Senior Awards Night

Julissa Villalobos, Photo Editor
June 1, 2016

senior awards 1
Jazlyn Contreras
After being nominated for the 2016 Senior Awards, Julie-Anne Angulo, 12, was one of the seniors called up for interviews that discussed scholarships in the Local Scholarship Program. “Most of them asked me things like ‘Tell me about yourself,’ and I was kind of thrown off because I didn’t know how to respond to that,” Angulo said. “I guess after that, our conversation was a more friendlier conversation because now we were talking.”

Four years of hard work are slowly coming to a bittersweet close for 165 students whose work paid off, on Thursday, May 19, at 6 PM, at the Downey Civic Theatre, as they received scholarships that will help fund their fast approaching futures.

“All the scholarships are through our local community,” Campos said, “which are our businesses and community, professional, [and] educational groups through out Downey.”

Mrs. Campos is one of the biggest helping hands in the planning and execution of the local scholarship program at Downey High. She works to match students’ criteria to the scholarships. It’s a long 10-month process that ends in June with a Senior Awards Night, where seniors get to receive their scholarship.

“They called me up for two interviews for the Sussman scholarship and a Kiwanis scholarship,” Julie Anne Angulo, 12, said. “It was more of a conversation than a general interview and asked me about my general plan for college and we went from there.”
Some seniors got called up for interviews and some did not. Only one third of the scholarships involved in the Local Scholarship program conducted interviews. Resumes and personal statements were enough to judge some seniors for their scholarship.

Some seniors got called up for interviews and some did not. Only one third of the scholarships involved in the Local Scholarship program conducted interviews. Resumes and personal statements were enough to judge some seniors for their scholarship.

“I didn’t get interviewed for any scholarships; a lot of the scholarships I applied for just asked for essays and stuff,” Daniel Pena, 12, said. “The fact that I got invited made me a little nervous to see what I won.”

Seniors were left in the dark about what scholarship, or scholarships, they received until the night of the awards ceremony. 165 students sat on stage eager to see what and how much they received. A total of $400,000 was given away that night, but no matter the amount, the scholarships were graciously accepted. Seniors send their regards to the local businesses and the administrators that worked to make this opportunity possible.