Two of this year’s 50 graduates of the Mountain View/Los Altos Adult Education program will be continuing on to higher education with the help of the Los Altos Kiwanis Club.
Adult Education encompasses two high school programs, Adult Education High School and Moffett High School, as well as a GED high school equivalency program.
Dana Johnston, the scholarship chairman for the club, presented Lluvia Guillen and Angela Gutierrez with the scholarships at the June 1 graduation ceremony, held at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
Kiwanis has presented the awards to students for the past eight years in honor of Bert Schweitzer, one of the founding members of the club.
Applicants for the scholarship submitted to the Kiwanis representatives a letter of recommendation and a personal statement, describing their academic goals and the obstacles they had encountered in their schooling.
“Many of these students have overcome significant barriers,” Johnston said.
“They are as deserving of support and affirmation as traditional high school students.”
Both Guillen and Gutierrez graduated with English as their second language.
Both women also worked full-time while completing their studies.
Guillen received her high school diploma from Adult Education’s high school program.
She is already enrolled in Foothill College’s Language Arts department. She plans to obtain a degree in graphic design.
Gutierrez received her GED certificate. She plans to take general education classes at De Anza College.
She eventually hopes to transfer to the Licensed Vocational Nursing program at Mission College.
