| CURRENT WEATHER: Clear, 55° |
|
|
|
||
|
||||
|
May 27, 2005
Shoshone's McKenzie earns 49ers' scholarship
By ROBIN FLINCHUM That's why in 1976 the Death Valley 49ers, a non-profit friends group associated with Death Valley National Park, created a college scholarship fund for local high school seniors. This year, 17-year-old Yasmin McKenzie of Shoshone steps up to become the 2005 beneficiary of its careful planning and foresight. As a graduating senior at the Death Valley Academy high school in Shoshone, McKenzie's educational future will be challenging. According to the State of California's Office of Postsecondary Education, only 35 percent of Inyo County high school students go on to attend college. In the Death Valley region, this is complicated by a scarcity of postsecondary options. For McKenzie, the closest college, Community College of Southern Nevada's Pahrump Learning Center, is 35 miles across a state line that is a satellite campus that only offers the bare minimum of general education courses. Other local options include the Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, some four hours away, or the Barstow Community College, two hours away. However, with the 49er scholarship in hand, McKenzie's horizons have been broadened. The scholarship provides $2,400 per year to the recipient during the four years of her education, assuming she maintains an acceptable grade point average and a full course load. For McKenzie, this will make it a little easier to pursue her favored option - a move to Riverside, Calif., where she can live with an aunt while attending Riverside Community College. Later, McKenzie said she hopes to transfer to the University of California at Riverside, or the UCLA to complete her studies. Psychology and biology are her fields of interest, she said, and she has her eye on a career in social work. "I'd like to help people," McKenzie said, adding that she hopes the scholarship "will give me the opportunity to make something of myself." McKenzie and her mother moved to Shoshone from Pahrump two years ago, when Darrin McKenzie began working for the Shoshone Development Company at the Charles Brown General Store. Through a special Inyo County work study program, Yasmin found work at the beginning of her senior year, spending weekday afternoons greeting customers at the Shoshone Museum and Death Valley Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, and weekends at J&R's Crowbar Café, where she was noted for her ability to memorize several complicated lunch orders without writing them down. Louellen Monte, McKenzie's supervisor at the chamber, said she's pleased to hear McKenzie had been chosen for the scholarship. "She's very bright," Monte said. "Working here, she's proven that she can work hard and I think she can become whatever she chooses to be." McKenzie is the first student from Shoshone to receive this award. Most past recipients have attended Beatty High School, said 49er Scholarship Committee Chairwoman Nan Gering. The 49er scholarship was originally established to assist local American Indian students in seeking college educations, but has been expanded over time to include all high school graduates in the Death Valley Unified School District who have resided in the area for at least two years. The committee usually only receives two or three applications per year because the number of qualifying students is small, Gering said. The total number of students attending the Death Valley Academy this year, for instance, is 55, with only 10 students in the senior class. Many of those students actually live in Pahrump, making them ineligible. But while the number of students is small, the need is great. A total of 34 scholarships have been awarded through the 49er scholarship fund since 1976, with funds raised through the annual 49er encampment in Death Valley National Park in November, as well as specially designated scholarship donations. While the 49ers support a variety of educational activities within Death Valley National Park, the scholarship fund is a special source of pride to the organization, Gering said, and one its members take seriously. "The committee meets six times per year and we are working hard to put together an endowment fund to make the scholarship program self sufficient," she said. The success rate of their scholarship recipients is high, Gering said. Although she did not have specific figures, she estimated that more than 50 percent of recipients went on to finish a four-year degree. A member of the scholarship committee stays in close touch with the recipient, Gering said, and the committee will even pay extra money for special tutoring if a student begins to fall behind but demonstrates a determination to succeed. As the costs of education increase, however, the 49ers are struggling to keep up with the needs of local students. "We'd like to increase the amount of the award," Gering said. "Although $9,600 [the total amount of the award] is a healthy sum, we know that alone isn't enough to cover the student's expenses." Financial need is one aspect of a student's qualification for the scholarship, but it is only one of many things the committee considers in its decision. McKenzie was also chosen on the basis of her participation in school and community activities, and her enthusiasm and hard work. "She just sparkles," Gering said of McKenzie. "We were impressed by her determination to go to college and one of the things that came up consistently in her letters of recommendation was her amiability. That just bubbled over for us during the interviews." The committee was also impressed, Gering said, by the fact that McKenzie had received a special award of recognition from California 25th District Congressman Buck McKeon for her school achievements. For her part, McKenzie said she was grateful to the Death Valley 49ers for the opportunity this scholarship provides. "I thank them very much," McKenzie said, adding that she hopes they will be proud of their investment. "Maybe I'll even become a famous person some day." McKenzie's launch into her future, otherwise known as the Death Valley Academy high school graduation ceremony, takes place Wednesday, in the school gymnasium at Shoshone. For more information about the Death Valley 49er Scholarship Fund and how to make contributions, contact Nan Gering at (760) 876-2426. Or visit the Death Valley 49ers Web site: www.deathvalley49ers.org. |
