House Farm Workers!

Working to promote safe, decent, secure and affordable housing for all Ventura County farm workers since 2004.

Meet the 2020 House Farm Workers! Ellen Brokaw Scholarship Recipients

Paola Gonzalez

Paola Gonzalez graduated from Santa Paula High School and is currently attending Cal State University Channel Islands. Paola is working towards her bachelor's degree in health science with a minor in Spanish. She would like to become a nurse and hopes to be accepted into the UCLA nursing program. As a member of the Cope Health Scholar Program, Paola has completed internships in local hospitals. She has found a passion for working with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Nurse Penny Vogel, Paola's recommender, wrote, "our World needs more people with huge hearts like Paola Gonzalez and our Nursing profession definitely needs more reliable, caring, smart and compassionate nurses. You will be investing in someone born to make a difference." In Paola's own words: "When my little sister was born, I knew that I wanted to become a nurse. Becoming part of the Cope Health Scholar program, I have found my passion for the babies. I have learned so much from this program. I’ve shifted on 5 different hospital floors, but the NICU has been my favorite experience. Here I’ve met wonderful nurses and through the rapport I’ve made there, I was able to get a job in the hospital setting. As of November 2019, I have been working as an infant hearing screener at both Community Memorial Hospital and St. John’s Regional Medical Center. College has been a way out of the stereotypes for Hispanics, and my way of proving to myself and to others that anything is possible."

Bryan Navarrete

Bryan Navarrete is a 2020 graduate of Oxnard Union High School and is attending Cal State University Long Beach. Bryan is majoring in biology and is interested in becoming a medical doctor. He would like to return to work in Oxnard and give back to his community. Bryan was a scholar-athlete in high school and participated in various organizations, such as Upward Bound and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Andrea Brown, his recommender, wrote, "Bryan looks up to his stepdad because they share the same dedication, resilience, and compassion towards others. No matter how tired they are, they both are willing to get up and help those who need it.” In Bryan's own words: "Living in an affordable housing environment would have been very beneficial to me because it would have not have resulted in the small conflicts that were brought about from living so far from any high school. My stepfather has always worked in the fields as long as I can remember, his work ranged from picking flowers to picking other fruits and vegetables. I could see that it was hard work from the tired expression he had when he arrived home. During summers I would go work in the fields with him, we would work from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm in the afternoon. After those long summer weeks, I truly knew what hard work really was. This experience encouraged me to want to pursue a career that did not involve the kind of difficult sacrifice my stepfather had to endure. Seeing this struggle gives me the motivation to try my hardest in my school work and my sport competition."

Rosita Lopez

Maria Rosa "Rosita" Lopez graduated from Channel Islands High School in 2018 and recently completed her second year at Oxnard Community College. She is attending Cal State University Monterey Bay and is majoring in Spanish. Rosita has worked with the nonprofit organization Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) and has participated in their Tequio Youth program. She is also a poet and has collaborated with the Ventura County Arts Council. Rosita's goal is to become a Spanish teacher and return to Oxnard to teach. Craig Rosen, her recommender wrote, “Rosita has been shaped by the hardships around her and cultivated the strength to overcome them while also considering the needs of others that reflects a maturity well beyond her years.” In Rosita's own words: "Currently, we live in a small house where we have to rent one room so that we have enough to pay the monthly rent...When it comes to study time each of us has very different studying styles so that is another task that has been affected by our living conditions. ... I think that if we lived in more safe and affordable housing with more space we would have less of a struggle with these tasks...Once I graduate from CSUMB, I’ll come back to Ventura County to start my teaching career here in the same county that saw me grow up. I want to encourage other students of color to pursue higher education. I would love to share my story with other students who might be doubting themselves due to their background or just lack of support. I want to be a role model for the other students who might live similar struggles as I am today."

Learn more about the House Farm Workers! Ellen Brokaw Scholarship program

We are pleased to offer this $3,000 scholarship to students whose parents are farm workers in Ventura County. The Ellen Brokaw House Farm Workers!  Scholarship is awarded each year to college-bound or current college students whose parents are farm workers in Ventura County. The scholarship is named in honor of Ellen Brokaw, founding chairwoman of House Farm Workers! A prominent member of Ventura County’s agricultural community, involved in production of lemons, avocados and nursery stock, she has been an inspirational leader in the long campaign to improve the lives of farm workers and their families. You can donate to our scholarship program here: www.housefarmworkers.org/donate

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