SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS FOR 2011
If you are a Filipino-American who will be a graduating high school senior in any of the high schools of San Diego County in 2011, you are invited to apply for the 2011 awards. The guidelines for 2011 are as follows or you can click on the star:
Minimum Eligibility
* High School senior graduating in May or June 2011.
* GPA of at least 3.5 with no D or Fail grade in Citizenship.
* Selection criteria include the quality and degree of involvement in a specific category.
* Applicants may apply for as many award categories for which they feel qualified; however, an individual applicant shall be declared outstanding and awarded in only one category.
Award
* Each of the three (3) Outstanding Student Awardees shall receive no less than $1,000.00 and a Certificate of Recognition to be presented during the Philippine Faire on May 28, 2011. An optional award for Community Service may also be awarded epending on availability of funds.
* The decision of the panel of judges is final and is not subject to appeal, and if in the judgment of the panel no applicant is worthy of the award, the award shall be withheld.
* Only the award recipients will hear from the Scholarship Committee.
Application Forms
Application forms are available online by clicking the forms below and downloading them or printing them in your browser. They may also be obtained upon request from the following:
Scholarship Committee Chairperson, - Dina Ellorin E-Mail: c/o philfaire2011@yahoo.com
Merly Ferrer - (619-606-6475)
or click here to complete and print the:
AFTER COMPLETING THE APPROPRIATE FORMS
prepare a 150 - 200 word essay on "Why I Am Proud to Be Filipino-American" (TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACE)
AFTER COMPLETION, MAIL THE FORMS, YOUR ESSAY AND ALL ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS TO
COPAO SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 1504, National City, CA 91951-1504
Telephone: (619) 477-4090
Please use the following check list. Submit all required forms & documents in one envelope:
_______ 1. Completed Application Forms
_______ 2. Completed ESSAY on "Why I Am Proud to Be Filipino-American" (TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACE)
_______ 3. Sealed Official Transcript of Grades
_______ 4. Mail (Must be postmarked no later than May 1, 2011)
2005 COPAO SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEES
Every year, the Council of Philippine American Organizations of San Diego County, Inc. (COPAO) presents three deserving high school seniors with $1000 scholarships to help start them off on their college studies. This year, instead of just three scholarships, COPAO is awarding six. The additional scholarship awards were made possible through personal donations made by Rita Buencamino Andrews, President of COPAO, and Lillian Bernabe, Vice President for Finance and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. The awardees were announced recently by Lillian Bernabe.
KYLENE CHUA (Hilltop High School) – Academic Excellence Scholarship - Born and raised in San Diego County, Kylene has been surrounded
by various cultures her whole life. To her, it seemed as though Tagalog was always buzzing in the background, while karaoke was in the
foreground. Her Filipino roots instilled in her the values of community and hard work. During her high school days, she was involved in Hilltop
High School’s Humanities and Bible clubs. Academically, she was a member of her school’s Academic League, Academic Decathlon, and Math
Competition Teams. She also played doubles tennis on the varsity team. Fortunately, UCSD has wonderful facilities, and she will be able to
play recreational tennis in the Fall. At UCSD, she will be majoring in biochemistry with sophomore standing. She has already taken three classes
at community colleges, including Calculus based Physics, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations.
KEN RUIZ HAMADA (Helix Charter High School) – Overall Standing Achievement - Born in the Philippines in 1986, Ken moved to the United
States at the impressionable age of 12. Ken attended Colegio de San Agustin – Makati in the Philippines from Kindergarten until the 6th
grade. During his first years in the United States, Ken struggled with culture shock and language barriers as he attended La Mesa Middle
School for his 7th and 8th grades. With the support of his hardworking stepfather, Robert Allen Colley; his beautiful mother Evangeline Ruiz
Colley; and his loving “Ate” Aela Sakura Hamada, Ken managed to climb the ladder of success socially, academically, and athletically. He
grew exponentially, attending Grossmont Community College the summer of his sophomore year. During his junior year, a majority of his
classes was AP and the rest were honors. Not slowing down during his senior year, Ken placed at the top 2 – 3 % of his entire class. In
September 2005, Ken attended UCLA as a Civil Engineering major, with the continued love and support of his community, friends, and family.
ANGELO JAMES ALVARICO CABAHUG (Helix Charter High School) – Leadership Scholarship Award - Also known as AJ, Angelo was
born on December 16, 1986, to his parents Jaime and Arlene Cabahug, in Chula Vista. He attended Rancho Elementary School, La
Mesa Middle School, and later Helix Charter High School, from which he is graduating. He has been in Key Club for two years, and is
a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Foundation. He was also vice president of both clubs during his junior and senior years.
His future plans include attending San Diego State University and joining the Navy upon graduation.
DANE WARRICK SAMILO (Escondido High School) - Athletic Scholarship Award - Dane was born in Poway, His parents are Daniel and Deanna Cabahug. Presently attending Escondido High School, Dane has been on the varsity track and field team for three years, running primarily the one hundred meter dash. He is also in the North County Academic League. Before track, he participated in several styles of martial arts. After graduating from high school he will attend Muir College where he plans to major in microbiology. After graduation he plans to work in the field of pathology, specifically virology. For recreation, Dane enjoys sketching, creative writing, and learning as much as possible about the internet.
CHARLES JOSHUA HINKLE (Montgomery High School) – Community Service Award - Most people call him Josh. His loving mother’s name
is Diana Hinkle, and, he says, “I love her more than words can express for all the selfless sacrifices she has made for me, and all of the
undying support she has given me throughout the years. All of my accomplishment I owe to her, because without her they wouldn’t have been
possible.” Josh currently attends Montogomery High School, but in the Fall, he will be attending UCLA and majoring in Business Economics
with a minor in English. He plans to pursue a business career and then later to pursue a career in teaching or writing.
DAVID PAULO T. FELIPE (Eastlake High School) - Community Service Award – David was born in Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippine in 1986. He is the fourth child of David and Virginia Felipe. He began his elementary studies in Samal, Bataan, until his family immigrated to the United States in 1997. He continued his education at Rancho Elementary School and at La Presa Middle School in Spring Valley, California David also went to Mount Miguel High for this first year of high school, and later moved to Chula Vista, where he has been attending Eastlake High School for three years now. Throughout his high school years, he participated in the Junior ROTC, Academic Decathlon and League, Tennis, California Scholarship Federation, and California YMCA Youth and Government. He also did volunteer work for different organizations such as the Chula Vista Public Library and the First Christian Church. David plans to major in Political Science and participate in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of California Berkeley.
COPAO’S SCHOLARS FOR 2007
The Council of Philippine American Organizations of San Diego County honored four graduating Filipino-American high school students for excellence in various fields of endeavor, by presenting them with scholarship awards and plaques of recognition at the Philippine Faire 2007 program on June 9, 2007, at Kimball Park in National City. They also participated in the Festival of Festivals Parade preceding the program.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE – Jemianne Grace Bautista of Eastlake High School received this year’s $1000 scholarship for Academic
Excellence. She is the daughter of Conrad and Emi Bautista, and has three older brothers; Jay, Jereille, and Jeremiah Bautista.
Jemianne is the valedictorian of Eastlake High class of 2007 with a GPA of 4.63. She has won a number of awards including the Elk's
Lodge Teenager of the Year and the Creaser $5000 scholarship. She will be attending Stanford University in the fall to study to become
a doctor specializing in brain and cognitive sciences. In addition to her academic prowess, she loves to dance and currently performs
with Southwestern College's dance group and the Visions in Paradise Hula and Tahitian group. She does hip-hop, jazz, hula, tahitian,
lyrical, modern, and Filipino dancing. She is also very active at her church Most Precious Blood where she is a church youth leader.
Jemianne is also a performer in Center Stage, Eastlake High School's advanced co-ed show choir. COPAO's 2007 SWcholarship
Awardee for Academic Excellence loves her family very much and is proud to be a Filipino-American
LEADERSHIP - Elma Joy Trinidad, 18, graduating from Otay Ranch High School, was born and raised in San Diego. She is one of four
children of Elmer and Emma Trinidad. Currently, she is actively involved in many school, community, and religious organizations such as
Otay Ranch Associated Student Body, where she is the President, Sweetwater Union High School District where she is on the IT Board
and Strategic Planning Team, San Diego Food Bank, and Church of Christ choir. She enjoys leadership, helping others, photography,
music, and spending time with friends. After graduating from Otay Ranch High School with honors, Elma Joy will be attending UCSD
as an engineering science major with a minor in economics, where the $1000 COPAO scholarship award will come in handy.
ATHLETICS – Michael Sevilla was born in San Diego in1988. His parents are Edgar and Barbara Sevilla. At Junipero Serra High School,
Michael had seven varsity letters for baseball and water polo. In 2007, he was chosen as the scholar athlete of the year representing
Serra High School. Michael had also been selected to the first team all league twice for baseball, second team all league once for water
polo and honorable mention 2 times for water polo. He also participated in various high school clubs like Student-2-Student and the
Student Orientation Leaders. After high school, Michael plans to attend the University of California in Irvine, with a major in Computer
Science and Engineering. COPAO’s scholarship awardee for athletics enjoys surfing, playing basketball, watching jeopardy, and
designing web sites.
COMMUNITY SERVICE – Edrilyn D. Basaldo is a young Filipino-American woman who has had a life that few people encounter. The
only person that has supported her and her nine bothers and sisters is her grandmother, who gained custody over them because of
their parents’ substance abuse. What helped Edrilyn keep focused was her grandmother’s financial and emotional support. Over time,
she learned to cope with her feelings. She has learned to be unselfish and understands why her grandmother wasn’t available to
attend her school functions and other activities. After going through the pain and sufferings in her life, she has promised herself that
her own family would never go through the same experiences that she had. She believes firmly that education is a key factor in keeping
this promise. Participating in extracurricular activities and community activities on top of a challenging academic schedule and
supporting her family is a lot for a teenager to handle. However, she looks forward to attending college where she will be the person
deciding her own future through the classes and activities she chooses. After being exposed to so many disadvantages during her
early years -- which most people encounter only later in life – Edrilyn believes that she now knows right from wrong, and after
graduating from Sweetwater High School, she is ready to tackle life.
COPAO'S SCHOLARS FOR 2008
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE - Melanie P. Dumalag is a student at The Preuss School, UCSD. Her weighted GPA is 4.36. Her
activities include playing varsity volleyball and lacross; serving as the vice president for the Preuss Honors Show Choir & Chamber
Group/Ensemble; and volunteering at Paradise Valley Hospital. She has been on the Preuss School UCSD Principal's Honor Roll
4.0 and Above for the past six years. Melanie will be attending the University of California, Berkeley.
LEADERSHIP - Michael Goboy Dionela attends Chula Vista High School. His GPA is 4.3. His activities
include serving as a staff writer and photographer for the school newspaper; serving as treasurer for the Asian Pacific Islanders Club; and being a member of the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Michael has been a Principal's 3.5+ GPA Honors Awardee since 2004.
ATHLETICS - Kevin Vance attends Torrey Pines High School. His weighted GPA is 3.76. He is the captain of the high school baseball
team, selected 1st Team All Palomar League in 2007, and selected 2nd Team All Palomar League in 2006. Kevin also coached for
Del Mar Youth Baseball and Stanford University Youth Baseball Camp. He has been a member of the California Scholarship Federation
since 2006. Kevin will be attending the University of Connecticut.
