Fiona O’Donovan, recipient of the Corte Madera Women’s Improvement Club Scholarship, is following in the footsteps of both her mother and grandmother in choosing to pursue a career in health care. She had not yet fixed on this career goal in her early high school education. But when she applied for and was accepted to Marin Health’s very selective SMILE Program, she quickly started to feel at home in the hospital environment. SMILE is an acronym for Students Making Illness Easier. Fiona has committed to the program’s requirements of weekly visits with patients in need of a friendly face and performing other tasks for patients and staff. Perhaps most telling, in her application essay she wrote: “Most of the patients I met were alone during their stay, and to them, a (mere) listening ear made all the difference.” Guided by kindness and compassion, she spent time with numerous patients of diverse ages, cultures, and backgrounds. She overcame language barriers by using her knowledge of Spanish and the hospital provided translator programs. Many of these patients expressed their heartfelt gratitude to her, and she has received stellar reviews for her work. But she likewise feels enriched by her interactions, and these experiences have been fundamental in her recognizing her calling in nursing.

Fiona’s community service has not been limited to the 100+ hours she’s devoted to SMILE. She has also coached younger girls training to complete a 5k run through the “Girls on the Run” program, thus helping them to grow in athleticism and confidence. She has volunteered as a camp counselor at Girl Scout Camp Arequipa. She continues to donate time as a food runner for the organization Extra Food, collecting surplus food from food establishments for delivery to a local non-profit for distribution to those in need.

Fiona has also participated in cheerleading for all 4 years at Redwood and in her senior year started doing track and high jump.

She intends to pursue her nursing aspirations in her baccalaureate education.

Dakota Ledesma is the recipient of the Kimberly Powell Memorial Scholarship. Dakota has devoted many volunteer hours to several causes, including food banks and animal shelters. But a primary focus of her community involvement has been in the area of addiction prevention. In her sophomore year, after becoming increasingly aware of the prevalence of drug

and substance abuse including nicotine addiction among students, she joined a program called TUPE, Tobacco Use Prevention Education. With a goal of direct connection with other youths in her community, Dakota gave over a dozen presentations to middle and high school students in Marin. She valued both the general education she provided and her personal interactions with peers struggling with substance use. She wrote personal letters of support to teens in recovery. She hosted “amnesty days” during which students could anonymously turn in vaping devices and receive resources and support toward quitting. use. And in order to encourage the expansion of the TUPE program to other schools, Dakota participated in leading skill developing activities at the Marin County Office of Education.

During her Junior year, she further extended the reach of her efforts by joining the Youth Advocacy Committee. The goal of YAC is not only to provide community education, but also more globally, to affect changes in policies that can impact access to addictive substances to vulnerable youth.  Dakota advocated for the institution of Minimum Price policies in Marin. These policies aim to set a minimum price below which specific tobacco products cannot be sold thus limiting accessibility.

Dakota demonstrated her empathy for others in very personal ways as well. During her Senior year, she has become aware of the social isolation affecting many of the students who have immigrated from Central and South America. Through simple connection over lunch or in helping with English language acquisition, she has encouraged and fostered inclusion and friendship.

Dakota has played high school soccer for all four years at Redwood and is a captain on the Girl's Varsity team.

She will be attending the University of Wisconsin.