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Realtors honor 2006 grads

Graduation for 18 seniors was extra special this year as they received $1,000 scholarships for college from the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, a local trade association of the real estate industry.

Rebecca Chappell of Los Gatos High School, Sunny Lu of Prospect High and Stephanie Liu of Saratoga High School were among the recipients of the annual scholarship program funded by the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation. Chappell plans to attend Duke University in the fall; Lu, UC-San Diego; and Liu, UCLA.

"In our industry, we feel fortunate to be able to give back to the community and our local scholars through our scholarship program," said Dennis Young, chairman of the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation. "By providing scholarships to very deserving individuals, the members of our association feel that we can help local students grow, succeed and achieve their dreams."

The scholarship program recognizes students with outstanding achievements in academics, extracurricular/em- ployment activities and community involvement. The selection committee included representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and the association.

The 15 other students honored with scholarships this year were Arthur Xu, Wilcox; Bennett Roth-Newell, Woodside; Helen Woo-Hee Yang, Cupertino; Inci Atrek, Homestead; Jonathan Toung, Gunn; Jordan Joseph Lai, Palo Alto; Katherine Weng, Monta Vista; Lorenne Vandenberg, Leigh; Meicheng Shi, Lynbrook; Michele Kumi Baer, Los Altos; Michelle Buchholz, Mountain View; Miriam von Guggenberg, Menlo-Atherton; Ngoc-Diem Thi Hoang, Westmont; Rebecca Mesch, Fremont; and Linda Thuy Diem Vo, Santa Clara High School (UC-Berkeley).

"We are excited about being able to assist the deserving winners in beginning their college careers," said Silicon Valley Association of Realtors' scholarship chairwoman Nina Yamaguchi. "The nominees for the SILVAR Scholarship Program are always among the cream of the crop--this year was no exception."

Realtor association representatives attended senior award ceremonies at the various high schools to present personally the scholarships to the winning students, Yamaguchi said. Scholarship recipients are selected from the high schools in the communities served by members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

The scholarship program is sponsored by the association's Charitable Foundation, a 4,000-member trade association representing Realtors and affiliate members in the South Bay.

The class of 2007 Silicon Valley Scholars will be selected from the high schools in the communities served by association members in the spring of 2007. Principals and faculty at the 18 participating Silicon Valley schools nominate three exceptional graduating seniors for consideration. A committee comprised of representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and Silicon Valley Association of Realtors members make the final selections. Awards are then presented at the end of the school year.

Applications may be obtained at participating high schools, which include Leigh, Lynbrook, Westmont, Fremont, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Gunn, Palo Alto, Menlo Atherton, Santa Clara, Wilcox, Cupertino, Homestead, Monta Vista, Prospect, Saratoga, Mountain View and Woodside.

The completed application must be returned to the high school's principal or scholarship counselor in the spring for submission to the foundation.

The foundation makes grants available to organizations from donations by its members and friends and is a wholly owned 501(c)3 subsidiary. In addition to student scholarships, the Charitable Foundation Trust also awards approximately $150,000 in grants annually to nonprofit organizations in the areas of youth, housing and education.

Information provided in this column is presented by the Realtor members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.silvar.org. Send questions on any topic to rmeily@silvar.org.