Twelve bright students, who were often referred to as “our future”, received the EPCC’s Salute to the Arts Scholarship in a formal black and white ceremony.
The luncheon, which took place on Friday in the Administrative Service Center, was attended by EPCC President Richard Rhodes, his Board of Trustees, the scholarship donors and their winning recipients.
“We’re so impressed with their quality essays,” said Jeanne Foskett, an EPCC English instructor who hosted and organized the event. “The only difficult
part is selecting, because there are so many deserving students.”
Before the winners were announced, an apple cider toast was proposed by Rhodes, in honor of the recipients.
“You have a lot to live up to, because [the donors] are investing in you,” Rhodes said to the winners.
He then presented the awards after reading a short excerpt from each student’s essay. The donors also went on stage to talk briefly about their scholarship before congratulating their recipients.
“I didn’t expect to win, since there was a lot of competition,” said Pan Chudabala, the winner of the Patrick and Bernadette Moreno Scholarship. “So I was really surprised and excited.”
She had to write an essay about her educational goals. Chudabala, a business major, wrote that she wanted to be the best that she can be and to “climb the ladder of success.”
Towards the end of the ceremony, EPCC announced that they have created a scholarship in the name of Amado Peña’s mother, Maria A. Peña, Amado Peña, who has a scholarship under his name, said his mother has always supported his artistic inclinations.
The new scholarship will be given to students majoring in art, the funds are derived from the Painted Palettes Parade, in which over $20,000 were raised, according to Shirley Gilbert, special assistant to Rhodes.
This scholarship, like other Salute to the Arts scholarships, is a one year stipend ($500 per semester), Gilbert said.
“This one is a little bit different,” she added. “It’s going to be used to recruit students into all the arts programs.”
The president closed the ceremony by saying that the theme of the student essays involved love and appreciation for family. He then added, “EPCC is your extended family.”
With Halloween approaching a contest was held to determine who dressed the classiest, glitziest or most outrageous. The winners Yvette Mottley, Daryle Hendry and Julie Bustamente, who wore outlandish hats and periodic attire, won the most outrageous category.
Also, to continue generating funds for scholarships, artwork by Amado Peña and José Cisneros were for sale at the luncheon.
