Announcing Our Class of 2023

We’re pleased to announce our 2023 award winners. They include a young woman who gave 500+ hours of her time to local causes and will graduate this year with both her high school diploma and two years of college completed; a well-known resident who has raised money for countless local non-profit organizations; and a local business whose owners’ constant acts of kindness have helped Redwood City residents with critical needs.
This year, 29 Redwood City-area students will receive a total of $200,000 in college scholarships from The Sequoia Awards. The scholarships are funded by individual contributors, local philanthropic organizations, and corporate donors.
The Sequoia Awards Outstanding Student Award goes to Celina Azeneth Reyes Barrera, who attends Woodside High School/Cañada Middle College. She will receive the top scholarship of $25,000. Celina is a passionate volunteer. In addition to her academic load, she works four part-time jobs, and logged more than 500 volunteer hours at organizations like Anthony Padua Dining Room and Second Harvest Food Bank. She also serves as president of the Cañada College Chapter of Active Minds, an all-volunteer, student-led mental health group. Her career goal is to run a culturally diverse non-profit organization providing therapy and other mental health services.
“This country sure encourages competition,” Celina wrote in her application essay, “but I’ve learned that unity is one of the most important traits we can share in a community and, despite the many hardships my family and I have endured, through the many families that I have met in my years of service I have learned to become more appreciative of all I have.”
In addition to honoring local students, The Sequoia Awards annually recognizes an Outstanding Individual for continuing volunteer work in the community. This year, the honoree is George Schoenstein. George is the founder, inspiration, and prime mover behind the PAL Music, Arts and Bar-B-Q Festival. He has raised funds for and volunteered his time to a multitude of causes, including the American Cancer Society, Kainos Home and Training Center, Festiv Italiano, the Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy, the Woodside High School band, and St. Pius.
The Sequoia Awards Outstanding Business of the Year is La Biscotteria. The owners, Angela and Augustine Buonocore, certainly live up to their name — in Italian, Buonocore means “good-hearted.” The Buonocores are not connected to any organization. Rather, they step up when they encounter someone in need. You’ll find them cooking and delivering meals to seniors and the disadvantaged, driving seniors to their doctor’s appointments, visiting the sick, and more.
“This year’s honorees are a testament to the difference a single individual can make in our community,” says Debra Hall, Sequoia Awards board chair. “The lives they have touched will be forever changed by their gift of passion, time, and talent. By spotlighting their work, we hope to inspire many more people in our community to volunteer or support non-profit organizations as a sponsor or donor. May we all be buonocore.”
In addition to the Outstanding Student of the Year, The Sequoia Awards named three Community Scholars, each of whom will receive scholarships of $9,000. They are Jackson Moroney (Sacred Heart Preparatory), Rosa Linda Martinez Ruano (Sequoia High School), and Katarina Povinec (Carlmont High School).
The remaining high school seniors will receive Corporate Scholarships of $5,000 to $7,500 each.
Here is a complete list of all the student scholarship recipients and the sponsors who made their scholarships possible:
Outstanding Student of the Year
Celina Azeneth Reyes Barrera
Woodside High School/Cañada Middle College
Sponsored by The Sequoia Awards
Atharva Abhyankar
Carlmont High School
Danford Fisher Hannig Foundation
Alexis Barroso-Villa
Woodside High School
The Sobrato Organization, Black Mountain Properties
Misal Bhalala
Carlmont High School
BKF Engineers
Martin Cardoso
Summit Preparatory Charter High School
Sares Regis Group, DPR Construction
Denise Carrillo
Sequoia High School
Greystar, Kaiser Permanente
Evelyn Casique Leon
Sequoia High School
Billee Werby Memorial Scholarship, funded by Barbara & Jerry Pierce, Paula Uccelli, and Lori & Dennis McBride
Ryan Consani
Carlmont High School
W.L. Butler
Mya Gutierrez
Sequoia High School
Hannig Law LLP
Brian Khov
Sequoia High School
Oracle USA, Inc.
Alexandrea Li
Carlmont High School
Danford Fisher Hannig Foundation, Black Mountain Properties
Rosa Linda Martinez Ruano
Sequoia High School
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Yuriana Martinez Vega
Woodside High School
Lyngso Garden Materials
Maria Medina Sanchez
Sequoia High School
Recology San Mateo County, Stanford University
Natalie Melgar
Woodside High School
Stanford Health Care
Jackson Moroney
Sacred Heart Preparatory
Pete and Paula Uccelli Foundation
Christine Nam
Carlmont High School
Franceschini Family, Windy Hill Property Ventures
Cameron O’Connor
Woodside High School
Merrill Lynch, Bank of America
Ale Pelkowski de la Torre
Woodside High School
Danford Fisher Hannig Foundation
Sophia Perna
Woodside High School
Jill Imperiale Memorial Scholarship, funded by Richard & Judith Imperiale
Sierra Pestoni
Woodside High School
San Mateo Credit Union
Katarina Povinec
Carlmont High School
The Sequoia Awards
Emma Rasmussen
Notre Dame Belmont
Crittenden Family
Esperanza Ramirez
Woodside High School
Dostart Development, Heritage Bank of Commerce
Samantha Sajuan Gonzalez
Sequoia High School
Redwood City Firefighters Association, Redwood City Police Officers’ Association
Olivia Sam
Carlmont High School
Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital
Emerson Sawyer
Saint Francis High School
Will Richardson Memorial Scholarship, funded by friends and family
Diana Sedano Jimenez
Sequoia High School
Welch-Everett Family Trust
Karen Valdez
Woodside High School
Alice W. Coughlan R.N. Memorial Scholarship, funded by Liza & Frank Bizzarro and Diane & Dr. Steven Howard