The Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District announced that members of the 2023 Class of 2023 at Rio Rico High School have raised $4.2 million in college scholarship offers and $109,450 in local scholarships.
Economic awards were presented to graduating seniors at the Golden Hawks Awards ceremony on May 3.
Our friends at SCVUSD awarded $750 to seniors whose GPA ranked in the top 5% of their class. Irian Islava (valedictorian), Kasandra Navarro (congratulations), Ivanna Garcia, Atticus Barket, Sabrina Seja, Ishaya Shukla, Edward Racine, Luvia Suarez, Alexa Lizaraga, Andrea Verdugo, Anela Ruiz, Milen Miranda, David Reyes, Dior Velez, Andrea Hernández Pinha, Amy Contreras, Carla Figueroa Valdes, Aire Machiras.
The Rotary Club of Tubac awarded $750 to Tamera Pantoja and Garcia, and $1,500 to Islava, Martín Batu, Racine, Reyes, Navarro, and Jazmin Lopez. The Rotary Club of Rio Rico awarded Verdugo, Velez and Shukla $1,500. Lourdes Sarmiento, who was selected as the Comeback Kid by both clubs, received $1,000 from Tubac Rotary and $500 from Rio Rico Rotary.
Velez received a $3,000 scholarship from the Alexa Monique Gonzalez Scholarship, while Shukla, Reyes and Batu received $2,500 scholarships from South32. Navarro, Ariana Montes de Oca, and Viridiana Teliquez received $2,500 each from the Quail Creek women.
The Association of Maquiladoras de Nogales awarded Uriel Quintero $500 and Ceja, Hernandez Pinha, Islava, Navarro, Racine, Shukla and Velez $700 each. Eric Ramirez and Sophia Renteria each received $200 from the Tubac Fire District. Real Wish’s Santa Cruz County estate agent issued $500 to Shukla and $1,000 each to Pantoja and Telikes.
The Jund Meza Rio Rico Alumni Association awarded Sheila Mendiville $1,500. $1,000 to Racine, Daniza Mendoza, Navarro, Jesse Octavio-Callejo, Cassandra Perez, Sofia Teso and Velez. $750 for Alejandro Flores, Jonathan Bejarano and Shukla. $500 for rental.
Mendiville and Seha each received $500 from It Takes a Big Heart. Velez and Garcia received $500 each from Bazua Builders.
The Sinclair Trust Scholarship awarded Telikez and Teso $1,000 each. Marco Villarreal received $1,000 from the Santa Cruz Community Foundation and the Jesús Córdoba Scholarship Foundation issued Seja a $1,000 scholarship.
Lizaraga and Velez each received $10,000 from the Mariposa Community Health Center, and Velez received another $1,000 from the Nogales Women’s Club. UniSource awarded her $750 to Velez, Islava, Marlene Ozuna and Racine.
Atticus Burkett received an Andrea Ferrell Memorial Scholarship worth $2,500. Carlos Encinas Jr. and Rentería each received his 2763 scholarship to the Nogales Firefighters Local, worth $1,000. Velez received $1,000 from Rich River Athletics. David A. Alvarez and Cindy V. Muñoz Lopez each received a Romero Cerezo Excellence Scholarship of $600.
Hernandez Piña and Reyes received the $1,000 SCV35 Hall of Fame Award. Sergio Cota and Paulina Fontes received his $100 Tubac Mid-Hi Art Show scholarship. The Santa Cruz County Cowbells awarded $1,500 each to Hannah Munoz, Lopez, and Telikez. Muñoz also won a $1,000 scholarship from the Santa Cruz County Fair Livestock Commission.
The following students were honored for their outstanding academic performance: Fine Arts, Alfred Haro. English, Burkett. Alternate route, Ana Martinez Cordoba. Science, Hernandez Piña. Social Studies, Navarro. Mathematics, Miranda. PE, Teso. Rafael Vazquez, the helpful falcon. Foreign language, Eric Ramirez. CTE, Cindy Munoz. and counseling Isaac Acosta.
The Principal Award was given to Islava, the Vice Principal Award to Moisés Fonseca and Miguel Ibarra, the SOAR Award to Daniel Ramos, and the Outstanding Student Athlete Award to Octavio Callejo. Each received $100 from Artistry in Glass.
The University of Arizona has issued 49 scholarships to RRHS alumni.
Anamaria Mohinea was awarded the JR Callison Scholarship Award worth $80,000. Burkett won the National Small Town Rural Scholar Award, and Anela Ruiz, Máquillas, Suárez, Miranda, Sarmiento and Reyes won the National Hispanic Scholar Award, worth a total of $72,000.
Ivan Becerril received a $50,000 Wildcat Distinction Award. Batu received the Global Wildcat Award of $44,000. Islava and Hernandez-Piña were awarded $40,000 for Wildcat Excellence. Carlos Encinas won the $30,000 Arizona Award.
Mendiville, García, Racine, Shukla and Lopez each receive the $32,000 Wildcat Excellence Award, while Ayadek de la Cruz, Raquel Garavito, Alfonso Gabino, Hanna Muñoz and Gamaliel de la Rosa • Villegas, Pauletto Ledesma, Karima Hafez, Navarro, Sofia Bohorquez, Pantoja and Seja received the $20,000 Wildcat Award of Excellence.
Andromeda Leovara, Trinidad Beamer, Quintero, Vianny Varganon, Mendoza, Esteban Ramirez, Velez and Angela Bastos received the $12,000 Wildcat Award. Jessica Vega, Diana Sanchez Pacheco, Gina Gonzalez, Heidi Tautimez, Fonseca, Pierre de Sarracho, Teliquez and Michel Nunez received the $8,000 Wildcat Award. Stephanie Villera, Vandan Duck and Sasset Aviles received the $3,000 Wildcat Award.
Bojorkes received a $250 Bluechip Leadership Scholarship. Suarez received an AB Miller Scholarship worth $64,000 and a Big Future Scholarship worth $500.
Verdugo received the 12th National Soccer Federation Scholarship worth $500. Renteria received $8,000 as his Scholarship Day scholarship. Terrikes received a James Acomazzo Memorial Scholarship worth $1,000.
Trinidad Beamer was awarded a scholarship worth $1,000 by Horn Ford of Nogales. Muñoz won a Southern Arizona International Livestock Association scholarship worth $800.
Northern Arizona University awarded 55 scholarships to RRHS alumni. Ally Bregon, Alejandro Flores, Amy Contreras, Garcia, Islava, Mendiville, Racine, and Reyes received the $46,000 Lumberjack Scholarship. Rivier Alvarez, Birquette, Seja, de la Rosa, Ezra Hafez, Muñoz, Navarro, Genesis Pacheco, Luis, Ledesma, and Isabella Silva received $36,000 Presidential Tuition Scholarships.
Aiden Roquet, Lourdes Flores, Verdugo, and Garavito received Dean’s Distinguished Tuition Scholarships worth $26,000. Jadel Castro, Francisco Arellano, Esmeralda Arroqui, Viannie Varganon, Angela Bastos, Edgardo Davila, Fonseca, Gina Gonzalez Haro, Michel Nunez, Jesús Nuno, Renteria, Camila Salazar, Alida Semidi, Emmanuel Tapia, Lourdes Vazquez, Fernanda Villegas, Monique Durán, and Tautimez were awarded dean’s tuition scholarships worth $20,000.
Opportunity Tuition Scholarships worth $10,000 go to Maria Armenta, Isaac Acosta, Aviles, Beamer, Javier Castro, Pierre de Saracho, Christine Doyle, Matthew Gonzalez, Elda Isabel Hernandez, and Octavio- It was awarded to Callejo, Itzel Paz, Sánchez Pacheco, Villera and Fiona Solis. .
Arizona State University awarded 20 scholarships. Suárez, Máquillas and Reyes won $64,000 in National Commendation Finalist Awards, and Ruiz $60,076. Lizaraga, Velez, Racine, Islava and Vecerril received his $28,000 as Provost award.
Ledesma received a $20,000 college award, while Muñoz, Durán, Clarke, Vargannon and Cota received $8,000. Tautimez, Pantoja, Garavito, Tapia, and Gonzalez Haro were awarded the $20,000 Dean’s Award.
Grand Canyon University has offered 27 scholarships to 2023 Rio Rico graduates. Suárez, de la Rosa-Villegas, Máquillas, Shukla, Verdugo and Lizaraga received the $28,200 presidential award. Pacheco and Flores received a $24,200 Provost Award. Batu, Clarke, Renteria, Varganon, Tautimez, Viviana Ybarra and Tapia received his $20,200 dean’s award.
Teso, Jardell Castro, Semidey, and Arellano received $16,200 in faculty awards. Antelope Scholarships of $10,200 were awarded to Amber Vazquez, Cota, Isabella Silva, De Saracho, Aroki, Villegas and Marianne Gonzalez. Mr. Aviles received the $6,000 Canyon Award.
The University of New Mexico offered nine scholarships to RRHS students. Axel Covarrubias received a sports scholarship worth $80,000. Seja, Islava, Garcia, and Reyes received $16,000 Hadley Honors Out-of-State Scholarships. In 1888 he received an out-of-state leadership scholarship worth $12,000. Cynthia Castro was offered an $8,000 Crimson out-of-state scholarship.
The University of the Pacific has awarded Octavio Callejo an $80,000 academic scholarship. Adrian University awarded Renteria his $60,000 worth of presidential scholarship. Waynesburg University presented Suarez with the Waynesburg State Award/Hispanic National Award.
Pima Community College awarded Jonathan Bejarano a Meritorious Scholarship and Jorge Trujillo received a full two-year Athletic Scholarship.
Veronica Ramos, Lizbeth Alejo, Flores, Navarro, Tautimez, Catherine Mendes and Brady Johnson were honored as students who completed law enforcement internships.
(From a news release issued by Shannon Enciso of the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District.)
