826 Valencia: 826 Valencia News: Scholarship winners inspire dinner crowd

Scholarship winners inspire dinner crowd

On Wednesday, August 17, we celebrated our fourth annual 826 Valencia scholarship dinner, honoring incoming college freshmen Rosa Chan, Sally Mao, Jose Gilberto Martinez and Amanda Wolfenbuttel. Each was awarded a college scholarship prize of $10,000, which will help them on their path to further academic and life successes.

The night started off with good conversation, refreshments and a steaming lasagna dinner, provided by Sydney Goldstein, founder and director of City Arts and Lectures.

Each scholarship winner acted as head of their own table, and was accompanied by proud family, friends and teachers. Emotions were high, as the students were honored with a list of their achievements, as well as a gift bag full of 826 Valencia books and generous applause from those in attendance. Many winners and those in the crowd were seen wiping tears from their eyes at the end of each appreciation.

Rosa Chan, winner of the Nathan Jillson Scholarship, recently graduated from Balboa High School. During that time, she took care of her family, worked a part-time job and assisted elderly women in her neighborhood. She speaks three languages: Portuguese, English and a dialect of Chinese. On the night of the dinner, she had just completed her first day at the City College of San Francisco.

Sally Mao, winner of the 826 Valencia Young Author Scholarship, is a graduate of Monta Vista High School. She will be soon be attending Carnegie Mellon University. Sally’s writing is highly regarded among her classmates and teachers alike. She has been involved in 826 Valencia writing workshops, as well, where her teacher Dave Eggers referred to her as one of the strongest writers he’s had the pleasure of working with. Sally was also published in our 826 Quarterly, vol. IV. Sally focuses on writing short stories and poems.

Jose Gilberto Martinez, a winner of the Irving Hochman Scholarship, will be attending U.C. Davis this year. Jose immigrated to the United States, from Mexico, when he was 11-years-old. Throughout high school, Jose focused on his family, often providing care for his younger siblings and helping his parents around the house. Jose excels at creative writing and has recently started composing short stories.

Amanda F. Wolffenbuttel is also a graduate of Balboa High School and another winner of the Irving Hochman Scholarship. In high school, Amanda took part in the Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative Program. Amanda is getting ready to pack up and head off to U.C. Santa Cruz this fall, where she sure to wow everyone with her talents and charming personality.

After the scholarship winners were called onstage and honored, past winners were invited up and interviewed about their higher educational experiences. They were asked to share any advice they might have for the new freshmen. Past winners in attendance were Chinaka Hodge (2002 winner), Eamon Doyle (2003 winner), Yalie Kamara (2003 winner), and Jennifer Yu (2004 winner). Everybody had insightful words of wisdom to offer, from stories about selecting and adding the right classes to advice about the campus health center. (“Don’t trust it,” Yalie Kamara warned.) Popular advice from most in attendance: “Read, read and read.”

As winners go off to college, they’re asked to keep a journal of their college experiences for us, which you can read on this very Web site, in the writing gallery, under “College Diaries.” We look forward to the adventures of Rosa Chan, Sally Mao, Jose Gilberto Martinez and Amanda Wolfenbuttel, as they all enter college for the very first time and highlight their various experiences. We are sure they are going to be successful in their educational pursuits and we wish them only the best.

Dave Eggers with scholar Jose Martinez (far right) and family