East County Students Receive Health Care Scholarships

LA MESA, CA — La Mesa-based Grossmont Healthcare District awarded $111,100 in scholarships to 44 local high school students interested in a health care career, the district announced Tuesday.

The students come from 22 high schools in East County and were selected by school administrators for their academic excellence and desire to improve the world in the health care field, according to the district. Each school nominated two students, a primary recipient awarded $3,300 and secondary recipient awarded $1,650.

"I think one of the most important qualities in life is kindness," said Mora Azimi, a scholarship recipient from Valhalla High School in El Cajon. "There's no better place to give kindness to people than in health care."

Roughly 2.6 million new jobs will be added to the health care field from 2020 to 2030, a 16 percent projection of growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the district, one of the most common reasons students dismiss health care as an option is due to the costs of study.

"As the demand for health care workers surges, we are proud to support local high school students in their pursuit of continuing education," said Virginia Hall, board president of Grossmont Healthcare District. "We hope that for the next generation of health care professionals, we can dissolve some of the stress that comes with the financial responsibility of attending a college."

The scholarship program was established in 1999 in an effort to increase access to continuing education and address the shortage of health care workers in the region, according to Grossmont Healthcare District, a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in East County. The program has given hundreds of local high school students scholarships totaling more than $1 million.

The scholarship recipients include:

• Christian Unified High School: Allie Buchman, Lily Griffing
• Diego Valley East Charter School: Salinas Hermez, Aleksa Medina
• El Cajon Valley: Steela Marooki, Masar Shakir
• El Capitan High School: Jackson Crist, Sophia Morton,
• Foothills Christian High School: Micah Concepcion, Zoe Meldrum
• Granite Hills High School: Grace Gosnell, Gwendolyn McLaughlin
• Grossmont High School: Jessie Kim, Emily Rivas
• Grossmont Middle College High School: Tatyana Ali, Joy Hamama
• Helix Charter High School: Amya Matthewson, Claire Tran
• IDEA Center High School: Vianney Cuevas, Jullinda Jameson
• Innovation High School, Lakeside: Kylie Glass, Elizabeth Pena Renteria
• Innovation High School, Lemon Grove: Isabella Russell, Melissa Vazquez
• Liberty Charter High School: Sierra Battah, Bethany Mapes
• Monte Vista High School: Yerlin (Annika) Everson, Diego Mendoza
• Mount Miguel High School: Kayla Petersen, Valerie Portillo Suarez
• Mountain Empire High School: Rose Johnson, Mariyah Weldy
• Patrick Henry High School: Lauren Schalik, Jamie Mittleman
• River Valley Charter: Phoebe Chaffee, Rebecca Hofheinz
• Santana High School: Estabraq Al Khalaf, Fabyanna Zora
• Steele Canyon Charter: Amiya German, Rita Kamal
• Valhalla High School: Mora Azimi, Carl Purisima
• West Hills High School: Isabella Cervantes, Jacob Rhodes