Senior scholars to pursue higher education this fall
People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH) has awarded four students with the John Fowler Scholarship Award: Alondra Zarate of Isla Vista, Gabbi Rangel and Luna Ramirez Solano of Goleta, and Fatima Orozco of Guadalupe.
The John Fowler Scholarship, named in recognition of former President & CEO of PSHH, was created to support PSHH students in their pursuit of higher education, vocational training, or trade schools. Since 2020, multiple $1,000 scholarships have been awarded each year to high school seniors who demonstrate a commitment to bettering their community, a strong motivation for excellence, and planned enrollment in a degree or certificate program. Each applicant displayed academic excellence in various ways through essay responses, report cards, their involvement in extracurricular activities, and support of their community, to include caring for family members.
As to what is next for these four students, Alondra will be pursuing a degree in fashion at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles to “bring more flare and joy to the world”, she says. Gabbi will be starting nursing school, specializing in infirm newborn care as an homage to her premature sisters; Luna will be following in her older sister’s footsteps in pursuit of a medical degree at Chapman University in Orange in the hopes of someday becoming a physician’s assistant; and Fatima is making her way across the country to attend Berea College in Kentucky to study health and behavioral studies with a dream to land a career in the medical field…