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Fallbrook student awarded Farm Bureau scholarship

ESCONDIDO — Margaret Maratsos is one of three high school graduates entering college this fall with the goal of becoming high school agriculture teachers who have been awarded the Fran Hillebrecht Memorial Scholarship for 2008 by the San Diego County Farm Bureau (SDCFB) Scholarship Committee.

Maratsos, who will enter Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo this fall, spent her four years at Fallbrook High School devoted to the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program, earning countless awards and recognitions, including the coveted Golden State FFA Degree.

Those experiences and her realization that she had a natural talent for horticulture, public speaking and teaching others defined her educational and career path.

“I hope that even if my students are not very interested in agriculture as a career, I can at least make them fully cognizant and appreciative of the great feats that agriculturists and farmers alike tackle, not only for our state, but for our nation as a whole,” Maratsos said.

The other winners of the Fran Hillebrecht scholarship include Alexa Stanton of El Capitan High School in Lakeside and Kristen Kennedy of Valley Center High School.

The Fran Hillebrecht Memorial Scholarship was established in 2006 by the San Diego County Farm Bureau Scholarship Committee to recognize Hillebrecht’s longtime involvement, dedication and commitment to the local 4-H, FFA and Young Farmers & Ranchers programs.

Maratsos and fellow Fallbrook residents Ashley Colburn, attending Colorado State University; Emily Sherman, attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; and Marissa Tescier, attending Oklahoma State University, were four of 14 agriculture students who earned scholarship awards of varying amounts for the new school year.

“We had a record-breaking 32 applications submitted this year, with several students being repeat recipients,” said SDCFB Scholarship Chair Janet Silva Kister. “Word is getting out that the San Diego County Farm Bureau Scholarship Program has some serious money available to agriculturally directed college students. And it’s fascinating to see the wide range of career goals these applicants have, all under the agriculture industry umbrella.”

The SDCFB Scholarship Program began in 1999, with the primary source of scholarship funds coming from private donations and named scholarship awards. The balance is raised from the organization’s annual fall Scholarship Golf Tournament, scheduled this year for Thursday, September 25, at San Luis Rey Downs in Bonsall.

 

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