Bonsall High graduate receives scholarship for families of fallen service members

Six students from San Diego County, including a high school graduate from Bonsall, received Folds of Honor KidCents education scholarships totaling $30,000 earlier this month.

Associates at a San Diego Rite Aid presented the six with their scholarships during an in-store event Nov. 7.

Folds of Honor is a nonprofit that provides educational scholarships to families of military service members who were killed or disabled while on active duty.

MiaCai Meluat, who graduated from Bonsall High School earlier this year, received $5,000 to go toward educational expenses at the University of Hawaii, where she began her freshman year this fall.

Meluat said she was born on the island of Guam while her father, Marine Corps Cpl. Jaygee Ngirmidol Meluat, was stationed there. He was reassigned to Camp Pendleton not long after she was born, and she grew up in the Fallbrook-Bonsall area.

Meluat said her father was killed in action on her third birthday in 2004 while deployed in Iran.

“I don’t have many memories of him, but I’m grateful for his service,” Meluat said.

She said she found out about the Folds of Honor scholarship opportunity during her senior year of high school while attending Snowball Express, a four-day event at Disney World for families with children who have lost a parent during military service.

“They host a really special event for us and there they had resources to help families, from scholarships to outreach and support systems,” Meluat said. “My mom took me to that resource area and the scholarship tables, and we came across this one.”

She said the money will help with tuition, her meal plan, food and board.

Folds of Honor has awarded nearly 20,000 scholarships in 50 states and some U.S. territories since it was founded in 2007, including approximately 4,000 scholarships in 2018 alone.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].