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This is a proud time of year for us at Pacific as we celebrate those children of team orange employees who are graduating from high school and college. We are especially proud of those pictured above who have participated in our scholarship program. Six years ago, we started a scholarship program for children of employees who will be the first in their family to attend college. When an employee (who had not graduated from high school himself) approached us asking about help for his daughter who wanted to go to college, we became motivated to provide financial and planning assistance. The program has grown and we are excited to help many of our employees who do not understand the college preparation and financial aid process, work through that process to help their children achieve that goal.
This year, one more of the students in our scholarship program are graduating, making that four graduates from our scholarship program over the years. We also just granted four $5,000 scholarships for this coming school year and are excited to see the program continue to grow and look forward to celebrating graduates for many years to come.
Our graduates and recipients this year are:
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Larisa E. Aguilar Santiago, Daughter of Mario Aguilar (Sherwood Branch) – Larisa graduated from Portland State University on June 11, 2022, with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting, a minor in Criminology & Criminal Justice, and a minor in Law & Legal Studies. During her time at PSU, she worked as an accounting assistant in the Office of Finance and Administration at PSU. At PSU, she was also involved in clubs as a treasurer for the Hong Kong Student Association and the PDX Business Analytics Club. She continues to be very active as a volunteer at St. Cecilia's Parish. She teaches 3rd to 5th graders religious education, leads one of the Spanish choirs, and opened a youth group for the summer. After graduating from college, she plans to work for Ernest and Young as a Tax Accounting Staff and get her CPA license. Eventually, she plans to go into forensic accounting and attend law school.
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Gustavo Calderon Perez, Son of Adolfo Calderon (Hillsboro Branch) – Gustavo is a recent graduate of Aloha High School with a 3.69 GPA who will be attending Oregon State University to study engineering. He participated in Varsity Basketball and Track and Field, and volunteered at the Hillsboro Hops to raise funds for Aloha’s cheerleaders. Gustavo also worked throughout high school and is currently employed at the Old Spaghetti Factory. “Thank you Pacific for the scholarship. I transferred to Portland State due to covid. I am pursuing a civil engineering degree and I am about finished with my sophomore year. Once again thank you so much"
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Lesly Rangel Linon, daughter of Jose Rangel Hernandez (Parkrose Branch) – Lesly has attended Portland State University for the past three years. This fall she enters her senior year at PSU and is majoring in Social Work with a minor in Spanish. At Portland State she was involved in the diversity scholarship program. This has provided her with the needed support to prepare for college. Lesly is the first person in her family to seek higher education. Last fall she was admitted to the school of social work at PSU and will start her work placement this fall. She loves engaging with children and will continue to be part of TLC-TNT where she is currently a counselor in the program. Her goals for the future are to continue helping her community and to be a resource for people that need her assistance and provide a support system for them.
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Jazmin Antonio Pena (daughter of Margarito Antonio Santiago (Sherwood Branch) Jazmin will be going into her first year at PSU and is majoring in business administration. Aside from her studies she is actively serving her community. At Nuevo Pacto church she is part of the worship team, and teaches first graders religious education every Sunday. As an active guardsmen she is dedicated to fulfill her duties and soldier expectations. This summer she will be attending her second training. After completing her contract with the military and her bachelors in business administration, she plans on starting her own business in the home renovations industry.
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Mayra E. Marin, Daughter of Maria Villaverde (Sherwood Branch)- Mayra graduated high school this year from the International School of Beaverton. She will be continuing her education at the University of Oregon where she plans on majoring in Computer Science. Mayra loves spending time in the water. She is part of the Tualatin Hills Swim Club and is currently working part-time at Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District as a lifeguard and swim instructor. This summer she is also working as an office assistant at Pacific Landscape Management. Mayra is excited to be the first in her family to go to college and to start a new stage in her life.
In addition to the scholarships, we have helped our employees and their families with college preparation through getting them aligned with several programs designed to assist Latino students and their families with college preparation. These programs include:
We look forward to continuing our assistance and motivation for our employees to help their children who are interested in to set a goal to attend college and properly prepare.
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