My Scholarship Story: Angela Diaz
Taylor Farms Scholarship Recipient Angela Diaz Shares Her Story
Angela Diaz, from Salinas, CA, is a sophomore at CSUMB majoring in Agriculture Plant and Soil Science and a first generation college student. A Taylor Farms Scholarship recipient, Angela, whose family is from Mexico, is currently part of the College Assistance Migrant Program at CSUMB, and plans to become a successful agronomist.
Thanks to this scholarship I will be able to achieve my goal of becoming an agronomist one day in the future and make my family proud.”
Angela is a Dean’s List student and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society for first-year academic success. Angela was invited to speak at the 2022 CFMC Celebration of Philanthropy, where she told her story to the large audience of CFMC donors and partners and met Bruce and Linda Taylor, 2022 Distinguished Trustees and founders of the scholarship fund.
Celebration of Philanthropy 2022
Angela’s Story – In Her Own Words
“My name is Angela Diaz and I am 19 years old. I attended Everett Alvarez High school and decided to go straight to a four-year college. I am a sophomore at CSUMB majoring in Agriculture Plant and Soil Science. I am a first generation college student.
My main goal in life is to graduate with my bachelor’s degree and become a successful agronomist. Growing up my parents have been my number one support. I come from a low-income family and I am currently part of the College Assistance Migrant Program at CSUMB. My parents left their life behind in Mexico and came to the United States to give me a better life filled with opportunities.
Everything is Possible, Si Se Puede
One of the greatest achievements I had in my first year of college was being placed on the Dean’s List. This academic honor requires a GPA of at least 3.5. I am also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society for firstyear academic success.
I look forward to dedicating my best work to make my dreams come true. As my mother always tells me, ‘everything in this life is possible, si se puede.’
During my journey I always told myself how crucial it is to participate and volunteer. Now every chance I get, I look forward to helping my community. I have participated in speech panels for the Migrant Program, and when I received the opportunity to share my story, I went for it with no hesitation. I want to harvest hope for those students that come from farm working families and let them know that anything is possible, even with the struggles we face as migrant students.
Salinas, An Academic Inspiration
Agriculture has always been something that I wanted to get involved in since my parents have been working all their lives in agriculture.
I am from Salinas California, so being surrounded by such a beautiful valley truly inspires me to make a change, not just for myself but for the world. I want to be able to analyze crops that surround this valley and make life changing improvements in the soil to grow the best plants and vegetables needed.
As we all know, agriculture is crucial and essential to our population and Salinas is known as the Salad Bowl feeding people all over the world. This Taylor Farms scholarship means the world to me because I am able to receive some help for my courses and books.”
Thanks to this scholarship I will be able to achieve my goal of becoming an agronomist one day in the future and make my family proud.
This scholarship brings me a step closer to my goals and the career that I have always been passionate about. I really want to give a huge thank you to Bruce and Linda for creating this great opportunity. My family and I are deeply grateful, and I will do everything in my power to take full advantage of this scholarship. Thank you all for listening!
Celebration of Philanthropy: Full Video
About CFMC Scholarships
The Community Foundation for Monterey County manages over 60 named scholarship funds, with a total value of more than $8.2 million. Each year, these funds award over $1,700,000 for the benefit of about 375 students. Learn more at www.cfmco.org/scholarships.