2022 StanCo Scholarship

This is the fifth year that I have presented the StanCo scholarship. It represents one more way that I can give back and promote HS distance running in this county. In past years there has been one recipient of $500, paid for by me. This year I was fortunate to receive a number of donations, over $1000, that could be put toward two additional scholarships--so there will be three $500 recipients this year! I am very excited about that.

The process:
I emailed applications to all of the coaches. I posted notices regarding the scholarship opportunity on Facebook and Instagram. About fifteen athletes requested applications directly from me, and some got applications from their coaches...ultimately I received nine applications by the deadline. 

All of the applications contained the scoring rubric. I read through all of the paperwork and the essays and scored them all using that rubric. Additionally I had another person, an English teacher I work with, read and score the essays. I added up all of the scores. There were 5 applications that were a bit better than the others. I read through those five applications again and made the selections of the three winners.

I want to emphasize that making the selection(s) is extremely difficult, heart wrenching and often involves "splitting hairs." My emotions complicate the process further because I have gotten to know many of the applicants; but I tried very hard to keep all of that out of the final decision, and based it solely of the paperwork that was sent to me.

Although I am posting excerpts from the essays, I want to stress that the essay was only one piece of the puzzle, only a portion of the final scores. However I did want everyone to get a taste of want distance running meant to these nine individuals; how it had changed their lives. A prevailing theme was the dramatic impact of COVID, and how running helped. They are typed as they were sent to me. The prompt was "How distance running has positively influenced my life"

MELISSA BARAJAS. Modesto HS, heading to Chico State, majoring in Health and Exercise Science

(regarding COVID) "...Although the cases kept rising, I kept training, From hiding in bathrooms to avoid workouts as an underclassmen, I actually started to do my mileage for once. Running was the only thing that truly kept me disciplined during this stressful time period. I guess you can say that running took my heart and the occasional runner's high was like a drug for me. This discipline also translated to discipline in my academics. I was always a mediocre student before I started to make some changes in my life. From being a 3.0 student my underclassmen years, I raised my GPA significantly and managed to achieve a 4.0 weighted gpa with rigorous IB classes by the end of my senior year. If I wanted to run, I promised myself I'd do my homework first. I found happiness within myself because I was doing everything I never thought I could do, and I want to thank this sport.. ."

DIEGO CARDENAS, Grace Davis, wants to attend Western Washington, majoring in Literature and Writing Studies

"...It's a great outlet for me to just relax and refocus. There is so much chatter in my brain and distractions that are occurring in my life with my senior year...school work, teachers, friends, parents, tests, and college related decisions. It's all so suffocating, like I can't hear myself think. I try to go on a long run everyday, because I don't see it as a chore, it's more like meditation. Running is something that I can sink into and wrap around myself like a warm blanket. When I am running I'm the only one that exists in the world, no one else...just me, my thoughts, and my feet hitting the ground. When I can't get a run in I'm restless and antsy all day and when it's time to sleep I just can't.. ."

DAMIAN GARCIA, Pitman, headed to Chico State, majoring in Business
"...Without distance running there would be no Damian Garcia, it would simply be damian garcia. I'm not saying this as if I am worth nothing and that I am just a mindless teenager who runs some good races here and there but I am saying that distance running has taught me the values that are so important in life. It has boosted my confidence and it made me feel as if I am worth something because in all honesty, if I had never ran I would walk. I would take life day by day having no purpose within myself. I would be the same 90 pound boy that I once was starting my freshman year of high school with no true passion and I would think life is easy but it's not. Like the hill on a cross country course. it goes up and down in that way I realized that if I can conquer the toughest hills in a cross country course, I can also conquer those obstacles in my life as well.. ."

TORI KELLY, Hughson, headed to MIT, majoring in Math

(during COVID)"...Apathy paralyzed me as I felt that nothing I was doing mattered, nor has ever mattered. I was struck by the scary realization that I could stay in bed for weeks and nobody would notice. / Then my cross country coach began tracking our mileage again. At first embarrassment and guilt were the only motivators strong enough to get me dressed and out of bed each morning. As small as it was, seeing my mileage creep up on the blog was the only thing that made me feel real or seen. I stopped making excuses for my shortcomings and started making myself someone who didn't need excusing. With time running became routine, even cathartic. Two-mile runs became three; three became four. Unexpectedly, what I had previously seen as a meaningless period of my life turned out to be one of my most fulfilling. ...I dared to set goals again. I decided that I wasn't okay with throwing away my junior year.. .

CHARLOTTE LASKA, Pitman, headed to UC Berkeley, majoring in Chemistry

(During COVID) "...I led workouts on Zoom and hosted team building activities...My teammates started looking at me as a role model, which surprised me. The even voted me as their team captain. I gained their respect and trust (which I had never had before) and I wanted to make them proud. I know being a leader carries a lot of responsibility, which can be daunting. But when I made the group chat and started leading warmups, it felt natural...When in-person school returned, I brought my new-found leadership skills into the classroom.. ."

ALONDRA MEZA CAMARILLO, Gustine/Orestimba, headed to Notre Dame, majoring in Political Science and Global Studies

A side note: Alondra goes to Gustine HS (which is not a StanCo school), but Gustine didn't have an XC team so she trained with Orestimba and was essentially part of their team.

 

"...Long distance running allowed me to focus on the aspects of running I love. It's truly a safe haven away from the difficulties life seems to give us. When I run long distances I can feel my worries slip away with each step and breath I take. This irrational passion of mine taught me that fear should only be an indicator that there's room to grow, not stunt it altogether. I learned the best aren't fearless; in fact, fear doesn't ever go away. You just get better at managing it. You get stronger until the space for passion begins to blossom again and all barriers break down.. ."

AND THE THREE WINNERS

EVAN ESPINOZA, Waterford, headed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, majoring in Civil Engineering

"...I've also learned that discomfort is delayed gratification. While sometimes it seems much more appealing to take a day off, I've constantly reminded myself that all the difficulty I go through now will ultimately pay off in the end. Even in races or workouts when it starts to hurt, learning to cope with the unpleasantness has spread into other aspects of my life. Running changed my view of discomfort and helped me realize that hardship is part of the growing process. I have accepted the fact that not everything is going to be easy and comfortable. I now understand that, like running, life can get tough. But stressful times can help us grow. / Running isn't always sunshine and rainbows, and failure is inevitable. There are going to be bad races, bad workouts, and injuries with running. Learning how to push through and grow from experiences is another life lesson running teaches me.. ."

GERARDO RAMIREZ MARTINEZ, Grace Davis, wants to attend Stanislaus State, majoring in Computer Science

"...(previously in other sports) I have had many teammates and coaches who never had faith in me to do anything. I have been told "You suck!" or "Quit the team" multiple times. Sometimes my coaches would flat out ignore me. Words and actions do truly hurt. ...I tried out for Track, which ended out being the best decision I had ever made. My distance running ability was alright, but it flourished. From that point on, I just kept running, never daring to walk, and never daring to look back.  /  Eventually my distance running ability kept getting noticed, recognized, and better. I now have coaches who believe in me, and teammates who love and praise me. What do I do in return? I treat them with the same respect and love. I never brag about my accomplishments and abilities. More importantly, never will I dare bring anyone down or treat them with disrespect like others did to me.

TAYLOR SCHEUBER, Hughson, headed to Cal Poly Pomona, majoring in Civil Engineering

"...I have also learned perseverance as I struggled with injuries. I went from having a successful freshman year to spending most of my sophomore year on a bike or elliptical. When I would compete, my times would be way slower than I was previously. I kept working through the injuries to get back to where I was, only to have the injuries return. This frustration helped build character as I kept pushing forward. I thought that I would never get back to the same speed, but this year I have run more consistently and am now beating my personal records from my freshman year. This determination to fight through and not give up will benefit me in my college studies as well as my career. / Going into High School I had no idea that distance running would have such a positive impact on my life. I have made friends, and learned the importance of leadership, discipline, teamwork, and perseverance.. ."