The Santa Clara County Farm Bureau awarded college scholarships to local high school graduates seeking to major in agriculture.
Morgan Hill’s Haley Bonfante and Jenna Fields, along with Gilroy’s Julianna Figone and Wyatt Wolfe, were among the recipients honored at the July 18 Summer BBQ at Coyote Valley Sporting Clays. The two other scholarship winners were April Alger and Evan Huang.
This year, the farm bureau awarded $32,000 in scholarships, thanks to a $30,000 donation from Linda Lester and $2,000 from American AgCredit.
The 2018 Linda Lester Scholarship Fund recipients are:
• Live Oak High School alumna Haley Bonfante, who maintained a 3.69 GPA and will attend Santa Barbara City College in the fall, where she plans to earn her associate’s degree in geological sciences before transferring to UC Santa Barbara to major in hydrology. Haley received a $4,000 scholarship.
• Ann Sobrato High School alumna Jenna Fields, who earned a 4.06 GPA, is headed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall, where she will major in agriculture communications. After college, she hopes to return to her community to advocate for and represent the agriculture industry as a writer and communicator. Fields received an $8,000 scholarship ($6,000 from Farm Bureau’s Linda L. Lester Scholarship Fund; $2,000 from American AgCredit).
• Gilroy High School alumna Julianna Figone is attending the University of Idaho, where she majors in agricultural economics. She plans to attend law school at University of Idaho after graduation and eventually work as an attorney to protect water rights for the ag industry. Figone received a $6,000 scholarship.
•:Gilroy High School alumnus Wyatt Wolfe held a 3.97 GPA and now plans to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he will major in agricultural systems management. After graduation, he plans to return to Santa Clara County to pursue a career in irrigation and pest management systems. Wolfe also received a $4,000 scholarship.
• April Alger, a Notre Dame High School (San Jose) alumna, maintained a 3.95 GPA and will attend Northern Arizona University, where she will pursue a degree in environmental science while minoring in either forestry or ranger science. Alger received a $4,000 scholarship.
• Lynbrook High School alumnus Evan Huang held a 3.74 GPA and plans to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to major in food science and pursue a career that contributes to providing safe and renewable food. Huang received a $6,000 scholarship.
For more information about the farm bureau, visit sccfarmbureau.org.
