Four South County students just got a little financial relief as they enter college this fall.
A record 248 applications were submitted to the 2017 Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER scholarship program, with only a total of 10 recipients selected, four of them being from the South Bay.
Claudia Bobadilla,18, of Bonita Vista High School; Dariela Herrada, a recent graduate of Sweetwater Union High School; Jacqueline Puga from Chula Vista High School and Otay Ranch High’s Lizbeth Villar-Aguirre were each awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER scholarship program last month.
The scholarship program recognizes local high school seniors of Hispanic descent who demonstrate academic excellence, strong community involvement, personal success and a desire to give back to their communities.
Bobadilla, who will be attending Stanford University in the fall, said she first heard about the scholarship opportunity through a school counselor.
She said the fact that the program was about helping Hispanic students is what lead her to apply.
“I was really interested in (applying) because I saw that they were interested in helping Hispanic students and giving that I myself am a Hispanic student I wanted to tell my story and see if I would get a scholarship,” she said.
She said it is “surreal” to be awarded the scholarship considering the early struggles she had in her academics.
Bobadilla comes from a low-income family who brought her to the United States from Sonora, Mexico at the age of 12. The transition to another country was difficult for her at first as she struggled with adapting to the American school system.
“It was definitely very, very hard,” she said. “I came here knowing no English at all. I struggled a lot my first semester in middle school.”
But the harder she worked in school, she said she saw the rewards. With a 4.62 grade point average, Bobadilla was Bonita High’s valedictorian.
But, she said being awarded scholarships is the ultimate reward for her hard work.
In addition to the Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER scholarship Bobadilla was awarded two $1,000 scholarships from other organizations. She will also receive financial aid to foot the majority of tuition costs.
However, with scholarships and financial aid Bobadilla will still have some costs to pay. She said without her scholarships she would have to pay $11,000 out of pocket, the scholarships ease the burden a little bit by cutting down the cost to $6,000. She plans on offsetting the costs by holding an on-campus job. She does not see her self-taking out a student loan in her first year of college.
Applications submitted to the Ronald McDonald House Charities/HACER scholarship program go through an extensive reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of local community members, and McDonald’s, Ronald McDonald House and education representatives.
“Each year, we continue to be amazed by the high levels of academic excellence, personal determination and leadership that our applicants have demonstrated from the early stages of their academic careers,” said Christian Sandoval, San Diego County RMHC/HACER Scholarship Chair and a San Diego McDonald’s owner/operator.
“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to help our local outstanding students achieve their goals and positively impact our community.”
