On Jan. 19, with a huge smile, Bonita Vista High (BVH) senior Pablo Shimizu gladly accepted a 750 dollar scholarship, plaque and certificate. Even with his face mostly concealed by a mask, his wide grin could be seen through his eyes. His parents also shared similar facial expressions, beaming with joy, as the award was presented to their son. P. Shimizu applied for and was awarded the Chula Vista Elks Lodge Teenager of the month award. 

The award is a scholarship given to two teenagers monthly for seven months. Chula Vista Elks Lodge representative Jack Strasser is one of the chairmen who judges the applications. Strasser and the other judges sent three applications to the district level. The Elks Lodge scholarships are awarded at district, state, and national levels. P. Shimizu made it to the state level and received an additional award. 

“From local funds, we [Chula Vista Elks Lodge] allocated a certain amount of money to award those high ranking students [like P. Shimizu who] makes it through [the] district and goes up to state,” Strasser said. 

The applications received by Strasser and the other judges are selected based on community service hours, employment, Grade Point Average (GPA), honors classes, Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and a 500 to 1,000-word essay. The essay entails the student to write about why they should be selected, what makes them different from other candidates, and what their interests are.

“I’m very happy that he made it the second time around because I’ve seen his record and I’m very impressed with it,” Strasser said. 

Likewise, P. Shimizu’s mother, Laura Shimizu shares similar thoughts when mentioning the extracurricular activities and community service he takes part in. 

“He’s very dedicated in extracurriculars outside school because he plays soccer and he’s been playing for over 12 years. He [also] does volunteer refereeing,” L. Shimizu said.  

In addition, P. Shimizu is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Candidate, has maintained a 4.0 GPA since freshman year, is a Technology Commissioner for the Associated Student Body (ASB), is a part of BVH’s Mariachi, and has taken part in Southwestern college’s Mariachi since the seventh grade. As a member of many activities, P. Shimizu shows dedication to his academics and extracurriculars inside and outside of school.

“I always tell him [P. Shimizu], go ahead and apply for scholarships because if he doesn’t get his name out there, he’s not going to be able to get them [scholarships],” L. Shimizu said.

P. Shimizu found out about the Chula Vista Elks Lodge Teenager of the month award through his mother. They both follow the BVH counselors’ Instagram to keep up with the bulletin and posts about scholarships.

“I applied for this [scholarship] because I know student debt is something that is a very serious problem, and I need a way to help fund my education,” P. Shimizu said. “So I figured, any amount that I can get whether it’s for school supplies, a laptop, notebooks or even if it helps me cover the cost of tuition, anything would be helpful.”

P. Shimizu first applied for the month of December’s award in which a different student was selected for the award. He decided to apply again for the following month, January. On Jan. 15, the day P. Shimizu was going to reapply for the third time, his mother L. Shimizu received an email congratulating him for being awarded teen of the month for January.

“During the presentation [of the award] I was really excited because they gave me a plaque and I’ve never received a plaque before,” P Shimizu said. “I felt really special, I thought it was pretty cool.

L. Shimizu also expressed how she felt overjoyed at the presentation when Strasser walked up to her and her husband.

“[Strasser] congratulated us and told us he’s an outstanding student. He was very surprised when he read his essay and [saw] all the extracurricular activities,” L. Shimizu said.