Academic Awards Night

Top, SIRV award recipients Kayla Delk, Isabella Saldana, Melissa Mandujano Rojas, Daniela Arias, Sophia Saldana, Maia Stone and Marjorie Forbes. Bottom left, co-valedictorians Daniela Arias and Fabrizio Lazo Gutierrez. Bottom center, guest speaker Andrea Villasenor. Bottom right, top ten seniors.

Soroptimist International of Rio Vista sponsored an inspiring evening May 18, 2022 for Rio Vista High School, recognizing student academic achievement and honoring their scholarship award winners. Soroptimist originated the event several years ago when they realized that an Athletic Awards banquet existed recognizing student athletes but no such recognition existed for student academics.

The club awarded $16,500 in scholarships to seven amazing young women. These scholarships are the clubs signature project, supporting the Soroptimist mission, “A global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment.” During the past two years, all non-profits have struggled with fundraising and the local club is no different. Despite herculean efforts, fundraising fell short of the club goal, yet the members were so passionate about this effort that they voted to dip into reserve funds to support this year’s deserving graduates.

Soroptimist scholarships, recognizing both academic achievement and community service, were presented to Kayla Delk for $3,000, Isabella Saldana for $3,000, Melissa Mandujano Rojas for $2,000, Daniela Arias for $2,000, and Sophia Saldana for $1,500. Scholarships for $2,500 honoring past Soroptimists Florence Inouye and Barbara Rodriguez were awarded to Maia Stone and Marjorie Forbes.

Guest speaker Andrea Villasenor was the featured speaker. She is a recent graduate from RVHS, now a senior at Cal Lutheran University, majoring in business administration with a focus on finance. Among other points, Villasenor spoke about the importance of networking to achieve one’s goals.

Among the awards presented were honors, high honors and highest honors to students in all four classes for their excellent academic performance during the school year. Academic letters were presented to the juniors with the highest cumulative grade point averages. In addition, students were recognized for achievements in Career Technology, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), Academic All-League and State Seal of Biliteracy.

The Top Ten Seniors announced were Fabrizio Lazo Gutierrez, Daniela Arias, Kayla Delk, Sam Esperson, Isabella Saldana, Melissa Torres Camacho, William Lindsay, McKenna Pratt, Sophia Saldana, Melissa Mandujano Rojas, Sumain Chiv, Meraiah Groves, Donald Roos Jr, Greta Dole, Marjorie Forbes, Maia Stone and Grant Baldwin. The Co-Valedictorians announced were Fabrizio Lazo Gutierrez and Daniela Arias and Co-Salutatorians are Kayla Delk, Sam Esperson, Isabella Saldana, Melissa Torres Camacho and William Lindsay.