Oxnard, Calif.-based Bobalu Berry Farms is celebrating its third year of awarding scholarships to graduating high school seniors.
The Bobalu Berry Farms Scholarship program was established in 2022 to honor company founders on the 60th anniversary, according to a news release. Each year the program has expanded to include more students at high schools in both Oxnard and Santa Maria, Calif., and employees’ children.
This year Bobalu Berry Farms says it converted the application process to an online format and also expanded the incentive for employee children to apply by increasing communication at the farm offices and adapting the online enrollment form to include employee documentation.
The merit-based program focuses heavily on grades, but it also considers philanthropic activities by students supporting their community and those seeking agricultural-based majors, the release said.
“With each student deserving a scholarship, we really have to focus on those that are uniquely positioned as ag majors, and those that may not be getting other scholarships to help with financial support” company executive R.C. Jones said in the release. “We were very pleased this year to have multiple students pursuing a degree in ag, and to have a student that is a child of one of our longtime employees in Oxnard.”
All of the students receiving funds from Bobalu are the first in their family to attend college and expressed gratitude in their essays for the support they have received from family, teachers and school counselors, according to the release. There are students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; University of California, Davis; University of California, Berkeley; and UCLA. There are also several award recipients that will be attending community college before transferring to university.
“Members of our staff committee really enjoy the opportunity to be part of this process each year and select recipients as a team,” Maria de la Cruz, Bobalu human resources director, said in the release. “Even more, we are truly honored to attend each high school award ceremony and personally present awards to very deserving students on stage. Selecting students on paper, based on qualifications, is one thing but meeting them and their families in person takes this program to a whole other level for us.”
Bobby Jones and R.C. Jones are honored to support the 14 students awarded scholarships this year that rely on the outside financial support, the release said. They both expressed gratitude for the ability to continue this program honoring their grandparents that established Bobalu Berry Farms 62 years ago.
The students that recently received awards are graduating from Adolfo Camarillo, Pacifica, Channel Islands and Hueneme high schools in Oxnard. In Santa Maria, students are graduating from Ernest Righetti, Pioneer, St. Joseph’s and Santa Maria high schools.
