Recent De Anza High graduate Khiari Neal not only performed well enough at school to get into UCLA, she found time to help advocate for the implementation of ethnic studies programs at his school, was active in school mock trials, was the senior class secretary and an Early Academic Outreach Program Ambassador.
El Cerrito High’s Charlotte Waterson, bound for UC San Diego next fall, was just as impressive, having excelled in school while assisting seniors from the El Cerrito Senior Center with computer technology and also working in a program benefiting special needs individuals.
These are reasons the two impressive grads were chosen out of 74 applicants to receive $1,000 college scholarships from the Richmond Public Library last week.
On Tuesday, June 18, Teen Services Librarian Angela Cox presented the annual Scholarships Are Terrific! (SAT) awards at the Richmond Pubic Library. The award is available to graduating seniors who attended public or charter schools in West Contra Costa County. All applicants must be accepted to a four-year college, write an essay on an assigned topic, and describe their community activities.
“The scholarship is a component of the Richmond Library Teens’ SAT Preparation Workshop, that has been offered to West Contra Costa students for 23 years,” the library stated.
Waterson intends to use the scholarship money in pursuit of a major in International Studies and Sociology, while Neal aims to double major in Political Science and African American Studies, with the ultimate goal to become a criminal defense attorney.
