The Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation recognized its 2019 Rodney Fernandez Leadership Scholarships recipients on Thursday, July 30, during a meeting of the Board of Directors at Cabrillo’s Snapdragon Place Apartments in Ventura.

Cabrillo Chief Executive Officer, Margarita H. De Escontrias welcomed the recipients, introduced the board members and thanked the members of the scholarship review panel for their commitment in determining the scholarship recipients.

This year, Cabrillo received 24 applications, and awarded $12,500 to 14 recipients. Edison International provided a $10,000 grant for STEM recipients, and another $2,500 funded by individual donations was distributed among recipients of all majors.

The Rodney Fernandez Leadership Scholarship Program, created in 2011, honors the legacy of Rodney Fernandez, Cabrillo’s founder and Executive Director for 30 years (1981–2011). The Scholarship continues Fernandez’s legacy of community building by cultivating the leadership of residents to attain their goals and empower themselves to take action to improve the quality of life in their communities.

“The Rodney Fernandez Leadership Scholarship applicants and recipients exemplify Rodney’s dedication and commitment to making Ventura County a better place to live and work,” said Jack Hinojosa, Chief Executive Officer of Child Development Resources of Ventura County and a member of the review panel.

Other members of the scholarship review panel were:

Jaime Galvan, Programs and Events Manager at Ventura College Foundation

Brian Gilpatrick, Managing Director, Ventura Region, Union Bank

Christina Perez, Admissions Counselor, California Lutheran University.

Jessica Cook, Assistant Vice President and Branch Operations Manager at Pacific Western Bank, Camarillo office, and a Cabrillo board member

Denise Bickerstaff, Director of Business Development and Administration at Cabrillo

Luz Soto, Director of Property Management and Resident Services, introduced each of the recipients in attendance and welcomed their family members. About 40 people attended the event catered by El Pescador in Fillmore.

Two of the seven recipients in attendance spoke about themselves and the impact the scholarship will have on their ability to attend school and reach their educational goals.

Mireya Avila Mejia, a Fillmore High School graduate, is attending California State University, Channel Islands, in the Masters in Nursing program.  She said she was inspired by nurses who tended to her mother, who was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and underwent surgery and radiation.

“I want to impact someone’s life in a positive manner and help someone’s mother in the way my mother was being helped. … As I embark on my nursing journey, I plan to get a job in the Ventura County area as a Nurse Practitioner. I will most likely be working in the Ventura County Hospital in the emergency unit, but it doesn’t matter where I am as long as I am saving lives,” Mejia said.

Panelist and Cabrillo board member Cook said she was impressed by the women who shared their experiences and gratitude. “I can relate to both women when they mentioned they could not speak English when they started school. Being teased and bullied can shape who you are as a person. I am so proud these award recipients were shaped in a positive way,” Cook said. “They used their experience to help others in similar situation and told themselves they were going to become successful. I am fortunate to be a part of this process. Everyone who submitted an essay did an amazing job.”

Ventura Breeze staff member Mary Thompson won first place honors for her booth at the Fair celebrating the Olivas Adobe. Mary can be found at most events held at Olivas as a docent dressed up in the clothes depicting the early times at the Adobe.

For most, August is an ordinary month like any other. But for Tarja Huuskonen, August marks a new beginning of her life; one filled with challenges and disadvantages, but also hope and newfound gratitude for everything precious this life has to offer.

Three years ago, on a beautiful August morning, Tarja suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm while kayaking in the Ventura Harbor. The traumatic injury happened without warning, and suddenly the perfect summer day turned into a fight for her life.

Thanks to fast action by her friend and CMH Emergency Room staff, Tarja was transported to the Stroke and Neurovascular Center at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where she underwent emergency brain surgery. After surgery, her outlook was uncertain, as her spirit waned while her body dealt with the aftermath of a serious brain hemorrhage. When she left the hospital, it seemed the worst of the ordeal was over. She survived. But this was only the beginning of a long, winding road to recovery.

There is no shortcut for recovering from a brain injury. Coming to terms with the physical, emotional and social limitations and challenges can be painful and isolating. Online support groups connect survivors but often lack professional guidance to key questions and challenges. In Tarja’s case, she invented her own support system, consisting of online groups, medical advisors, and a social network of dancers. She credits dance as a key therapy that has allowed her to gain balance and physical strength while rediscovering joy and connection to others.

Today, Tarja has a clear mission: to help other brain aneurysm patients and survivors on their journey to recovery. She is launching her own website and blog about brain health, and has joined The Lisa Foundation in building national awareness and education about brain aneurysms. One in 20 people in the United States will develop a brain aneurysm in their lifetime, and women are at a 50% higher risk. Most people don’t know the symptoms that could save lives.

To celebrate her third anniversary, Tarja has organized the Harbor of Life Benefit to engage our local community in learning the signs and symptoms of brain aneurysms while having a great night of social dancing, music, food and fun. The ability to move with the music, to hear the strum of a guitar, and to laugh with friends and family are gifts of life that can be lost at any time. So most importantly, this special celebration is about the connections and everyday triumphs that keep us going, while recognizing the resilience of broken brains and the recoveries made possible through the generosity of the human spirit.

The event will take place at The Greek restaurant at the Ventura Harbor on Saturday, August 17th from 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm. To reserve your tickets to this event, and to learn more about her story, visit Tarja’s website: iamtarja.com.

Author and historian Dr. Michael H. Gorn, who specializes in the field of aeronautics and spaceflight, will present a special talk, “Lucky and Smart: Apollo 11 @ 50” at the Hill Road Library at noon on Sunday, September 8.

At this free event, Gorn will discuss how the Apollo program got started and the many ways in which good (and bad) fortune influenced the outcome of the mission. He also speaks about his book, Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites that Put Us in Space (Quarto Publishers, London, 2018).

The book is an ambitiously illustrated aerospace history that profiles and depicts spacecraft from Sputnik 1 through the International Space Station and everything in between. Illustrator, and aerospace professional, Giuseppe De Chiara teams up with Gorn to present a profusely illustrated and authoritatively written collection of profiles depicting the design, development, and deployment of these manned and unmanned spacecraft. Satellites, capsules, spaceplanes, rockets, and space stations are illustrated in multiple-view, sometimes cross-section, and in many cases shown in archival period photography to provide further historical context.

Gorn, who lives in Thousand Oaks, is a federal historian of nearly 30 years and is the author of eight books on the history of aeronautics and spaceflight. He spent 13 of those years at NASA and is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships for his aerospace writing. He has been featured in interviews on National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

Hill Road Library is located at 1070 South Hill Road in Ventura. A book signing will follow the presentation. For additional information, contact Linda Cherry, Librarian, at (805) 677-7180. The Ventura County Library web site is available at www.vencolibrary.org.