This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Surprise Announcement: Cañada Student Wins $30,000 Scholarship

Cañada College held a surprise announcement in the Learning Center Wednesday afternoon to inform electrical engineering and computer science major Fidel Salgado that he has received the 2014 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The Foundation provides up to $30,000 per year to each of approximately 75 deserving students selected annually, making it the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students in the country.

ABC7 News was on hand for the announcement as Professor of Engineering Amelito Enriquez and Cañada College President Larry Buckley broke the news.

In 2011, as a 17-year-old, Salgado moved by himself from El Salvador to Palo Alto to pursue a college degree. After his first year at Cañada, Salgado was chosen to work at Stanford’s Microsystems Laboratory as an undergraduate researcher. Last summer, he was selected as an intern at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. Salgado is active in public service, serving as a physics tutor at Cañada; working with California Connects to promote computer literacy in low-income communities; and serving as a guide at San Francisco’s Exploratorium where he gives workshops for children and families about engineering.

Find out what's happening in Redwood City-Woodsidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Salgado has applied to Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, U.C. Berkeley, and other prestigious universities but it would be difficult for him to pay for school without the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Members of the media are invited to attend this special surprise announcement as Selgado learns that his final two years of college will be paid for.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?