan Hill through the Library Culture and Arts Commission.

The MHCF and ETC and Arts have sponsored the prizes for five age groups, which will be given in the form of gift cards to local small businesses. This is another way that this competition is designed to support our local community.

A website for donations, contest instructions, rules, entry forms, and for samples and videos is located at www.fs25.formsite.com/MHCF/Art/index.html

The deadline for the window art submissions is June 30, 2020.

For more information contact: Suman Ganapathy, Commissioner on the LCAC at [email protected]

Speaking of art, the members of the Morgan Hill Photography Club are presenting a virtual photographic exhibition through June 30. This exhibit, entitled “Up Close,” consists of 40 images provided by 21 artists who have examined a variety of unique subjects from a close-up perspective. The exhibition can be viewed online at www.morganhillphotographyclub.org/_VirtualGalleryShow/UpClose.html. For more information, visit www.morganhillphotographyclub.org/exhibitions.

The Morgan Hill Chapter WJ, Philanthropic Educational Organization P. E. O., handed out three $1,000 scholarships. This year’s recipients are Valerie Doan, Oakwood High School; Nubia Morales, Gilroy High School; and Eleanor “Ellie” Pickford, Gilroy High School.

Doan will attend UCLA in the fall, majoring in neuroscience – pre-medicine.

Morales thought she would attend the University of California, Davis in the fall. However, she was on the “wait-list” at Princeton and learned she was accepted. Her intended major is sociology/political science. She hopes to become a lawyer someday.

Pickford will attend the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA., where her intended major is mechanical engineering.

PEO is a philanthropic organization that celebrates and supports the advancement of women; educates women through scholarships, grants, award, loans and stewardship of Cottey College in Nevada, MO.

Robert Airoldi is the editor of Morgan Hill Life. Contact him at [email protected]