When the owners of Cypress Place Senior Living in Ventura decided to create a scholarship fund for local high school students wanting to pursue a college degree, the Cypress Place Senior Living “Senior to Senior” Legacy Scholarship was created.
Cypress Place Senior Living is an independent, assisted, and memory care community for seniors. By awarding two $2500 scholarships to local high school seniors, residents at Cypress Place are attempting to pass on opportunities for young people in the community, according to Steve Spira, executive director at Cypress Place.
Applicants needed to have a verified 3.2 or higher GPA and to have applied for fall 2016 admission to a college or university with the intention of obtaining a degree. Applicants were also asked to submit an essay about their reason for pursuing higher education along with a personal account of how a senior or seniors has affected their life, including specific examples of intergenerational experiences of the applicant.
The members of the Resident Scholarship Committee at Cypress Place read the essays, then held oral interviews with the semi-finalists to determine the two award winners.
On May 26 the awards were presented to Daniela Aranda and Sierra Conboy, both from Ventura High School. Aranda plans on studying economics at Brigham Young University, while Conboy plans on attending Gettysburg College and would like to become an international lawyer.
Ventura High Principal, Carlos Cohen , and VHS Career Center Counselor, Phyllis Dilly, were in attendance, along with family members of the recipients, and many seniors from Cypress Place. The senior citizens were beaming just as brightly as the recipients during the awards ceremony.
“Tonight we watched two wonderful girls go confidently in the direction of their dreams,” said Irv Wasserberg, a resident at Cypress Place, and the Scholarship Committee Chair. “This was the 4th year the Cypress Place owners granted this scholarship to our local Ventura students, and it is a highlight for all of us to be a part of it.”
As the scholarship awards evening wound down, Aranda and Conboy both expressed their appreciation for their awards once again. They both hope to be able to present awards to future Cypress Place Senior Living “Senior to Senior” Legacy Scholarship recipients when they themselves have graduated from college.
