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2021 Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship
As we are all well aware, this past year has been unlike any other in recent history. In addition to claiming the lives of many thousands of friends and loved ones, the COVID-19 pandemic has cost each one of us the safety and predictability of the lifestyles we knew before. It has tested our resilience on many scales: as individuals experiencing collective hardship; as a nation undergoing rapid and tempestuous sociopolitical transition; and as a globe in a constant state of flux. As such, the PLV Scholarship Award seems particularly universally relevant and far-reaching in 2021. Graduating high school seniors are welcome to apply for the third annual PLV Scholarship,…
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2020 PLV Scholarship of Orange County Winner: Alexis Votran’s Interview
Now for Alexis’s interview questions, which range from bullying to LGBTQIA+ issues to the aesthetics of feminine beauty. You can read more about her remarkable character and thoughts on everyday activism in Part One of this two-part winner’s series. The following questions were posed to Alexis last summer. Her responses were so complex and insightful, I decided to feature them in their own separate post. In addition, Alexis is a talented photographer, and her portraits have been featured on this page. What are some of the ways high school students can take a stand against bullying at school? What advice would you give to someone who is being targeted by…
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2020 PLV Scholarship of Orange County Winner: Alexis Votran on Everyday Activism
I could not be happier or prouder to introduce Alexis Votran of Costa Mesa as this year’s recipient of the PLV Scholarship of Orange County. Her application essay embodies the spirit of this scholarship program — it was raw, honest, and painfully jarring in places, but filled in equal parts with hard-earned resilience, mature insight, and a commitment to transform her own experiences into vehicles for positive change. Alexis emerged as a deeply compassionate young woman who feels called to impact her community and the broader world for the better, always pressing onward with bold and brave steps. Since Alexis’s own words express her story more powerfully than I could,…
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PLV Humanities Scholarship Winner: Ben Chlarson
I am proud to introduce Ben as the first PLV Scholarship recipient who applied as part of our recent partnership with the Newport Harbor Educational Foundation. Ben’s application essay on the importance of studying the humanities touched on many of the ideas expressed in the introduction to my Black Lives Matter post: namely the need to bridge differences in a polarized political climate by combating ignorance and hostility with curiosity, understanding, and an increased appreciation for diversity. As a Global Studies major, Ben hopes to examine the cultural frameworks that underlie our common humanity in order to someday make an impact on a national or international level. Global Studies is…
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2020 Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarships
* Please note: As of 4/20/20, the deadlines for all three scholarships have been pushed back due to COVID-19. Please see details at bottom of page. Scholarship season is here again! And the PLV Scholarship Board has exciting plans in store for this year’s program: three different scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors in Orange County, all aimed at helping students who have achieved academic excellence while experiencing personal hardship. In contrast to last year’s program design, each of the three PLV Scholarships is tailored to a specific kind of student who must fulfill a unique set of eligibility criteria. Details and application documents are provided below for those…
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PLV Scholarship Winner: Kaylee Johnson on Childhood Poverty in Orange County, California
In my last post, I noted the dispiriting increase of rates of serious mental illness in Orange County youth. There was, however, another principal area of concern identified in last year’s Conditions of Children in Orange Country report: childhood poverty. The sobering facts are detailed across several pages, broader trends backed up by a robust compilation of statistical data. I’ve highlighted some of the major findings here. Although unemployment rates remain low and the market has had an amazing run since the recovery from the Great Recession, economic well-being has been declining in recent years for OC youth, with almost half of children — 49.1%, to be exact — eligible…
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PLV Scholarship Winner: Rosiana Falzon on Mental Wellness
A couple of years ago, I attended a presentation on the health and well-being of children in my home community of Orange County, California. The event was hosted by my local chapter of Junior League, JLOCC, and organized by the Orange County Children’s Partnership (OCCP). Each year, OCCP releases a report that summarizes community progress on matters related to health, safety, and education. I was heartened to see positive 10-year trends in several key areas (as also reflected in last year’s more recent report): OC kids are healthier than they were a decade ago, with greater access to healthcare, higher rates of immunizations, fewer teen births, and lower preterm and…
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PLV Scholarship Winner: Iliana Goodhew on Immigrating to America and Her Father’s ALS
Due to generous donations from my sister Michella, my aunt Ginny, and my father Tom, I was able to kick off the Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship’s first ever awards season by helping to select not just one, but three winners. The PLV Scholarship was founded in memory of my mother Patricia (1952-2014), whose giving spirit spread love, beauty, and happiness to those who knew her, those people who were made to feel special and appreciated by her genuine warmth and compassion. When the Scholarship Board reviewed applications last May, there were several outstanding candidates worthy of recognition. Board members, however, unanimously agreed that three applicants stood out as particularly…
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The Patricia Lynn Vermeulen-Tomocik (PLV) Scholarship
For a few years now, I’ve considered the possibility of someday starting a charitable fund or nonprofit in honor of my mother Patricia (1952-2014), who passed away unexpectedly a year after I graduated from university. It was a project I had originally intended to start much further into the future, perhaps even decades from now. Recently, however, a women’s volunteer organization (the Orange County chapter of Junior League, or JLOCC) provided me with the opportunity to be part of an ad hoc committee founded for the sole purpose of reviewing scholarship applications from local high school seniors. The experience was tremendous, as I found myself greatly moved by the stories…
