This wasn’t your usual scholarship presentation.
Four extraordinary high school students came face-to-face with their benefactor, a Natomas Unified School District Trustee, who not only surprised them by awarding Chromebook computers but handed them a card with her cellphone number on it and urged them to call if they ever needed help, advice or mentoring.
Their stories were similar, and touching, Trustee Lisa Kaplan and the four students – Isis, Evelyn, Tadewos and Charnpreet – who share a fierce determination to succeed, no matter the odds.
“I wanted to start these scholarships because I believe in giving back to our students,” said Kaplan, who personally bought three of the Chromebooks and a fourth was paid for by the Natomas Schools Foundation. Kaplan is committed to personally contributing a minimum of $750 annually to her “Closing the Digital Divide Scholarship.” She also plans to urge others to donate through the Natomas Schools Foundation.
“My parents are not college educated, but they told me I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I worked hard and put my mind to it,” said Kaplan, who ultimately graduated from law school and now owns her own law firm. “These kids have shown the ability to overcome adversity and are working hard to become exemplary students and citizens.”
In essays written as part of the scholarship application, the four students gave touching personal accounts of overcoming hardships that ranged from financial insecurity, to the death of a parent, to the separation from family in Ethiopia to seek a better life in the United States.
Charnpreet, a 17-year-old Inderkum High School senior with a grade point average above 4.0, said his life changed the moment his father died. His parents did not graduate from high school, but they always wanted the best for their children, said Charnpreet, who hopes to attend UC Davis or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“He was ambitious, caring, and had the best of intentions for his children,” Charnpreet wrote in recalling his father’s death. “At that moment, I knew I had to carry on my father’s legacy. My father’s premature death became a source of strength. It marked a transformation. I became a leader in my family."
After receiving his Chromebook, Charnpreet said he was grateful to Kaplan for believing in him. “It’s very special because I look at it as an investment in my future,” he said.
Tadewos, 17, said the Chromebook is vitally important to him because he doesn’t have a computer at home. “I usually go to the library to use the Internet, so this is going to help me a lot,” he said.
In his essay, Tadewos described his heartache in leaving his mother behind, in Ethiopia, to immigrate to the United States. “Leaving her was a nightmare … But then I thought for myself, I came here to get a better education. I knew she would be very happy if I did well on my studies. Then, I had promised myself to work hard at school.”
Tadewos said that as an Inderkum student, he is industrious, works hard, and has participated in the Math Club, Gravity Club and the varsity soccer team. His volunteer work has included assisting a youth girls soccer team and a Bible study program.
Evelyn, of Inderkum, said the Chromebook will replace a broken laptop and a home computer that doesn’t connect to the Internet. She’ll use her new Chromebook for homework and college-related searches, she said.
“Computers are really expensive and I didn’t have the money to buy one,” she said.
Evelyn, in her essay, described family divisions that made her stronger. “I know where I want to go and nothing will stop me,” she wrote.
Isis, 18, said the Chromebook will help her brother and three sisters as well. “If they have to write an essay, they can use it,” she said.
Isis wrote of watching her father toil as a field worker under a scorching sun, lifting boxes and carrying heavy loads without complaint.
“Seeing how much he goes through in order to provide me and my siblings with clothes on our backs, food in our mouths, a roof over our heads, and smiles on our faces has motivated me to work just as hard on my studies.”
A senior at Natomas High, Isis was part of a four-person team that won first place honors last weekend at Pre-MESA Day at Sacramento State University in the prosethetic arm division, designing a pulley-operated prosthetic arm that could grab, lift and throw objects. She hopes to be a special education teacher someday.
Isis said she was touched by Kaplan’s generosity and personal story, adding, “It gives me hope and inspiration. If she comes from a situation like mine, it gives me hope that one day I can achieve my dreams.”
