LOWER LAKE – Marilou Montanez of Middletown, a Lower Lake High School senior, is one of only eight graduates in the state this year to receive a California Wine Grape Growers Foundation (CWGGF) scholarship.
She is one of four students chosen to receive four-year, $4,000 annual scholarships, the foundation recently announced. The foundation provides the awards to children of vineyard employees.
Presenting the prize to Montanez during Lower Lake High School’s Senior Awards Night, Lake County Winegrape Commission Executive Director Shannon Gunier represented the state foundation.
Making the presentation, Gunier said that those in the wine marketing business do not forget the people who are the “backbone” of the wine industry, “the vineyard workers and partners who grow our premium grapes.”
Gunier said it was an honor to award “such a hardworking student from hardworking parents.” Montanez’s father is a foreman with Ballard Vineyards, St. Helena.
Two other Lake County seniors are recipients of scholarships from CWGGF, according to a news release from the Foundation. They are Nicholas Reed of Hidden Valley Lake, who was also selected for a four-year award, and Kaitlyn Goff of Kelseyville, a winner of a two-year $1,000 annual scholarship.
The California Wine Grape Growers Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that was “established to conduct public education programs, fund scholarships, and support research related to the California wine and winegrape industry.”
According to information on the CWGGF Web site, award selection is “based upon financial need, demonstrated scholastic ability, community involvement and leadership and/or work history, and (the student’s) determination to succeed.”
Montanez stated in her application to CWGGF that she plans to attend Sonoma State University to work toward a psychology degree. She said she hopes to work with children and their families.
The 2009 graduate was a member of Lower Lake High School’s Academic Decathlon team, earning silver medals in the Superquiz and for her interview. She was a two-year member of SERVE Academy and was honored with a plaque for her overall academic achievement. Other honors have included a “Faculty Award,” “Outstanding Science Student,” perfect attendance, and “Student of the Month” awards.
In addition, she was a member of Student Council and was involved in several school clubs, volunteered at Konocti Kids Day, worked as a summer school teacher’s assistant and as an after-school tutor, and participated in “Toys for Tots” and canned food drives.
In an essay required as part of the scholarship application, Montanez said receiving the award “would be such an honor to my family and myself” because it would help her fulfill her dream of going on to college following graduation. She said her parents “assured I will be better educated and that if I keep going to school and do as good as I have been, I could even earn a doctorate degree in the future.”
Additional information about the CWGGF’s scholarship winners, visit the foundation’s Web site at www.cwggf.org .
For information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission, see its Web site at www.lakecountywinegrape.org .
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