Education

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.

NEW FOR 2021-22:  Healthcare Career Development Scholarships

Starting in 2021, Gualala Rotary is sponsoring 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 wish to remain 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.

Questions? Contact:

Marty Trieb, MD, at triebmd@gmail.com, or

Ron Miles@ronamiles@aol.com

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?

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 a $50 check 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.

The Radio Station Project

High School students at Point Arena High School will soon learn how to run a radio station. They will attend classes for credit and then do hands-on work in the new school radio station. Those who wish can become a Certified Radio Operator, part of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Our team consists of Gualala Rotarians, teachers, and students, with consultant Blake More and the support of Superintendent Warren Galletti. (Photos below, including Jim DeWilder for Gualala Rotary. In Fall 2021, we will visit other high school radio stations, buy the parts, and assemble a test station at PAHS. Teachers will develop and test the curriculum, and the “Pirate Radio” station will be up and running in fall 2022.

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.