LAKEPORT — A dozen Lake County students received the Mendocino College Foundations Adopt-A-Fifth-Grader Award.
The program is designed to motivate students at a young age to think about graduating from high school and attending college, according to Executive Director, Katie Fairbairn.
At each adopted school”s awards ceremony, a foundation representative presented recipients with a $25 check and a certificate that states a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded when the student obtains a high school diploma and enrolls as a full-time student at Mendocino College for at least one semester, according to Fairbairn. If the student earns a high school diploma but does not enroll at Mendocino College, he or she will receive a $500 award.
Donors contribute $700 for each fifth-grade student they “adopt” at one of the elementary schools within the college district, Fairbairn said. The foundation then invests the funds at an average return of 7 percent per year, which will grow to $1,000 by the time the fifth-grader graduates from high school.
“The Foundation believes so strongly in this program that they guarantee the $1,000 scholarship even if the rate of return is lower than the projected 7 percent,” Gary Smith, foundation president stated.
This year”s student recipients are Jayto Bonson, Paola Cacho and Daphne Gonzalez from Kelseyville Elementary School; Hannah Jensen and Benat Love from Lucerne Elementary School; Malena Murray and Meagan Miller from Riviera Elementary School; Mia DePaz-Flores, Isabella Cubilla and Meagan Boykin from Terrace Elementary School; Indira Duncan and Madison Hicks Brackett from Upper Lake Elementary School.
For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation, call 467-1018 or visit foundation.mendocino.edu/site/.
