Attending College: Cal State Riverside

Year: 1st

Major/Career: Doctor

Comments:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Pollom,
First and foremost, I wanted to thank you for awarding me the Mike Pollom Memorial Scholarship. This is such a great help to me, and it will certainly relieve a huge burden. This scholarship truly reinforces the idea of giving back to those in need in your community. The loss you have gone through will not be forgotten, and I will do my best to continue his and you ideals.

It would have been a please to meet you since you are a true inspiration, besides the fact that you are one of the reasons why I am able to continue my education. Being able to apply for the scholarship I knew no matter the outcome, this scholarship would make someone's dream come true.

As John Wooden said, "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." This expresses my gratitude towards you. Feel free to contact me if anything should arise. Unfortunately, my gratitude cannot be expressed with as many thank-you's as I would have liked to fit on this page.

Sincerely,
Eduardo Lopez

Attending College: Azusa Pacific

Year: 2nd

Major/Career: Nursing

Comments:

Hello Mr. Pollom,
I want to start by saying thank you for everything that you and your family have done for me. Without your help, I would not be at APU today. Actually I would prefer not to be here right now. It is midterm week! No I am only kidding. Going to college has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and you have made this possible for me. Thank you once again. I can never thank you enough. I am currently in the second semester of my sophomore year. Almost halfway done! I have some great news. I made the Dean's list last semester which is the honor roll at APU. I am trying my best to see my name on that list again this semester. My other announcement is that I have switched my major to Social Work. I have realized that my passion is to help children in need especially those who are being neglected and abused. My goal is to work for Child Protective Services. Social Work gives me exactly what I need to be the best at what I will do. My social work classes are amazing. Social Work focuses on a variety of populations. Currently I am taking an aging course to provide insight on an underappreciated population. One reason why I love the Social Work program at APU is that it is very hands-on. Every week I go visit my older adult buddy at his residence just to develop a relationship. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for you and your wonderful family. Thank you for this chance. I cannot be any happier.

With much love,
Rosalinda Monroy

Juan Lopez with Norm Pollom & CVHS Principal Manuel Arredondo

Attending College: University of California, Riverside

Year: 3rd

Major/Career: Political Science/Languages

Comments:

Hello Mr. Pollom,
I hope all is well with you.
Well, I am about half way done with my third year at UCR and I'm happy to say I've been doing fairly well. I am getting closer to being accepted into the Marine Corps Officers program as a pilot candidate, so here's hoping that I pass all my exams and get selected. As for school, I am still pursuing my degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations. Also, I recently decided to pursue either a second major or a minor in Russian as well. I really am enjoying my time at UCR and I can't wait to attend this year's scholarship banquet to meet the many gracious donors that make this scholarship possible for us. This year I hope to make it to the golf tournament as well as the banquet.

Best wishes,
Juan Lopez

Attending College: University of La Verne

Year: 3rd

Comments:

I just recently got back from Ecuador. I went for a tropical biology course that was centered around environmental issues, like global warming. It was amazing! We visited Quito, Otavalo, Bomboli, Galapagos Islands, and the Amazon. I just started spring semester and everything is going well. I am still doing research with my professor, I even got to present my research at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR). I am also volunteering with a genetic counselor. I really enjoy doing this and am hoping to pursue a career as a genetic counselor. Because I changed my career goal, I now need to take an extra year of school. Its okay though because I found something I really enjoy doing. I also went to Montana this summer to do research with one of my professors. We investigated water ecosystems near mines and tested for abnormalities that may have arisen due to all the toxic waste. I really enjoy doing field work.

Love
Vanessa Alvarez
Fourth Year Student

Comments:

Hi Mr. Pollom,

I just wanted to let you know that I am incredibly excited, scared, anxious and all of the above because I am finally graduating this semester! This semester has kept be incredibly busy though. I am at my leadership rotation, my preceptor is a nursing manager at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (I am absolutely in love with the hospital and the working culture here!). I am having a great time and enjoy every single day of clinicals. We are almost done with the rotation and will be moving in on taking our skills, diagnosis, and math competencies in the next week so we can start our last rotation which is preceptorship with an RN and her/his hours of work. We have to complete about 100 and some hours of this. I still do not know my site! My graduation is in May and I will give you more details on that soon. We are preparing our paperwork and clearances to sign up for the NCLEX board exam. I have also been looking at a lot of hospitals that have new graduate nurse programs so that I can apply. I am yet undecided about what specialty I want to go in but pediatric ICU is a big interest for me so I am looking into Loma Linda's Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. I also like gerontology and public health nursing but I have not found a specific program. As you can see I am very anxious about all the upcoming events and decisions I have to make but I am taking it one step at a time. I am still working as a Hospice Home Health Aide and their is not one day that I am not looking forward to seeing my patients. They have taught me so much about everything. It is a job that has given me a great perspective on life and of course end of life. Every day at work or at clinicals I realize why (subconsciously) Iwent into nursing. Helping people whether it is by helping them understand their medications, listening to their stories or worries, and even washing their hair makes me feel complete. I know that in that moment I am not a nurse because it makes me happy but because it gives them comfort. I want to know that becoming a nurse could have not been possible without this scholarship or without the support of the great people behind it. I will keep you updated about my graduation! :)

Thank you,

Alejandra Moreno, Fourth Year

Year: 4th

Graduated Cal Baptist, Riverside

My sister Lourdes and I are at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical School in North Carolina. I am still pursuing a career in medicine and Lourdes is interested in pursuing one too! Obtaining a higher education is a wonderful journey, but being able to share that with my sister has been a great blessing. I am currently working in a lab that focuses on prostate cancer research. We are testing protein synthesis inhibitors and their potency in promoting cell death; our results have been promising. What I love most about the lab is that we are turning bench research into a clinical application; being able to understand the scientific background and the medical application is the beauty of pursuing an MD/PhD dual degree. We are enjoying our time here, although I miss the sunny days in California. We really miss our family and friends too! The winter has been really cold, but on the bright side I got to see some snow. Exploring the east side of the country has been real great; our friends are taking us to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina for spring break! Please express my gratitude towards all the people who make the Mike Scholarship possible. It has really made a difference in life and it would be amazing if it could continue making a difference in the life of the upcoming college generations from CVHS.

Anabel Flores, Graduate

Attending College: University of California, Riverside

Year: Graduated

Major/Career: Biology

Comments:

Great News for Sal. He is teaching at Coachella Valley High School. You who have contributed must be very proud & the Pollom Family can't thank you enough in helping these bright young people who are in need to continue their education while remembering Mike.

Hey Mr. Pollom

I am entering my last quarter at UCR, finishing my last quarter. This past quarter I ended up attaining a 3.0. I'm still very heavily involved within my school and in my community, from raising money for "Youth Aids" with my fraternity, to spending time at the convalescent home, to working as a peer counselor for the LGBT resource center at UCR. I am still employed as an intern for the Undergraduate Recruitment office at school. I am grateful for your support and dedication. This foundation and yourself have made my dream of attaining a degree possible. As for my future plans, I hope to attend grad school and further my education in the field of psychology.

Sincerely,
Sal

Graduated University of California, Riverside

Year: Graduated

Major/Career: Biology

Comments:

I'm not sure when the last time I sent an update was but I'm happy to share that I am in a very good place at the beginning of my life as an adult in the “real world.” I've been working for Monsanto Co. for a year now and I feel very lucky to have been able to find this job so soon after just finishing my studies at UC Riverside. Commencement was very exciting, and sharing that day with my friends and family was moving! I felt like I was finally able to close a chapter in my life on which I worked on for so long. I had already started working before going through the ceremony, but something felt missing until I went back and went through that process. Coming back to work felt even more refreshing after that because I felt like I had grown in some way through that closure. Everyone here at the workstation is very hard working and we all understand our common goal as employees, and I think that that is why I enjoy my job very much. My manager, Mary, always encourages me to learn something new, and shares so much information with me that it is exciting to see all that is happening in the science world around me. I have taken my position as a research assistant to heart and really work hard at making them see why I was a good choice to fill this spot. She encouraged me to get my masters as soon as possible and become involved in the sciences on my spare time and on the job. I have applied for the Master's program at Cal Poly SLO for the Agribusiness degree but I am still waiting on a response from them; perhaps by June or July. I'm somewhat nervous about this. It feels like I am starting the college applications all over again except that I have only one shot at getting into a school! As soon as I know any news, I'll let you know! As for everything else in my life, I can't complain. I have a lot of spare time after work and I use it to visit family, friends, or take road trips to places I haven't seen before. I've tried picking up a few hobbies but nothing has stuck yet. Up next, cake decorating!!!

So really, I cannot complain because life is pretty amazing for me right now! I cannot thank you enough for helping me get here!!!! It has been 7 years now since I first applied to the scholarship foundation, and I don't think I ever imagined what an important part of me everyone at the foundation would become for me. Thanks for believing in me and never giving up on me through thick and thin. It means the world to me and other student that there are people who care so much about helping others. I hope that one day I will be able to impact someone just as much as you have helped me through all of these years.

P.S. I attached some photos. In one I am with my nieces and nephews on a wine tasting trip my family and I took during one of the times they came to visit from Riverside and Indio. On the one where I am by myself, I am sitting on the cliff on Pirate's Cove in Avila Beach which is just a short drive from Santa Maria, where I live. It's a beautiful place!!! The last picture shows some of my coworkers. Some ladies are from the pathology group, which is where I work and others are from the lettuce, and broccoli group, who we do pathology work for. That is usually how our lunch time looks. You can imagine what a great time it is!!

Love,
Maria T. Gutierrez

Attending College: College of the Desert

Year: Graduated

Major/Career: Registered Nurse

Comments:

Linda graduated from Coachella Valley High School 43rd in a class of 631. She had a GPA of 3.65. She is the younger sister of Berzabeth Pineda, one of our scholarship students. Her parents are immigrants, so she can't qualify for other scholarships. With the scholarship it would not be possible for her to continue her education.

Attending College: University of California, Riverside

Year: Graduated

Major/Career: Pre-Med

Comments:

Oh I have great news... I was hired to teach 4th grade in Mecca Elementary. I will be doing the internship program with San Bernardino State instead of student teaching. I am very excited and I wanted to share my excitement with you. Hope all is well. Love, Anabel Vasquez

Attending College: College of the Desert

Year: Graduated

Major/Career: Registered Nurse

Comments:

Oh I have great news... I was hired to teach 4th grade in Mecca Elementary. I will be doing the internship program with San Bernardino State instead of student teaching. I am very excited and I wanted to share my excitement with you. Hope all is well. Love, Anabel Vasquez

Attending College: College of the Desert

Year: Graduated in 2006

Attending College: Long Beach State

Year: Graduated

Comments:

Ramon Castillejo has graduated from Long Beach State on Thursday May 25th. He is our first Scholarship student and will be looking to teach this fall. He hopes to some back to the Coachella Valley. We will keep you posted on his future plans.