By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga Foothill Club awarded $4,000 in scholarships to four students from Saratoga High School and West Valley College.
The club awarded Isa Berardo its American Heritage Award, and its Fine Arts Award went to Katie McLaughlin. Both are Saratoga High School students. The American Heritage Award is for students who show outstanding achievement in social studies, while the Fine Arts Award is presented for outstanding achievement in the visual and performing arts.
The club also awarded two scholarships to students at West Valley College, said Jen- nifer Robert, the Foothill Club’s scholarship chairwoman. Kayla Hart received the club’s Re-en- try Award, and Julia Ma earned the STEM Award, a scholarship given to women who plan to transfer to a four-year college and pursue a career in STEM.
Among her many accomplishments, Berardo has built clean-energy water systems in Ecuador and worked with endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica. At school, she is the goalkeeper and captain of Saratoga High’s girls soccer team and the head of the high school rally commission.
“She is a true selfless leader, encouraging others as she leads by example,” said Robert.
This fall, she’ll be attending Pitzer College and pursuing a double major in environmental sustainability and political science with an emphasis on social justice.
A true jack-of-all-trades, McLaughlin is a musician, student leader and volunteer. She was the drum major for her school’s marching band for two years and the first chair oboe in the school orchestra for three years, and she was elected to the California All State Honor Band—where she was also first oboe—for six years. She was also active in the environmental club, was class vice president during her sophomore and junior years and was a Link Crew leader during her junior and senior years.
“One wonders how Katie fits all her activities into the 24 hours a day she is given,” said Robert.
McLaughlin plans on attending the University of Michigan to study music. After taking time off to have her son, Hart is on a path to pursue a degree in psychology at West Valley College, where she maintains an outstanding GPA. Once she completes her studies at WVC, she plans to attend San Jose State University for her under- graduate degree and work up to a doctorate in psychology.
Her goals are to work with people who are struggling with substance abuse and emotional issues and help them become strong survivors and productive members of society. Finally, Ma is a 4.0 student at West Valley College who started a tutoring business for high school students. When she’s not working toward her associate degree in science and math, she spends her time planning events with the campus activity board and volunteers at her lo- cal church. She plans to transfer to UC-Berkeley or UCLA to study statistics.
The scholarship recipients were selected based on their academic records, accomplishments in their fields and contributions to their community. The Saratoga Foothill Club has been awarding scholarships to Saratoga High School students for the last three decades.
The high school scholarship presentation was held on May 10, the West Valley College presentation a few days later.
