Photo by Samantha Bengtson
Thomas Stephens (far left) and Veronica Gasca (second from left) were recognized Aug. 7 by the Southern Monterey County Republican Women Federated. Also pictured are Gasca’s family members and Club President Karen Leonhard (far right).
KING CITY — Two special guests joined the Southern Monterey County Republican Women Federated for its monthly meeting last week at Lawrence’s Restaurant in King City — high school graduates Veronica Gasca of Greenfield and Thomas Stephens of King City, who both earned scholarships from the nonprofit.
Gasca, a graduate of Greenfield High School, was at the top of her graduating class academically. She served as the vice president of her senior class and was involved in several clubs, including FFA, Book Club and Physics Club, as well as worked on the school newspaper.
Gasca took three honors math courses as well as an Advanced Placement calculus class.
“Thank you for choosing me as your scholarship recipient and helping me achieve my educational goals,” she told the members at the Aug. 7 luncheon.
Gasca is keeping her major options open but was leaning toward pre-economics with the possibility of going into banking.
Stephens is the second scholarship recipient and is a graduate of King City High School. His name may be familiar as he played on several sports teams throughout high school, including football, baseball and basketball. He also was part of the FFA, along with the Culinary Appreciation Club, Leadership and Yearbook.
Both Gasca and Stephens are planning to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara. Stephens plans to major in environmental studies with a concentration in water sustainability.
“I’m planning on either getting a job with Cal Water or applying for an agricultural company and running their water management system,” Stephens said.
The two scholarship recipients received checks as well as the Declaration of Independence, an elephant pen and a copy of the speech given by Micayle Hansen, who also spoke during the meeting.
The interview committee included Paulette Bumbalough, Karen Benedix and Suzanne Krause. To be in the running for a scholarship, students were required to write an essay about “What is Americanism and What it Means to Me,” have a GPA of 3.0 or above and have recognition for school or community service.
“It is always a wonderful thing to be able to serve on the interview committee,” Krause said. “I think our schools are doing a good job because there are these young people coming up who make everything shine around them.”
