Cheered on by almost 200 guests, thirty graduating high school seniors from Santa Clara County and surrounding cities were feted with the Chi Am Circle Scholarship Program celebration at China Stix Restaurant in Santa Clara on Thursday, May 12, 2016. Chi Am Circle Club raised $77,050 from club members as well as from the community through cash or stock donations, private foundations and matching grants to deserving students moving forward to college. From the City of Santa Clara, Tiffany Madruga, attending Castilleja School, was selected as a recipient.
Chi Am Circle is a nonprofit Asian American women’s organization, active in Santa Clara County since 1965. For the past forty years, the organization has honored local students through its annual Chi Am Circle Scholarship Program and is proud to have helped where there was a need in our community. Scholarship recipients are students of Asian descent as defined by the California Department of Education. Students are recognized and honored for their achievements in leadership, community service, merit and special talents. This year’s scholars were a most diverse group of students representing Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, East Indian, Pakistani and Philippine cultures. Scholarship winners included many first generation immigrants, and some were the first in their family to attend college. The evening was highlighted by guest speaker State Assembly member, Evan Low, who spoke about how he successfully rose through political ranks to achieve important personal goals.