Celeste Jones
Growing up successful a agrarian environment, Fresno State pupil Celeste Jones developed a heavy appreciation for quality that has fueled her passionateness for biology service. Through Alternative Spring Break, she has worked to reconstruct trails, support learning areas and found a semipermanent concern with Scout Island, ensuring aboriginal generations of students tin acquisition and admit the outdoors.
Jones was announced arsenic this year’s recipient of the Albert Montejano Memorial Scholarship, recognizing 1 oregon much students engaged successful assemblage work done the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning astatine Fresno State. The assistance was endowed by the household of Montejano, an alumnus of California State University, Los Angeles who spent his beingness serving others until his decease successful 2021. He dreamed of establishing a assistance to assistance others be college.
Jones, a fourth-year media wide communications and journalism student, has maintained a 4.0 GPA portion making a lasting interaction done her work enactment roles.
Jones has served arsenic a Richter Center Student Leader for Alternative Spring Break, a programme providing students with multi-day work opportunities during accepted breaks from school, astatine Scout Island for 2 years. Her enactment has strengthened the program’s sustainability, providing students with meaningful opportunities to lend to biology preservation beyond her clip astatine Fresno State.
Beyond her enactment with Alternative Spring Break, Jones serves arsenic the enforcement committee manager of communications for Richter Center Student Leaders, a relation successful which she has developed promotional materials, written property releases and implemented connection strategies to grow pupil engagement successful unpaid opportunities.
Her enactment extends to her unpaid enactment with the Women’s Alliance, wherever she supports assorted initiatives aimed astatine empowering women connected field and successful the community.
Three further Fresno State students besides received assistance support:
Alisa Gonzalez
Alisa Gonzalez, a sophomore biochemistry student, has served astatine the Marjaree Mason Center, West African Vocational Schools, Alternative Spring Break, Fall Fest, Veterans Home, the 144th Fighter Wing Children’s Christmas Party and the Fresno Tzu Chi Mobile Clinic.
Rachel Mancebo, a elder agriculture acquisition student, has served with Alternative Spring Break for the past 3 years, the State Holstein Convention, SpiritHorse Connections, Maui Wildfire Relief Effort Read-a-thon, Madera FFA and astatine the Central California Blood Center.
Emily Vang, a inferior communicative sciences and deaf studies student, has served with Stone Soup Fresno during Alternative Spring Break and astatine aggregate one-day work events. She is the education co-chair of Fresno State’s Hmong Student Association, a relation successful which she plans and hosts a three-day league promoting higher acquisition and the Hmong civilization for highschoolers. She besides is simply a tutor with StepUp.
The Albert Montejano Memorial Scholarship helps students span the spread betwixt the fiscal assistance aid they presently person and the magnitude they request to be college. Funds provided by the Albert Montejano Memorial Scholarship recognizes and supports their work to our field and community.
During the 2023-24 world year, much than 4,200 Fresno State students participated successful 198 service-learning courses – helping the assemblage supply over 1 cardinal hours of work to the assemblage for the 15th consecutive year.
(Story by Taylan Parker, Richter Center)
