Last week, $36,000 in scholarship money was awarded to 17 deserving students from Oceanside and surrounding areas, as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarships were announced.
Some of the students have overcome extreme physical hardships along the way.
Nubia Castro, a senior at El Camino High School, won the four-year scholarship worth $8,000. She maintained a 4.19 GPA.
According to U-T San Diego, Castro, 18, had to learn English after she came to this country from Mexico in 2006 – mostly be reading the dictionary during more than 300 volunteer hours at the Oceanside public library.
Additionally, Castro has a metal plate in her spine due to scoliosis, and has a disease which causes her to bruise easily, according to the newspaper.
Brandon Facon, a 2012 graduate of La Costa Canyon, received a $3,000 scholarship. Facon, 19, was unable to attend school last year because he was in Indiana receiving a liver transplant.
According the the newspaper, he now travels to various schools and talks to students about the importance of becoming an organ donor.
Other winners included:
Jeanine Gonzalez, El Camino – $3,000
Vianey Rubio, El Camino – $2,500
Dusten DaSilva, Oceanside – $2,500
Stephanie Lambert, El Camino – $2,000
Markie Wynn, El Camino – $1,500
Ciara Gutierrez, Oceanside – $1,500
Tayler Gilberta, Oceanside – $1,500
Brianne Yasukochi, La Jolla Country Day – $1,500
Michael D. Michael, Carlsbad – $1,500
Khadijah Williams, El Camino – $1,000
Will Tate, Oceanside – $1,000
Luis Guerrero, Ocean Shores – $1,000
Elizabeth Johnson, Ocean Shores – $1,000
Aliah Williamson, Fallbrook – $1,000
A total of 58 students applied for scholarships this year, more than any other year in the program's history. Since 1993, when the scholarships began, more than $533,000 has been awarded, according to the newspaper.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
