The Skyline Room of the Cerritos Library was festively decorated with balloons and flowers for the 30th Annual Recognition and Academic Achievement Awards Program for the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. At 6:30 p.m., members and guests were welcomed and invited to partake in refreshments provided by Hospitality Chair Ceci Borja-Van Zitter and Sue Carruthers.
President Celia Spitzer called the meeting to order. Program VP’s Faith Herschler and Cathy Neiderman then turned the meeting over to Joan Pylman, Chairman of the Academic Achievement Awards Committee. Joan introduced the Selection Committee members and thanked them for their service.
Joan explained how the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW honored women students at Cerritos College by recognizing the students’ academic achievement and service to the school or community by awarding them with Certificates of Recognition and monetary awards.
Joan then introduced Dr. Shin Liu, President of the Cerritos College Board of Trustees. Dr. Liu said that Cerritos College helps students and encourages them to continue their higher education. She said that Cerritos College graduated 5,000 students in 2022 and will graduate 6,000 students this year.
Joan also introduced Martha Pelayo, Executive Director of the Cerritos Foundation. Director Pelayo explained how the Foundation works with Cerritos College staff members to nominate and provide the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW with applications of qualified candidates for the scholarships that the AAUW provides.
Chair Joan Pylman, and her committee chose two outstanding students to receive this year’s awards. The students were selected according to their academic achievement with a 3.5 GPA or better, and active participation in service activities at Cerritos College or in the community. One of the students had to be a “Re-entry” student, who was not in school for four or more years. By chance, both students who were selected are immigrants to the United States and both women will be transferring to a four-year college or university in the Fall of 2023.
La Palma-Cerritos Branch member Tobi Balma introduced the first student who was selected as Sofia Heejae Chun. Sofia had a 4.0 GPA at Cerritos College and majored in Theater Arts. She was active in several clubs at Cerritos College and was President of the Helping Hands Project Club. She was also Secretary of the Cerritos College Artists Club. She became an immigrant in the United States when her family moved to the City of Cerritos in the United States in 2019. She graduated from Cerritos High School in 2021 and attended Cerritos College to learn about universities. She has been accepted at five universities so far. When she decides which university she will attend, she plans to work for a double major in Theater Arts and Pre-Med. She wants to be an advocate for first-generation immigrants to achieve higher education.
Sofia’s passion to help other immigrants is because she is also an immigrant. Sofia was born and lived in South Korea in 2002, and moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2009 for one year. She lived Manila, in the Philippines until 2015 where she learned English. She moved back to South Korea for one year in 2016. Later, in 2016, she moved with her family to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she learned Spanish and some Vietnamese. Sofia learned American Sign Language while she was at Cerritos College.
The second student who received the Academic Achievement Award this year was introduced by Dawn Trickett, Cerritos College Professor of Communications. Leidy Barrios. Leidy was a “Re-entry student, who has been married to her husband, Johnny Gomez, for 22 years. She and Johnny have two sons, 21- year- old Benjamin, and 11-year- old Adrian. Leidy has worked as a teacher assistant and worked hard at Cerritos College to maintain a 3.8 GPA in her studies. She is the first in her family to receive an Associate of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education. She hopes to earn a B.A. in Child Development at Cal State Dominguez Hills and become a teacher.
Leidy was born and raised in Guatemala City and immigrated to the United States in 1997 when her birth mother, Maria del Carmen, invited her to come to live in the United States. Her mother had moved to the United States in 1988 and asked Leidy, her brother, and her sister, to join her when she had a green card. Leidy said that she wanted to thank her mom for making it possible to have a better life in the United States. When she first came to the U.S., she learned English at La Mirada Adult School with classes in English as a Second Language. She completed high school classes and graduated with a High School Diploma. She also took classes at UCLA and received a Certificate in Early Childhood Education in 2015. When she becomes a teacher, she said that she will encourage immigrants to pursue their higher education. She said it is “hard to do, and will take time,” but they can do it.
After the award winners finished speaking, Academic Awards and Certificates of Recognition were presented by representatives of the County of Los Angeles, the State of California, and the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW. Sofia and Leidy received Certificates of Recognition for their Academic Achievement from the following representatives: Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Han, California Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, State Senator Janet Nguyen, State Senator Bob Archuleta, and Congresswoman Michele Steele. Assemblymember Quirk-Silva’s Field Representative Joe Pak, and Senator Nguyen’s District Representative Michelle Do, came in person to present their certificates.
The La Palma-Cerritos AAUW’s two Academic Achievement Awards were presented to Sofia Heejae Chun and Leidy Barrios by Chairman Joan Pylman and Awards Committee member Gail Ross. Sofia and Leidy each received Certificates of Recognition from the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW signed by President Celia Spitzer. They will receive a scholarship of $1,375 each when they confirm their enrollment at the four-year college or university where they have been accepted in the Fall. Joan and Gail congratulated both award winners and presented Sofia and Leidy with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
The meeting was adjourned by Branch President Spitzer at 8:25 p.m. after she conducted the Branch’s business meeting and collected member surveys regarding past and future programs. She reminded people to sign up for the Installation of Officers on June 3rd and the Branch Planning Meeting on June 24th. For more information, members are asked to visit the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Branch website at http://lapalma-cerritos-ca.aauw.net.