On the fourth Saturday of every month, members of the Mid-Coast Veterans Alliance (MCVA) gather at the American Legion Post 56 in Santa Maria.
It's usually for a routine meeting, but once a year, there's a special item on the agenda: scholarship presentations.
10 seniors graduating from high schools in the Santa Maria area are each given $1,000 scholarships, according to MCVA president Fernando Guzman.
The winners from the class of 2025 received their awards on Saturday, May 24.
Recipients were chosen based on academic records, community service, career and life goals, previously earned awards and an essay submission.
Eligible students must also have been the child or grandchild of an honorably discharged veteran.
Guzman told KSBY the MCVA began distributing scholarships in 2016 and has awarded $55,000 since then.
"A lot of them are using it to further their education in the field they want to get into," said Guzman.
When asked about the purpose behind the program, Guzman explained that it aims "to honor the kids — give them something that they can be proud of for all the work that they went through in school."
Below is the list of the MCVA Scholarship recipients for 2025:
- Chrislaina Anderson - Orcutt Academy High School
- Ava Aasted-Gauna - Santa Barbara High School
- Madison Domingues - St. Joseph High School
- Casey Knepp - Ernest Righetti High School
- Juan Lemus - Orcutt Academy High School
- Kobe Lemus - Orcutt Academy High School
- Samantha McDonald - Ernest Righetti High School
- Juliana Morales - Orcutt Academy High School
- Aaden Salazar - St. Joseph High School
- Cooper Smith - St. Joseph High School
