LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Garden Club recently awarded two $750 scholarships to two deserving students, Sylvia Grape of Kelseyville and Lindee Jones of Middletown.

Sylvia Grape graduated from Kelseyville High School in 2015 and ranked fourth in her graduating class of 127 students. This fall she will attend UC Santa Cruz as a freshman majoring in environmental science. 

Grape's goal is “to aspire to graduate from college and go on to be a political activist first on the city or county level and then moving on up to the state level.” She is interested in reversing climate change and wants to be a person of influence.

While attending Kelseyville High School Grape choose as her senior project to work with the Kelseyville Kids Garden Club, teaching children how to grow a garden, cook with the food that was grown and to teach them about sustainability. She also managed an annual school garden club plant sale.

In the prior year she was also invited for a weekend of seminars and lectures at CSU Sacramento as part of the National Teen Leadership program.

Grape is an accomplished saxophone player and first alto in the Kelseyville High Jazz Band.

Lindee Jones graduated from Middletown High School in 2012, attended Shasta Community College for the next two years and in the 2014-15 school year enrolled as a junior at California State University, Chico.

Jones is majoring in plant science with an emphasis in crop management. Her career goal is to become an agricultural pest control advisor, which means managing crop health while advising farmers on pest management, fertilizers and other crop protection materials to apply in order to improve the health and yields of the crops.

She interned last summer and this summer with a local crop protection company, Ag Unlimited. One of her tasks as an intern is to scout the vineyards to check the codling moth traps. Upon graduation she plans to continue her work with Ag Unlimited as a licensed Pest Control Advisor.

Jones also was awarded a scholarship from the garden club for her 2014-15 junior year at Chico State.

The current scholarship award will help her in her senior year at Chico State in 2015-16.

The Hidden Valley Lake Garden Club, as part of their community projects chose to offer the scholarships to graduating students. 

The purpose of the scholarship is to assist the student who is attending either a community college or a four-year college majoring in subjects such as environmental science, horticulture, natural resource management, sustainable agriculture and agriculture production.

There are many factors taken into consideration when evaluating the students who apply for the scholarship.

Half of the possible points assigned to the evaluation relate to participation and leadership in programs, activities and awards, with a heavy emphasis on community service that related to the major field of study or science or the environment. 

Both Grape and Jones were rated high in these areas, as they both had received honors in related programs and actively participated in community activities.