Rio Rico High School seniors were recognized for their achievements and awarded scholarships on Wednesday, May 3rd at the Golden Hawks Awards ceremony. They received $109,450 in local scholarships and over $4.2 million in scholarships from colleges and universities.
The ceremony began with recognition of the students whose GPA ranked in the top 5% of RRHS seniors. The Friends of SCVUSD issued $750 to the following students: Ilian Islava (valedictorian), Kazandra Navarro (salutatorian), Ivanna Garcia, Atticus Birkett, Sabrina Ceja, Ishaya Shukla, Edward Racine, Lluvia Suarez, Alexa Lizarraga, Andrea Verdugo, Aniella Ruiz, Miren Miranda, David Reyes, Dior Velez, Andrea Hernandez Pina, Amy Contreras, Karla Figureroa Valdez, and Airyle McIlrath.
Both the Tubac Rotary and Rio Rico Rotary awarded generous scholarships to high achieving students. The Tubac Rotary awarded $750 to Tamera Pantoja and Garcia and $1,500 to Islava, Martin Battu, Racine, Reyes, Navarro, and Jazmin Lopez.
The Rio Rico Rotary awarded $1,500 to Verdugo, Velez, and Shukla. Lourdes Sarmiento was chosen as the Comeback Kid by both clubs and received $1,000 from the Tubac Rotary and $500 from the Rio Rico Rotary.
Alexa Monique Gonzales Scholarships issued a $3,000 scholarship to Velez. Shukla, Reyes, and Battu received $2,500 scholarships from South32. Navarro, Ariana Montes De Oca, and Viridiana Terriquez received $2,500 each from The Women at Quail Creek.
Asociation de Maquiladoras de Nogales awarded $500 to Uriel Quintero and $700 each to Ceja, Hernandez Pina, Islava, Navarro, Racine, Shukla, and Velez. Erick Ramirez and Sophia Renteria received $200 each from Tubac Fire. Real Wishes Santa Cruz County REALTORS® issued $500 to Shukla and $1,000 each to Pantoja and Terriquez.
Jando Meza Rio Rico Alumni Association awarded $1,500 to Sheila Mendivil; $1,000 to Racine, Danitza Mendoza, Navarro, Jesse Octavio-Callejo, Kassandra Perez, Sophia Teso, and Velez; $750 to Alejandro Flores, Jonathan Bejarano, and Shukla; and $500 to Renteria.
Mendivil and Ceja received $500 each from It Takes a Big Heart. Velez and Garcia received $500 each from Bazua Builders LLC.
Sinclair Trust Scholarship awarded $1,000 each to Terriquez and Teso. Marco Villareal received $1,000 from Santa Cruz Community Foundation Scholarship. Jesus Cordova Scholarship Foundation issued a $1,000 scholarship to Ceja.
Velez garnered $1,000 from the Nogales Women’s Club. Lizarraga and Velez received $10,000 each from Mariposa Community Health Center. Unisource awarded $750 to Velez, Islava, Marlene Ozuna, and Racine.
Atticus Birkett received a Andrea Ferrell Memorial Scholarship of $2,500. Carlos Encinas Jr. and Renteria each received Nogales Firefighter Local 2763 scholarships of $1,000. Velez received $1,000 from Rich River Athletics. David A. Alvarez and Cindy V. Munoz Lopez received Romero-Cerezo Excellence Scholarships of $600 each.
Hernandez Pina and Reyes received $1,000 SCV #35 Hall of Fame Awards. Sergio Cota and Paulina Fontes received $100 Tubac Mid-Hi Art Show Scholarships. Santa Cruz County Cowbelles awarded $1,500 each to Hannah Munoz, Lopez, and Terriquez. Munoz also garnered the Santa Cruz County Fair Livestock Committee Scholarship of $1,000.
The following students were recognized for outstanding academic achievement: Fine Arts, Alfredo Haro; English, Birkett; Alternative Pathways, Ana Martinez Cordoba; Science, Hernandez Piña; Social Studies, Navarro; Math, Miranda; PE, Teso; Helpful Hawk, Rafael Vasquez; Foreign Language, Erick Ramirez; CTE, Cindy Munoz; Counseling, Isaac Acosta.
The Principal’s Award went to Islava, the Assistant Principal’s Awards went to Moises Fonseca and Miguel Ibarra, the S.O.A.R award went to Daniel Ramos, and the Outstanding Student Athlete Award went to Octavio-Callejo. Each received $100 awards from Artistry in Glass.
Many students received scholarships from colleges and universities. The University of Arizona issued 49 scholarships.
Anamaria Mohinea received the J.R. Cullison Scholarship Award worth $80,000. Birkett received the National Rural Small Town Scholar award, and Aniella Ruiz, McIlrath, Suarez, Miranda, Sarmiento, and Reyes received National Hispanic Scholar Awards, all worth $72,000. Ivan Becerril received a Wildcat Distinction Award of $50,000. Battu received the Global Wildcat Award of $44,000. Islava and Hernandez-Pina received Wildcat Distinction awards of $40,000. Carlos Encinas received the Arizona Recognition Award of $30,000.
Mendivil, Garcia, Racine, Shukla, and Lopez each received Wildcat Excellence Awards of $32,000, and Ayadec De La Cruz, Raquel Garavito, Alfonso Gavino, Hannah Munoz, Gamaliel De La Rosa Villegas, Paulette Ledezma, Karima Hafez, Navarro, Sofia Bojorquez, Pantoja, and Ceja received Wildcat Excellence Awards of $20,000.
Andromeda Leovara, Trinidad Beemer, Quintero, Vianney Balganon, Mendoza, Esteban Ramirez, Velez, and Angela Bustos received Wildcat Recognition Awards of $12,000; Jessica Vega, Diana Sanchez Pacheco, Gina Gonzles, Heidi Tautimez, Fonseca, Pier De Saracho, Terriquez, and Michelle Nunez received Wildcat Recognition Awards of $8,000; and Stephanie Villela, Vandan Ahir, and Susset Aviles received Wildcat Recognition Awards of $3,000.
Bojorquez received the Bluechip Leadership Scholarship of $250. Suarez received the A.B. Miller Scholarship worth $64,000 and the Big Future Scholarship worth $500.
Verdugo received the National Football Federation 12th Man Scholarship worth $500. Renteria received the Scholarship Day Scholarship of $8,000. Terriquez received the James Accomazzo Memorial Scholarship worth $1,000. Trinidad Beemer was awarded the Ford Trucks - Built Ford Tough Dealer Scholarship Horne Ford of Nogales scholarship worth $1,000. Munoz earned the Southern Arizona International Livestock Association scholarship worth $800.
Northern Arizona University awarded 55 scholarships. Aly Bregon, Alejandro Flores, Amy Contreras, Garcia, Islava, Mendivil, Racine, and Reyes received the Lumberjack Scholarship of $46,000. Lyvier Alvarez, Birkett, Ceja, De La Rosa, Ezra Hafez, Munoz, Navarro, Genesis Pacheco, Ruiz, Ledezma, and Isabella Silva received the President’s Tuition Scholarship of $36,000.
Aiden Roquet, Lourdes Flores, Verdugo, and Garavito received the Dean’s with Distinction Tuition Scholarship worth $26,000. Jardell Castro, Francisco Arellano, Esmeralda Arochi, Vianney Balganon, Angela Bustos, Edgardo Davilla, Fonseca, Gina Gonzales Haro, Michelle Nunez, Jesus Nuno, Renteria, Camila Salazar, Alida Semidey, Emmanuel Tapia, Lourdes Vasquez, Fernanda Villegas, Monique Duran, and Tautimez were awarded the Dean’s Tuition Scholarship worth $20,000.
The Opportunity Tuition Scholarship worth $10,000 was awarded to Maria Armenta, Isaac Acosta, Aviles, Beemer, Javier Castro, Pier De Saracho, Christine Doyle, Matthew Gonzales, Elda Isabel Hernandez, Octavio-Callejo, Itzel Paz, Sanchez Pacheco, Villela, and Fiona Solis.
Grand Canyon University awarded 27 scholarships. Suarez, De La Rosa Villegas, McIlrath, Shukla, Verdugo, and Lizarraga received the President award of $28,200. Pacheco and Flores received the Provost award of $24,200. Battu, Clark, Renteria, Balganon, Tautimez, Viviana Ibarra, and Tapia received the Dean’s award of $20,200.
Teso, Jardell Castro, Semidey, and Arellano received the Faculty award of $16,200. The Antelope scholarship of $10,200 was awarded to Ambar Vasquez, Cota, Isabella Silva, De Saracho, Arochi, Villegas, and Marianne Gonzales. Aviles received the Canyon award of $6,000.
Arizona State University awarded 20 scholarships. Suarez, McIlrath, and Reyes received the National Recognition Finalist awards of $64,000 and Ruiz received an award of $60,076. Lizarraga, Velez, Racine, Islava, and Becerril received the Provost award of $28,000.
Ledezma received a University award of $20,000, and Munoz, Duran, Clark, Balganon, and Cota received $8,000. Tautimez, Pantoja, Garavito, Tapia, and Gonzalez Haro received the Dean’s award of $20,000.
New Mexico University awarded nine scholarships. Axel Covarrubias received the Athletic scholarship worth $80,000. Ceja, Islava, Garcia, and Reyes received Hadley Honors Out-of-State scholarships of $16,000. Garavito, Ledezma, and Mendoza received the 1888 Leadership Out-of-State scholarship worth $12,000. Cynthia Castro received the Crimson Out-of-State scholarship of $8,000.
Pacific University awarded the Academic scholarship of $80,000 to Octavio-Callejo. Adrian College awarded the Presidential scholarship of $60,000 to Renteria. Waynesburg University awarded the Waynesburg State Award *National Hispanic Recognition to Suarez.
Pima Community College awarded a Merit Scholarship to Johnathan Bejarano, and Jorge Trujillo received an Athletic scholarship for two full years.
The following students were recognized for completing Law Enforcement Internships: Veronika Ramos, Lizbeth Alejo, Flores, Navarro, Tautimez, Catherine Mendez, and Brady Johnson.