New Students Earn Large Scholarships
Westmont has awarded four-year Augustinian Scholarships to 30 students who arrive on campus for Orientation Thursday, Aug. 25. The Augustinian Scholars, who earn $140,000 toward tuition over four years, are the first to benefit from annual scholarships funded by an extraordinary gift from a generous donor. The college has also offered full-tuition Monroe Awards to three of the Augustinian students, Alyssa Beccue of Westlake Village, Emily Mata of Carbondale, Colo., and George Mathen of Cupertino.
The Augustinian Scholars include Sarah Claud of Chicago; Charlotte Combrink of Malaysia; Kelsey Feustel of Lake Villa, Ill.; Hannah Fisk of Denver; Will Furnberg of Carlsbad; Kaylee Hicks of Lompoc; Annika Mattson of Aurora, Colo.; Festo Mugire Muhire of Rwanda; Austin Nachbur of Jacksonville, Ore.; Odile Ndayishimiyie Unweza of Rwanda; Brianna Newport of Stockton; Brandon Norris of El Cajon; Michael Oldach of Colorado Springs; Cameron Parker of Richardson, Texas; Ryan Radujko of Goleta; Cassidy Rea of Ventura; Beth Scalise of San Jose; Wesley Stenzel of Monrovia; Hendrik Struik of Lake Oswego, Ore.; Olivia Tandadjaja of Indonesia; Nathan Tudor of Laguna Nigel; Chena Underhill of River Forest, Ill.; Sarah Verdegan of Irvine; Maddie Weicht of Phoenix; Kaylene Woo of La Crescenta; Paul Wuest of Lodi; and Kaylee Yoon of Anaheim.
The Augustinian Scholars were chosen from about 100 candidates who applied Early Action and earned excellent high school grades and test scores, demonstrated an aptitude for leadership, and professed a desire to grow in the Christian faith.
Beccue, an art major with a 4.51 GPA, earned a National Merit Commendation, along with Fourth Place for Expository Writing at the 2015 National Invitational Tournament of Champions. She has served on 10 service trips and founded a local team to train students preparing to serve abroad through International Students Inc.
Mata, an art major with a 4.55 GPA, is a National AP Scholar with National Merit Commendation. She served as junior and senior class president, was a Model United Nations representative, and Energy Club Member at Roaring Fork High School.
Mathen, a biology/pre-med major with a 4.21 GPA, is the captain of volleyball team, club leader of the STEM Club and vice president of the Radio Club at Cupertino High School.
By 2019, 120 Augustinian Scholars will receive significant financial assistance each year and undertake challenging coursework. Westmont increased academic scholarships by 38 percent for students who enrolled in class for fall 2016, which begins Monday, Aug. 29.
Augustinian Scholars will benefit from Westmont’s rigorous liberal arts curriculum and Christ-centered education. The honors program features specially designed leadership classes, opportunities to serve as student leaders and gain hands-on experience, semester-long study abroad, training in spiritual formation, and residence with other Augustinian Scholars on campus in the senior year.