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Maria Barerras and Eva Villalobos
Matthews family with Jennifer Ybarra and Christopher Villaverde
Jeneca Hernandez
Ariel Alonzo and Christopher Villaverde
Superior Sun
Superior High School seniors took away $172,000 in scholarships last week during the annual academic honors assembly. The 2014 valedictorian and salutatorian were also recognized as the ceremony began. Ashley Barreras will be the valedictorian and Ariel Alonzo will be the salutatorian for the SHS class of 2014.
Many local groups and businesses awarded scholarships in various amounts as well as several new scholarships that were announced this year. Ashley Barreras was the recipient of the CTE scholarship which was only awarded to a limited number of career technical education program recipients. Ariel Alonzo was awarded the U of A Wildcat Excellence award in the amount of $24,000 scholarship to attend the University of Arizona where she plans to study to become a doctor. The Delta Kappa Gamma Society awarded Ariel Brammer with a scholarship.
Grand Canyon University awarded renewable scholarships to Jennifer Ybarra and Kiyoko Alonzo, both are planning to pursue medical degrees from GCU. Resolution Copper awarded renewable scholarships to Christopher Villaverde and Ashley Barreras. The Steven L. Besich leadership grant, sponsored by Resolution Copper was awarded to Christopher Villaverde.
Social Club de Damas awarded Ariel Alonzo and Kiara Romero with scholarships. Michael Nunez and Jeneca Hernandez were the recipients of the Superior Rotary Club scholarship. The Superior Optimist Club Richard Castaneda memorial scholarship was awarded to Christopher Villaverde and Jennifer Ybarra. Pinal County Juvenile Court gave scholarships to Eva Villalobos and Maria Barreras. The Lopez/Gomez scholarship was awarded to Christopher Villaverde, Jennifer Ybarra, and Ariel Alonzo. The Matthews family awarded Christopher Villaverde and Jennifer Ybarra the Stephanie Ward Memorial Scholarship. Manuel and Sandra Silvas awarded a financial aid grant to Ann Frasier. Aja DeZeeuw presented Kiara Romero, Mariza Padilla and Kiyoko Alonzo with the David Montano Memorial scholarship.
Local business owner Patsy Maldonado from Patsy’s Be My Guest Salon awarded her “Giving Back” scholarship to Ariel Brammer and Eva Villalobos and the Cobre Valley Regional Medical Auxilary awarded Kiyoko Alonzo and Mariza Padilla with scholarships to assist them with pursing careers in the medical field. Central Arizona College awarded Ariel Alonzo and Ashley Barreras with academic excellence scholarships and recognized all the seniors who will be receiving a promise for the future academic award if they chose CAC as their college. Pinal County Federal Credit Union also offered a scholarship to Jeneca Hernandez if she choses to attend CAC.
Graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2014 are scheduled for Friday, May 23, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Football Field.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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