Press Releases: Southern California
May 7, 2009
Local Students Overcome Life’s Obstacles, Enter College with Scholarships from Kaiser Permanente
Jean Marie Carpenter Scholarships Are Awarded to East San Gabriel Valley Students
BALDWIN PARK, Calif. — Adversity and hardships come in many forms; for Robert and Joan it was the loss of a loved one. For Catherine, it was the tragedy that resulted in her becoming permanently disabled. Robert, Joan, and Catherine are among the 18 students from several East San Gabriel Valley high schools who each will receive a $1,000 Jean Marie Carpenter Scholarship from Kaiser Permanente's Educational Outreach Program in Baldwin Park.
“This scholarship brings me a step closer to my goal as the first person in my family to graduate from college,” noted Catherine, who will be attending Azusa Pacific University.
"These remarkable young people are all blazing individual paths in spite of the enormous obstacles they have had to overcome early in life," said Diana M. Bontá, Ph.D., RN, vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region.
The scholarships, which are awarded based on the recipient’s ability to overcome adversity and remain focused on their education, will be presented at an awards ceremony this Friday, May 8, at 11:30 a.m., at the Pomona Valley Mining Co. Restaurant, 1777 Gillette Road, Pomona. The keynote speaker will be Rick Rosoff, medical group administrator for the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center.
"These scholarships will not only provide the students with the financial assistance they need as they begin their college education, but as other challenges come their way, we hope that they will also be reminded that we believe in them," said Bontá.
The 2009 scholarship recipients are:
| Erika Alcazar of Baldwin Park | Joan Luong of Rosemead |
| Cecillia Bermudez of Azusa | Myron Morse of Azusa |
| Vanessa Carrillo of West Covina | Alvin Pham of Baldwin Park |
| Mirza Cecillo of Baldwin Park | Javier Z. Rivera of El Monte |
| Hathiya Chea of South El Monte | Emily Solis of La Puente |
| Catherine Forbes of El Monte | Nancy Talamantes of La Puente |
| Elizabeth Gonzalez of El Monte | Alexandra Valdivia of Covina |
| Ariel Christine Hurtiz of West Covina | Perla Villegas of La Puente |
To arrange an interviews with any of the students, contact Marie Y. Lemelle at (626) 405-5384. For more information about the Baldwin Park EOP, contact Diana Rivera-Beltran, MSW, program manager, at (626) 814-6408.
About Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Outreach Program
Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Outreach Program provides academic and support services to primarily Latino and low-income youth in the San Gabriel Valley. It is one of the many community benefit programs and services funded by Kaiser Permanente as part of its more than $369 million annual Southern California commitment to improving the health of the community in which it serves. The late Jean Marie Carpenter founded Kaiser Permanente's Educational Outreach Program, established numerous educational programs at the Watts Counseling and Learning Center, and served as president of the Baldwin Park Unified School District.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s leading integrated health plans. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today, it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 55,800 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,400 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kp.org.
