Young Author's Scholarship: Gennesis Gastilo

Irving Hochman Scholarship: Jorge Manuel Delgado

Nathan Jillson Scholarship, co-winner: Amanda Piercy

Nathan Jillson Scholarship, co-winner: Marta Bekele Kebede

Nathan Jillson Scholarship, co-winner: Adrienne Formentos

Congratulations to our scholarship winners!

Gennesis Gastilo, winner of the Young Author’s Scholarship

Gennesis lives her life surrounded by artistic influences. In addition to being a talented writer, she is also a musician and gives back to her community by serving her parish. As she shared with us, “My life is surrounded by art; I sketch, I am self taught on the piano and the guitar, I dabble a bit on the Kulintang, and most of all, I write. Writing is simply the only thing that I am certain I want to pursue.” Gennesis will be graduating from Balboa High School this spring.

Here is an excerpt from her story, “Possession”:
She thought long and hard as possible, about this boy who kissed her hands after her fingertips had fluttered over ivory keys. She thought about the bitter-sweetness of his skin, the darkness of chocolate and the lightness of his eyes, the thickness of his unruly hair into the confines of deftly taut braids and the touch of his voice as it burned into the nape of her neck. She figured she had better stop thinking.

Jorge Manuel Delgado, winner of the Irving Hochman Scholarship

Jorge is a senior at Mission High School and comes from Pueblo, Mexico. An avid reader, he names Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, and Carlos Fuentes as inspirations to his writing. “I love to read about the happiness and hope that derives from the hardship and toil of the people of Latin America,” he shares. Jorge is a passionate student who names college as one of his biggest dreams. “I want an education, a treasure that no one can take from me. I will share that treasure with the people who need it, the people of my family, my community, and my two countries. My goal is to be a role model for other young men who are blind and cannot yet envision their own future goals.”

Amanda Piercy, co-winner of the Nathan Jillson Memorial Scholarship

Amanda is finishing up her last year at Balboa High School and has served her campus community as the student body vice president. Dedicated to making an impact, she has served as student advisory council representative as a liaison in voicing student opinions to the school district board. As described by one of her teachers, “she is a young woman who possesses fierce intellect and insatiable curiosity, and demonstrates rare bravery along with steady leadership skills.” Amanda eagerly anticipates going to college and says, “my outlook is positive because I persevere and learn from all of my experiences, looking forward to the next.”

Marta Bekele Kebede, co-winner of the Nathan Jillson Memorial Scholarship

Growing up, Marta moved around from different countries, including Ethiopia, Ukraine, and finally, the United States. Her travels allowed her the great flexibility in speaking not one, but four languages. Despite the hardships she has encountered from a constant shift in her environment, she has adapted well to her surroundings and has demonstrated strength in learning. Marta displays a determination to work hard on her writing as well as a great interest in language. As her teacher describes, Marta has “a genuine thirst for knowledge.” Marta will be graduating from Galileo High School this spring.

Adrienne Formentos, co-winner of the Nathan Jillson Scholarship

Adrienne was born and raised in San Francisco and is finishing up her senior year at Thurgood Marshall High School. As she shares with us, “My voice has been one of my strongest qualities. My writing has become my way of sending messages to the world about my beliefs and environment I live in.” She demonstrates a strong will to make a difference by using her writing as a vessel to educate others. “Today I still try to write about the things that I have to face when I walk through my school and my city. I think my writing can help bring attention to the unspoken issues and can also help open the eyes of people who do not see the world I live in.”