Cole Savidan will be pursuing his dream of becoming an anesthesiologist and is thankful for receiving a scholarship today from the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Auxiliary during an awards luncheon at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum in Santa Ynez. Savidan and five other students from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School were awarded scholarships.
“I plan on going to nursing school and helping people, that’s what I always wanted to do,” said Jasmin Ortiz, another recipient.
Each year, the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital (SYVCH) Auxiliary offers scholarships to area high school graduates or continuing college students pursuing a career in a medical or health-related field. This year, the Auxiliary named six recipients who each received $3,000 for a grand total of $18,000.
“The selection committee did an amazing job of supporting our local youth and hopefully they will complete their schooling and come back to the valley to help our community. We have had several past recipients come back which is amazing,” said Wende Cappetta, vice president of SYVCH.
The 2016 SYVCH Auxiliary scholarship selection committee consists of Co-Chairs Judy Duffy and JoAnn Taylor and members Barbara Davidge, Kathy Erb, Sharon Lewis and Reyna Pass.
Jacob Alderete of Solvang; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. He plans to major in Chemistry Pre-Med at University of California Los Angeles. Jacob enjoys music, athletics and volunteering in the community.
Timothy Gauthier of Solvang; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. He plans to major in Kinesiology at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington with the goal of being an athletic trainer. Timothy enjoys athletics and learned valuable life lessons volunteering with Special Olympics.
Cecilia Guerrero of Santa Ynez; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. She will major in Nursing at California State University San Jose. Cecilia enjoys volunteering on Friday in the SYVCH Emergency Department.
Jasmin Ortiz of Buellton; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. She will be a Nursing Major at California State University Channel Islands. Jasmin has participated in many school activities and credits her Sports Medicine course at SYVUHS for preparing her for a career in nursing.
Ghiwa Samaan of Buellton; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. She will major in Health Science at University of California Riverside and would like to be a Physician’s Assistant. Ghiwa says moving here from another country has taught her to be a mature and responsible young woman.
Cole Savidan of Buellton; senior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. He plans to major in Biology at University of California Irvine and would like to be an anesthesiologist. Cole has achieved much success while participating in sports and extracurricular activities.
Founded in 1962, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital (SYVCH) Auxiliary is an all-volunteer organization providing more than 18,500 service hours annually to the hospital. Members sponsor and participate in numerous fundraising events supporting the hospital’s mission. The Auxiliary also operates the New to You Thrift Shop at 1689 Oak Street in Solvang (founded in 1963) with all funds raised at the shop supporting the hospital. For more information, call 805-688-6431 or visit www.cottagehealth.org/syvch.
