Solana Beach Civic & Historical Society selects 2021 scholarship winners

Three Torrey Pines High School students from Solana Beach were selected by the Board of Directors of the Solana Beach Civic & Historical Society to receive college scholarships for the 2021-22 school year.

Josselyn Calixto Alavez, Juancarlos (JC) Cigarrero and Maribel Hernandez Condes all demonstrated the determination and resilience to log three-point-plus grade point averages (GPAs) during senior years warped by Covid-19 restrictions. Each applicant was supported by hearty letters of recommendation from school counselors, teachers and others.

“The Historical Society is pleased and proud to support these students as they embark on their college educations,” noted SBC&HS Education Committee Chairperson Pat Coad. “Our selection committee was particularly impressed by the gratitude each awardee indicated for their parents’ hard work and their teachers’ encouragement during the past, very trying, year.

Josselyn Calixto Alavez

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Josselyn Calixto Alavez plans to attend Mira Costa Community College as the first step toward her plan to become an English teacher. “Learning English as a second language was tough. My English teachers never gave up on me,” she wrote in her application essay. Josselyn participated in the Study Buddies program, where high school students help elementary school students with assignments. One family, who recently arrived from South Korea, asked her to help their student adjust to English.

“Although I don’t speak Korean, I tried my best to work with my student and her younger brother up until the pandemic hit and this student will always have a place in my heart,” she said.

Joselyn will be the first in her family to attend college.

Juancarlos (JC) Cigarrero

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Juancarlos (JC) Cigarrero plans to attend San Diego State University to study sociology and business. He played both club and varsity soccer at Torrey Pines, while also holding down a restaurant job, participated in numerous community volunteer events, and coached the Earl Warren Middle School soccer team.

“The coaching experience is a particular favorite of mine because I was able to give back to a team that I was once part of and guide the next generation of players,” he wrote in his application. Juancarlos attributed his drive to “make something meaningful out of myself” to the “selflessness and tenacity my parents exude every day” tackling their service-sector jobs —particularly during the pandemic.

“My life has been impacted by the assistance of many generous individuals and I find a sense of pride in being able to pay it forward as well, especially in the community that raised me,” he said.

Maribel Hernandez Conde

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Maribel Hernandez Conde plans to study political science at California State University San Marcos, on her way to becoming an immigration lawyer. Born in Santa Ana Chiautempan Tlaxcala, Mexico, she understands first-hand the challenges of leaving one country to embrace another. Her parents made the “life changing” decisions to move to Solana Beach in 2006. “We have lived here for fifteen years and have made amazing memories together as a family,” she reported in her application essay. While in high school, Maribel stayed involved with the youth group at Saint James/St. Leo’s Church, volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club — where she once was tutored, and worked as a restaurant hostess. All while maintaining close to a 4.0 GPA.

“I am glad to have grown up in a community that respects others and values helping each other out in times of need,” she said. She, too, will be the first in her family to attend college.