Information San Benito County Chamber of Commerce Foundation
On May 11, the San Benito County Chamber Foundation announced that it launched its first in person Scholarships Awards Night hosted at Swank Farms and presented by Hollister Research Campus.
The SBC Chamber Foundation said that it proudly awarded 28 graduating seniors over $25,000 in scholarships under its Pathways Empowerment Program to students from San Benito High School and Anzar High School. The scholarship recipients will pursue career pathways ranging from engineers, doctors, and nurses, to teachers, artists, construction managers and electricians.
The foundation said all students received a Certificate of Scholarship from the SBC Chamber Foundation, and Certificates of Recognition by Assemblymember Robert Rivas’ and Senator Anna Caballero’s offices. Additionally, each student was given a journal to “document their ideas, dreams, achievements, challenges and moments they want to remember forever,” the release said.
The Scholarship Awards Night featured keynote speaker, Carlos Pineda, Director of Culinary Services & Hospitality at Rebekah Children’s Services.
“Chef Carlos, as he is commonly called, delivered an inspiring message of inclusivity and motivation for all students to pursue their aspirations and ‘show up’ for their dreams,” the Chamber Foundation said. “The night was followed by a performance titled ‘Keep Pushin’ by local resident artist Andres Rodriguez that spoke of hardship and the resilience needed to overcome all obstacles.”
The Chamber Foundation said students and their families enjoyed a full program of performances and heartwarming speeches delivered by many community members and donors of the scholarship fund. Gustavo Gonzalez, owner/operator of La Catrina offered some words of encouragement stating “if you fall 100 times, then you must get back up 101 more times.”
Eduardo Navarro, Executive Director enthusiastically expressed “how honored the Chamber family felt to count on the community’s support to bring crucial financial assistance to these students as they pursue their careers and become the next generation of leaders in San Benito County.”
The SBC Chamber and Foundation said they firmly believe that investing in our community’s youth contributes to the overall economic and social wellbeing of San Benito County.
“As such, we have a commitment to support all pathways of success including college, vocational, trade and technical careers,” the release said.
In addition to standard scholarship allocations, named scholarships were presented by Hollister Research Campus, Amazon, La Catrina and the Edward Boss Prado Foundation.
The release said named scholarships can be coordinated with Eduardo Navarro, Executive Director throughout the year to plan for 2023’s scholarship fund. Named scholarships are available in honor of individuals, families, organizations or businesses in the community.