Special WAEF Story – Scholarships Go Full Circle
WAEF students never fail to amaze us. I am excited to share a special story with you about one of our current WAEF students.
Last Friday the 2020 WAEF Wish List was distributed via email. This list includes men and women identified by our scholarship selection committee. The students on the list have strong potential and a desire to succeed but are in need of scholarship support. These are students that did not match up with existing available scholarships.
We heard very soon after the list was distributed from one of our current scholarship recipients. He shared that he had been considering how to thank WAEF for the two years of support he received. When the list came out, he thought maybe this was how he could show his appreciation though he needed to know when scholarship payment would be due since his new job at Zirkle didn’t begin until after his graduation this May.
Well, scholarship payment timing worked out and Neftali Garcia decided he wanted to celebrate his own graduation from college by utilizing his first paycheck to help a future WAEF student. He has decided to provide a $2,000 scholarship to a Wish List student under the name “Garcia Brothers”. It was truly one of those moments that makes you feel so good to get to be part of WAEF.
We work with amazing people! The support you provide students matters greatly to them and impacts not just their ability to achieve an education but also the inspiration they want to be others.
Neftali Garcia graduates this month from Washington State University with a double major in Fruit & Vegetable Management and Landscape, Nursery and Greenhouse Management, a minor in horticulture and his organic certification. While attending college he interned with Zirkle Fruit and continued to work for the company during school breaks and weekends. He shared through his WAEF student portal about his goals: “My career and personal goals are to be the first of my family to obtain a degree from a university. I am a first generation, so this is really important to me as I have younger relatives looking up to me. I want to use my education to work in the agriculture field post-graduation and continue to pursue my dreams of having my own small orchard.”
Zirkle Fruit shared this about their recent hire: “We were not surprised by Neftali’s choice to celebrate his graduation by trying to create opportunities for someone else. He is a kind and thoughtful young man. He has a bright future ahead of him. We are excited that he made the choice to continue working with our Company. Neftali is the second WSU graduate that we have hired. They are the future of the AG Industry and are a great addition to our teams.”
We are very proud of all WAEF students and continue to be so appreciative the opportunities WAEF donors create for outstanding young people. We are excited to welcome former WAEF students as donors and volunteers and to keep the WAEF community growing and thriving.
I hope this special story brings you as much joy as it has for me. Thank you for making WAEF such a special organization.
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