Support for Local Education
Gualala Rotary supports scholarships for all kinds of learners in our local community, from academic achievers in grades 6-12, to high school seniors bound for college or for vocational education, to those already in the workplace who wish to take the next educational step in their profession.
Healthcare Career Development Scholarships
Starting in 2021, Gualala Rotary began a career development scholarship program for local residents who are already active in providing health care services through their work at RCMS, CLSD, and fire departments and who will remain in our local community. Eligible recipients can be aiming for an advanced degree, new license, or certification (but not re-certification) as required by their employer.
In February 2022, Gualala Rotary awarded three health care scholarships to: Samantha Allen, Celeste Carbajal, and Micheline White.
Samantha Allen is a certified medical assistant at RCMS, currently studying for the RN degree. She wrote: “I have many proud moments working at RCMS but my best moments are the ones where I’m able to offer some light on a situation and help save someone’s life. ”
Celeste Carbajal is a COVID-19 screener and vaccine administrator at RCMS. She plans to attend a phlebotomy program through the Mendocino County Office of Education. At the same time, she is completing the prerequisites for the RN program through Mendocino College.
Micheline White is the former director for Coastal Seniors and now has the same role for the Mendonoma Health Alliance. She will enroll at USC in a healthcare administration program that focuses on healthcare in rural communities.
To apply for a Gualala Rotary Healthcare Career Development Scholarship, fill out the application form below. To donate funds to support the program, contact Rotarians:
Marty Trieb, MD, at triebmd@gmail.com,
or Ron Miles at ronamiles@aol.com
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APPLICATION FORM: To apply, fill out the form below.
NOTE: This form is NOT interactive due to site security.
1. Copy and paste the fields into a text editor, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
2. Fill out each field. You may write as much as you would like.
3. Save your file.
4. Send your file as an email attachment to either Marty Trieb at triebmd@gmail.com or to Ron Miles at ronamiles@aol.com.
Or, you may fill out the form by hand or put it in a typewriter, and mail it to Gualala Rotary Club, P.O. Box 1166, Gualala, CA 95445.
| Date: |
| Name: |
| Email: |
| Phone: |
| Address: |
| City: |
| Current Occupation: |
| Current Employer: |
| Length of time with this employer: |
| Current Certification: |
| Experience in health care: |
| What program are you applying for? |
| Expected costs of your program: |
| 1. Tuition and fees |
| 2. Room and Board |
| 3. Books |
| Other (specify) |
| What is your commitment to remain in our local community? |
| Where do you see yourself in 5 years? |
RADIO PROJECT for PT. ARENA HIGH SCHOOL
Gualala Rotary, with support from District Rotary, is building a radio broadcast room and curriculum for Pt. Arena High School. Students will attend classes for credit and then do hands-on work in the new radio station. Those who wish can study to bcome a Certified Radio operator, part of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
The project began in September 2021. Equipment power-up date is the end of March. The teacher has been chosen and lesson plans almost complete; launch date to the students is September 2022.
How to launch a radio station:
First, find a building on the Pt. Arena High School campus. Then, open the door, and –surprise! Quite a lot to clean out, toss out, and clean up.
But Jim DeWilder and Cindy Cione, our co-leaders, rounded up Gualala Rotary Club members and made it happen.
Special thanks to local technical consultant Blake More, to the Mendocino High School Radio Project for their generous advice, and to Superintendant Warren Galletti, who found a place for all that stuff!
2020 High School Scholarship winners:
Dylan Freebairn-Smith, Leroy Gustafson
Student Achievement Awards Program.
Each year Gualala Rotary honors more than 30 outstanding student-scholars from our local schools in grades 6-12 for their academic achievement. Selected by their teachers, the students gather at the Community Center with their parents, school administrators, and Rotarians for a special luncheon in their honor. Each student receives $50 in recognition of his or her achievement.
Although the program was suspended in 2021 due to the coronavirus, it will resume in 2022.
2020 Achievers
Due to the coronavirus, awards in 2020 were given out by mail.
Point Arena Joint Union High School
12th Grade: Dylan Freebairn-Smith, Loden Haught, Jason Belleza
11th Grade: Sadie Hanson, August Riehl, Chanille Malik
10th Grade: Caitlin Huse, Josue Sanchez, Yazmin Carbajal
9th Grade: Sean Freebairn-Smith, Nayeli Orozco, Ava Sexton
PCC High School
12th Grade: Logan Duggan
9th Grade: Brenda Walsh
South Coast Continuation School
12th Grade: Christi L. Cobarrubia
Kashia
7th Grade: Ku’ulani Makaiwi
Arena Union Elementary
8th Grade: Kyle Caughey, Sidney Regelbrugge
7th Grade: Roselyn Aguilar Villagomez and Leonor Olalde Bernal
6th Grade: Alexa Ferreyra, Giana Blackburn
Horicon
8th Grade: Ethan Miller
7th Grade: Fathom Williamson
6th Grade: Jean Carlo Bolanos, Nayeli Zamora
Pacific Community Charter K-8
8th Grade: Oliana Marzoratti
7th Grade: Elijah Garcia
6th Grade: Jesenia Rodriguez
Manchester Elementary
8th Grade: Madison Mertens
7th Grade: Belen Vazquez
6th Grade: Joaquin Faiella
The Mobile Hot-Spot Project
On March 17, 2020, due to COVID-19, Point Arena Schools had to close their campuses to on-site instruction. The Schools implemented Distance Learning on-line. But, it soon became glaringly apparent that not all households had access to the internet. Thus, some students were not able to participate virtually with their instructors and classmates.
Two Rotarians, Jim DeWilder and Ron Miles, who were trustees on the school board at that time, came up with a plan. Gualala Rotary and the Schools would purchase and install “hot spots” for buses to be parked in remote areas where students could readily access and connect to Wi-Fi.
Together with fellow Rotarians, Ron and Jim were able to secure a grant to purchase these Wi-Fi “hot spots.” School employees Howard Cole, Sherri Baker and Armando Ramirez installed them in two school buses and one van. Depending on topography, connections can be made at distances up to 300 feet away from the buses and van.
When students are again allowed to safely attend classes on campus, the Wi-Fi equipped buses and van will benefit students on long bus/van rides to/from school, on field trips, or traveling for school sporting events.
Past Projects:
8the Graders Visit Sonoma State
In 2018 Gualala Rotary, in a project spearheaded by Annan Paterson, took local 8th graders to Sonoma State University. For many, this was their first trip to a college campus.
The Dictionary Project
In past years, Gualala Rotary helps build literacy in our elementary schools by providing dictionaries to all third graders. In conjunction with Rotary International, we give grade-appropriate dictionaries to third graders from six local schools– Manchester, Pt. Arena, Charter, Horicon, Kashia, and Ft. Ross. For some kids, this is their first “real” book they have received as a gift. Students can take their dictionary home, a key benefit for students who do not have internet access after school. Since 2001, Gualala Rotary has distributed about 750 dictionaries. Nationally and internationally, Rotary has distributed more than 30 million of the school dictionaries since 1995.
Other Past Projects
We’ve sponsored Career Day with Gualala Rotarians, and funded the motivational movie “Spare Parts” for grades 10-12. This movie, from 2015, is based on the Wired magazine article “La Vida Robot” by Joshua Davis, It’s the true story of a group of students from an underfunded, mainly Latino public high school, who won the first place in the 2004 Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition sponsored by NASA, on a budget of $800 plus “spare parts” from local merchants. (They bested students, with a team budget of $10,000, from a world-class, private engineering school.) Hopefully, all of our local students will aim as high as these kids.
Gualala Rotary has also provided a PC and publishing software to produce school newspapers, and a ramp at Point Arena High School for those with limited mobility. For several years, we sponsored a poetry contest for all grades.
Gualala Rotary Club 