Madera County Republican Women presented scholarships to seven deserving students at a recent dinner meeting.
Tricia Protzman, Madera County Superintendent of Schools, read the profiles of each student as she introduced each, and presented them with their scholarship awards.
“I have the honor of presenting the scholarship awards that have been granted by the Madera County Republican Women’s Group, and what a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the youth in our society and our community and to learn about a little bit of the students that we have here and all of their great accomplishments,” Protzman said.
The first student honored was not present — Lauren Silveira from Chowchilla Union High School received a $1,000 scholarship. She has been managing her own registered Holstein herd since the age of nine years old. She served as the FFA chapter president, the California Junior Holstein Association president, and 4-H club president all at the same time. She has received multiple state showmanship championships, earned second high individual at the California FFA state finals dairy judging contest, and she is one of only six students selected from across all 50 states to represent the United States of Young Breeders School in Belgium, completing alongside participants from 18 countries. She plans to attend the University of Minnesota to major in animal science with minors in agriculture business and agriculture communications to eventually take over her family’s dairy farm.
She was unable to attend the dinner because she was in Florida attending the National Holstein Convention.
Jane Bilskey of Liberty High School also received a $1,000 scholarship. At Liberty, she played varsity soccer all four years. She served as the secretary of the ROP Sports Medicine Club, and was named the Hope of America in 2022. During her high school career, she suffered a fractured hip and a torn ACL. During her rehabilitation, she maintained focus on academics as well as her recovery. She plans to become a physical therapist, so she can give back to others the very care that helped restore her. She plans to attend Fresno State.
Fabiola Santiago Eufraio just graduated from Matilda Torres High School, and also received a $1,000 scholarship. She received her associate’s degree in biological sciences from the Madera Community College while attending high school, an accomplishment that has never been done at Matilda Torres High School nor Madera Unified School District. She served as a nursing assistant student leader, is a HOSA member, earned her OSHA outreach training certification, and completed 116 hours of community service. She did all of this while growing up in a family of eight and on a limited income. Her dream is to become a registered nurse and to give back the gift of health to families like hers. She will be attending Fresno State.
Michelle Ramirez-Rueda of Madera South High School received a $1,000 scholarship. She was ranked No. 1 out of 432 classmates, with a weighted grade point average of 4.56. Michelle has been working 35 hours a week while maintaining that high grade point average. She is president of the California Scholarship Federation, vice president of the Future Business Leaders of America, treasurer of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math United, and a youth advocate. She grew up as a daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers, and helped raise her siblings. She wants to return to Madera to be an accountant. This fall, she will be attending UC Berkeley.
Sally Bomprezzi presented the next scholarship award to her granddaughter, Olivia Bomprezzi.
Olivia attended Madera High School, and graduated with a 4.06 grade point average. She was one of 36 valedictorians in her class of 435 students. She has been active in several clubs and events at school. She participates in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, FCA, as a leadership team member, and a dedicated volunteer at Madera Grace Tabernacle. She has helped with food banks, toy drives, as well as school events. “Wherever she’s needed, Olivia shows up,” Sally Bomprezzi said.
Olivia wants to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. She was deeply impacted by the school counselors who supported her through the years, and she wants to pay it forward and help others. She has been attending the MCCAP program at Madera Community College. She has been accepted at UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, but she will finish her AA before attending a university. Her scholarship was $750.
Christopher Markarian was presented his scholarship by his mother, Gail Markarian. As a recent graduate of Madera High School, Christopher is a three-year varsity baseball player. He was not only a player, but was the team chaplain. He leads weekly devotions, mentors younger players, volunteers with the children’s ministry at his church, serves on the audio-visual team, and he’s someone who leads quietly, humbly, and consistently. Chris navigated ADHD throughout his school years, and rather than letting it define him, he turned it into a strength through discipline and the support of great teachers. He wants to pursue a career in wildlife biology with marine fisheries. He was inspired by a seven-year-old boy who held a snake at the Fresno-Chaffee Zoo and never forgot how it felt.
He will be attending Cal Poly Humboldt, to study fishery biology.
The final scholarship was awarded to Angelica “Angie” Castillo for $1,000. Castillo graduated from Madera High School, and was ranked ninth out of a class of 400, with a weighted grade point average of 4.38. She served two consecutive years as the student trustee on the Madera Unified Board of Education, and has been the voice for students on the board. She has competed in mock trial, and is one of the team’s highest-scoring attorneys. She participated in academic decathlon. She captains both varsity gymnastics team and varsity cheer squad, and served as the Class of 2026 secretary. She attended the Ronald Reagan Youth Conference last year.
Castillo is a first-generation college student, and the daughter of parents seeking citizenship. In her scholarship essay, she wrote about her grandparents who speak only Spanish, about growing up holding conservative values in environments that sometimes push back on them, and about never backing down because she leads with logic, character, and love for this country.
As someone who attended the Ronald Reagan Youth Conference last year, Angie knows first what it means to be inspired by conservative leadership.
Her goal is a career in civil service to show first-generation kids how blessed they are and to prove that this country’s promise belongs to everyone.
She will attend UCLA in the fall.