ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Nearly 200 Elk Grove Unified School District students got a boost to their collegiate goals on May 2, with funds from the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation (EGRSF).

The foundation held its annual Spotlight on Scholarships dinner at Creekside Christian Church, where students, families and scholarship sponsors filled the event space. Over dinner provided by district food services, scholarship recipients could meet the donors who funded their scholarships, which ranged from $1,000 up to $15,000.

Merrilee Lewis Engel, a foundation board member and former president of Cosumnes River College, spoke of the “gladness” she has emceeing the awards dinner each year.

“I’ve been an educator for over 60 years, so to see this happen is just wonderful. And I’ve been doing this job; I think it’s 26 years, so I’ve seen a lot of students,” Engel said. 

Engel advised the students to take 15 units every semester to ensure that they graduate college on time.

Throughout the night, Engel and Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Hume took turns reading out the names of the 199 students who received a total of nearly $340,000 in scholarships.

Elk Grove Unified School District Superintendent Christopher Hoffman voiced his pride in the scholarship recipients. He urged the students to be kind and thankful to their parents and guardians during the transition from high school to college.

“You’re here, and your success is a result of the work and support that your parents have done, and they’re crazy proud of you and they’re crazy nervous right now but it’s going to be a great experience,” Hoffman said.

Hume announced the appointment of Lisa Troshinsky-Fox as the foundation’s full-time executive director. Until this point, Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation has been an all-volunteer organization.

Troshinsky-Fox said she has admired the Elk Grove community for a long time, particularly its education system. She said the foundation has “grown way beyond what anybody could have predicted.”

“Joining Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation is an honor and a wonderful opportunity to guide the organization in ways that will sustain the incredible work that’s been done while helping create a pathway for new opportunities, so we can thrive, grow, and meet the ever-growing demands to support our students in this exploding region,” Troshinsky-Fox said.

At the end of the night, five scholarship recipients were selected in a drawing to get an additional $500. The winners were Natalie Olson, Pleasant Grove High School; Amyann Evans, Cottonwood School; Allie Dariano, Laguna Creek High School; Hannah Ngo, Pleasant Grove High School; and Nia Cobb, William Daylor High School.