2023 Academic Scholarship Awards

It is truly SLOCEA’s honor to award Academic Scholarships.  This year we received seventeen outstanding applications - each extremely impressive and certainly worthy of special recognition for all their hard work and dedication. SLOCEA’s Academic Scholarship Committee awarded seven Academic Scholarships and ten Academic Awards.

The Academic Scholarship awards were presented at a celebratory dinner held on June 15th, 2023, by Academic Scholarship Committee chairman Tim Faes. Here are the 2023 SLOCEA Academic Scholarship recipients:

Scholarship Recipients

Michael Pero receiving his award from Director Norma Domingo

Michael Pero is currently a Planner for the County, serving the community by processing land use applications and educating community members in the County Code. He is looking forward to expanding his already extensive knowledge in land while attending Cal Poly seeking his Master of Science degree in Enviormental Science and Management. Congratulations Michael! (SLOCEA Member)

Elena Garcia is a full-time social worker with the County, and her passion for helping the clients she serves for the past three years has brought her to pursue her Master of Social Work degree from Chamberlain University. She looks forward to having more tools and knowledge necessary to provide more effective services to those she serves. Congratulations Elena! (SLOCEA Member)

Sofia Terry receiving her award from Director Michelle Lowe

Sofia Terry has wanted to be a nurse since middle school. She had the opportunity to shadow a nurse, and she knew from that experience, that she needed to enroll at Cuesta College to begin her nursing career. In 2017, she obtained her Associates of Science with a major in Pre-Nursing. She is continuing the path of becoming a Nurse in the Cuesta College Nursing program. Congratulations Sofia! (Parent – Leslie Terry; Supervisor Environmental Health Specialist)

Alyssa Thompson receiving her award from Director Michelle Lowe

Alyssa Thompson just completed her first year at University of California Berkely and will be continuing her education, majoring in Fine Arts for Creative Writing and minoring in Spanish. She is excited to continue learning as she feels it gives her purpose, more worldly understanding, and the skills to write for future periodicals. Congratulations Alyssa! (Parent- Mathew Thompson; Social Worker Supervisor II)

Eden Eckes receiving her award from Director and Committee Chair Tim Faes

Eden Eckes completed her senior year at San Luis Obispo high school and is enrolled at Cuesta College for this upcoming fall. She intends to work on her general education classes, then transfer to a four-year University to study architectural design. Eden was heavily involved in many volunteer programs, such as preparing meals for 40 Prado, working numerous years at the Sherriff’s Day at the Ranch, assisting with various community outreach events with the SLO County District Attorney Victim Witness Unit, volunteering at the school snack shack during school sporting events, and was a teacher’s assistant, all while completing her senior year with a 4.10 GPA. Congratulations Eden! (Parent- Susan Eckes; Victim Advocate III)

Clara Diaz completed her high school career at Arroyo Grande High School and has been accepted at UC Santa Cruz. She has as a strong passion to follow her dreams of becoming a Gynecologist and Obstetrician, allowing her to become a part of the 11% of Latina women to graduate medical school. Her passion of helping those in need also extends to the Woods Humane society where she volunteered as a youth program counselor and facilitated a Woods Club at the Arroyo Grande High school. Congratulations Clara! (Parent- Neri Diaz; Employment Resource Special IV)

Alexandra Whitcomb receiving her award from Director and Committee Chair, Tim Faes

Alexandra Whitcomb recently graduated from Paso Robles High school with a 3.67 GPA. She is looking forward to attending Loyola Marymount University later this summer to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in biology with an emphasis on pre-medical training, and will be minoring in Spanish. After which, she hopes to continue furthering her education by either attending Medical School or Physician Assistant School specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her hopes are to one day empower the women and underserved communities. Congratulations Alexandra! (Parent- John Whitcomb; Social Services Program Review Specialist)

Academic Awards Recipients:

Taylor Glanville CSU Chico (Parent: Wicola Glanville; Behavioral Health Clinician III)

Shannon Aiken University of North Carolina Wilmington (Parent: Martha Patterson; Collections officer II)

Jaylen Marchetti Cuesta College (Parent: Monica Marchetti; Library Associate III)

Ezekiel Taylor Grand Canyon University (Parent: Cara Taylor; Agricultural Insp/Biologist III)

James Jepsen IV Arizona State University (Parent: Marsha Jepsen; Property Transfer Tech IV)

Jacob Silvas Cuesta College (Parent: Katy Collier; Social Worker Supervisor II)

Brenae Damery Robinson University of Memphis (Parent: Jeremiah Damery; Supervisor Enviormental Health Specialist)

Kai McMullen Arizona State University (Parent: Christopher McMullen; Supervisory Admin Clerk II)

Anthony Casillas San Jose State University (Parent: Denise Casillas; Employment/ Resource Specialist I)

Casey Clements Vanguard University (Parent: Maria Clements; Supervisor Admin Clerk II)

Congratulations to all the recipients of the 2023 Academic Scholarship and awards! We are so inspired by your hard work and dedication to your education and know you will achieve great things!

By Briana Dickey, Office Assistant