Since the program’s inception in 2005, the Disneyland Resort has granted more than $425,000 in scholarships to graduating Orange County high school seniors. For the 2012-2013 school year, we are pleased to announce that 10 students received a $7,500 scholarship as part of the Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program.
The Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program underscores our dedication to and legacy of volunteerism and community support, while furthering opportunities for students to attend college or a professional trade school. Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in volunteerism, exceptional leadership within their communities and academic merit.
2013 Disneyland Resort Scholarship Recipients
Alicia Frausto
Katella High School, Anaheim
Los Niños de la Calle con Wendy Foundation
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 683
- Community Services Highlight: Spends every Sunday afternoon for the last three years at Boysen Park feeding the homeless.
- “In my opinion, the city’s homeless are my friends. On their hands I see scars, in their faces I see desperation, and from their voices I hear stories of struggles, but when I hand them that plate of food, I see hope in their eyes.”
Carlos Castellanos
Katella High School, Anaheim
Discovery Science Center of OC
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 315
- Community Service Highlight: Started the Puente Club at his high school, where any student can come in and learn about what is necessary to get to college and also provide visits to colleges.
- “I volunteer because I believe it can have a profound impact in someone’s life and also because I want to change the community I live in for the better. I enjoy [it] because seeing the smile or satisfaction someone feels because of something I did for them is worth more to me than anything else.”
Gabrielle Gregory
El Toro High School, Lake Forest
Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 1,630
- Community Service Highlight: Helped found a club to begin a mission of celebrating life and dedicated to helping families with children going through cancer treatment.
- “As a child, my mother always reminded me to live for others. Throughout my life, I hope to inspire many to see beyond themselves by starting my own non-profit organization and help others throughout the world.”
Homin Kwark
Northwood High School, Irvine
Imagiscience
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 1,385
- Community Services Highlight: Founded a student-led nonprofit (501c3) organization to inspire scientific interest and curiosity in peers through programs, campaigns, challenges and competitions designed by students for students.
- “Volunteering empowers us as agents of change. It drives individual creativity, community unification and global revolution as we identify solutions to worldly problems through the lens of innovation. …I hope to grow as a leader who has the vision and skills to bring about change, particularly in the field of engineering.”
Kathy Tran
Los Amigos High School, Fountain Valley
OC Human Relations Council
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 419
- Community Services Highlight: Organized many events such as Cesar Chavez Day to empower other students to have an interest in different cultures.
- “I hope to demonstrate to my community that a Vietnamese girl like myself can be educated about issues that connect all cultures together. Not only do I want to prove…that I can empower others about a wide range of issues, but I also want to create new leaders that will do the same.”
Katya Sutil
Oxford Academy, Cypress
Youth Leadership America
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 945
- Community Services Highlight: Helped organize all the Christmas festivities at a local Hospice that ignited happiness within the patients.
- “I take pride in my ability to be a catalyst for change in my peers…[and] I hope to utilize the connections I establish in the future to turn my passion for service into significant progress.”
Michael Salmond
Villa Park High School, Villa Park
St. Joseph’s Hospital
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 742
- Community Services Highlight: Co-founded the Greater Orange Service League to create a group to perform community service that young men would be interested in doing, and now has over 100 members.
- “I believe that by spending my time to help other citizens, I will learn a lot about my community and how to best use by abilities to benefit others in the future. Volunteering is an excellent way to give back to my community and to strengthen that community as a whole.”
Michelle Tran
Valencia High School, Placentia
CHOC Foundation
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 596
- Community Services Highlight: Founded Kinship, a student group that aims to address the needs of the community, donating nearly $1,000 to charitable causes.
- “Throughout my adolescent years, I have strived to give back to my community with any resources that are available to me, even if it meant doing things in a non-conventional way. My appreciation for the world I come from has strengthened my resolve to help and advocate for others.”
Nathaniel Lam
Troy High School, Fullerton
Youth Leadership America
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 1,128
- Community Services Highlight: Designed and sold “Save Japan” shirts to raise funds for the Tsunami in 2011, raising over $5,000 in over 30 schools.
- “By tackling issues locally and abroad, I have discovered that a simple idea, combined with passion and dedication, can have an enormous impact on the community.”
Robert Santaella
San Juan Hills High School, San Juan Capistrano
Anaheim Police Activities League
- Number of Volunteer Hours: 1,000
- Community Services Highlight: Involved in Anaheim Police Explorers to help mentor future leaders to get closer to their dream of becoming a police officer.
- “I want to be a part of something that is good for the people of Anaheim. I will continue my service to the people of Anaheim and the surrounding cities in my future of becoming an Anaheim police officer.”