With the pandemic shaking up the end of the basketball season and putting the kibosh on spring sports, and at this point leaving fall sports in jeopardy, three girls and their families got some good news when they were informed over the Fourth of July weekend that they were the recipients of the 2019 West Coast Jamboree (a 501C-3) Scholarship Program. Each will receive a $2,500 scholarship.
The winners are Layla Gomes of Alhambra-Martinez, Reese McKay Jones of El Segundo High, and Naarai Gomez of Canby High in Oregon
Around 350 seniors played last December in the 20th anniversary of the Jamboree and fourth year of the Scholarship Program with over 100 girls submitting an initial application. From there 24 finalists were chosen with 18 girls completing the final phase of the application process.
Unlike the first three years of the Scholarship Program the applicants GPA was less of a factor, although it still was part of the consideration.
This past year, and in conjunction with obtaining corporate sponsorships from Hilbers Construction, 1st NorCal Credit Union, Visit Concord, DivcoWest and Bay Alarm, plus others, the criteria was changed to include whether the applicant had a financial need. According to Jamboree founder, current Board of Directors member, and Scholarship Committee member David Jackson, all three of the winners came from single-parent homes and met the needs based criteria. On top of it all three were outstanding student-athletes with impressive grades.
“We had academics on our minds as part of what we considered, but the three girls we chose had such unbelievably compelling stories, and their overall applications were head and shoulders above all the other finalists,” Jackson said.
The applicants still had to show transcripts of their grades. They also had to write an essay that defined their needs, talked about what kind of experience they had at the Jamboree, things they do of service in their communities, and they had to get a supporting letter from either their coach, athletic director or the assistant principal or principal.
According to Jackson, in the end it was the heartfelt essays that that the committee members felt were the most compelling part of the three girls’ applications.
“The struggles and adversity these three girls have overcome is amazing,” Jackson remarked. “If you read their essays and it doesn’t hit you, you must not have a heart.”
With these three winners the Jamboree Scholarship Program will have awarded $30,000 over the past four tournaments.
Layla Gomes
School: Alhambra-Martinez
Final GPA: 4.4
College: Sonoma State University
Major: Biochemistry
What was the thing about the Jamboree (other than winning a scholarship of course) that will be a lasting memory for you and the thing you most enjoyed about the tournament?
“The Jamboree and the sport of basketball has allowed me to recover from past trauma by both showing me the joys life has yet to offer me as well as provide me a support system. I most enjoyed being able to escape the stresses of everyday life while being on the court and enjoying that time with teammates.”
How does it feel to be selected to receive a scholarship from such a large group of applicants?
“I am unbelievably grateful for this opportunity. I never would have thought that I would be selected as a winner especially due to the large pool of amazing competitors. I highly value that this program not only sees but appreciates my success thus far, and I am overjoyed that I can continue achieving my dreams.”
How will $2,500 help you with the costs of college and did you receive any other scholarships of this magnitude?
“This scholarship will allow me to pay my tuition which I plan on paying solely on my own. I have won several other scholarships including the Martinez Women’s Club Scholarship, the AAUW Scholarship, and the Rose-Christensen Scholarship.”
Were you a star, a role player, a team leader and/or a captain...were you a mentor to younger players and if so in what way?
“I was both a captain and a mentor. I would make the extra effort to make sure every player in our program felt welcome and included (even if talking to them got me in trouble). I not only wanted our players to feel comfortable while being a part of the program, but also make them feel like they had a home away from home.”
Reese McKay Jones
School: El Segundo
Final GPA: 4.6
College: Occidental College
Major: Economics but open to exploring other paths
What was the thing about the Jamboree (other than winning a scholarship of course) that will be a lasting memory for you and the thing you most enjoyed about the tournament?
“This was my last year of playing high school basketball so I am so glad that I was able to participate in the jamboree with my teammates. A lasting memory for me was when we all crowded into our coaches room and watched film on his computer screen. We tried to put up a sheet to make a bigger screen, but that didn’t work out like we thought it would. It’s not a big moment but when I look back to the jamboree, simple moments like that make me smile. I remember walking out of the gym and leaving after our last game of the tournament. It wasn’t the last game of the year so our season wasn’t ending, but it was still the end of an amazing journey.”
How does it feel to be selected to receive a scholarship from such a large group of applicants?
“It honestly feels unreal. Whenever you’re selected for something that many people had the chance to have, it kind of feels too good to be true in a way because the chances of receiving it are much smaller.”
How will $2,500 help you with the costs of college and did you receive any other scholarships of this magnitude?
“I have not received any other scholarships quite like this one. This money will help me tremendously with my college expenses.”
Were you a star, a role player, a team leader and/or a captain...were you a mentor to younger players and if so in what way?
“During my Junior and Senior year I was a leader for a lot of the younger girls, but that’s what comes with being an upperclassman. My teammates and I did have the chance to be camp counselors for youth sports camps and we were able to mentor younger kids. The youth camps were definitely without a doubt one of my favorite parts of basketball and high school overall.”
Naarai Gomez
School: Canby, Oregon
Final GPA: 3.94 un-weighted
College: Portland State University
Major: Biology with a minor in psychology in hopes of becoming a Physician Assistant
What was the thing about the Jamboree (other than winning a scholarship of course) that will be a lasting memory for you and the thing you most enjoyed about the tournament?
“A lasting memory that I will take from this tournament is how much my team grew mentally. Our first game of the tournament was probably one of the roughest that we have had. We had just arrived in California and had to play right away and unfortunately we did not prepare mentally. Although, the way we responded after that game made all of us grow and made the rest of the tournament even more enjoyable. We ended up winning the rest of our games after that game and winning the consolation bracket. We bonded so much on and off the court by having to create our own energy on the court and strolling the streets in California.”
How does it feel to be selected to receive a scholarship from such a large group of applicants?
“It is beyond an honor to have been selected for this scholarship and it feels beyond unreal. There were so many qualified applicants and it just brought me happiness knowing that I was one of the recipients of this scholarship because it is bringing me one step closer to my educational and career goals.”
How will $2,500 help you with the costs of college and did you receive any other scholarships of this magnitude?
“This money will help me pay for textbooks and additional college fees. I received a couple of other local scholarships from Canby of this magnitude or greater.”
Were you a star, a role player, a team leader and/or a captain...were you a mentor to younger players and if so in what way?
“I was a captain for my team and a mentor to all of my teammates on and off the court. I’d help my teammates succeed educationally, physically, and mentally, and was the energy and positivity source for our team.”
Complete list of 24 Finalists
Julia Anderson, Credo-Rohnert Park
Grace Bliss, Colfax
Abbey Brown, Middletown
Jessica Buzzard, Willits
Mackenzie Cassingham, Central Valley-Shasta Lake
Daylee Dunn, Salesian-Richmond
Marissa Durst, Concord
Layla Gomes, Alhambra Martinez
Naarai Gomez, Canby, Oregon
Morgan Groves, Vintage-Napa
Cassandra Gutierrez, Buhach Colony-Atwater
Litzy Infante, Calistoga
Reese McKay Jones, El Segundo
Sydney Jou, Mark Keppel-Alhambra
Rosemarie Kiyemba, Clayton Valley-Concord
Kristina Kravchuck, Roseville
Lydia Manu, Aragon-San Mateo
Marlie Marfil, Kamehameha Kapalama-Honolulu, Hawaii
Malia Mastora, St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda
Rashonda Rhodes, Santa Cruz
Marisela Kristina Singleton, Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa
Sarah Tang, James Logan-Union City
Niyarah Valdamoro, Westmoor-Daly City
Kristin Young, Carlsbad
Previous Winners
2016
Emily Andrus, Mount Shasta
Aileen Flynn, Orland
Brookelyn Vance-Larkin, Calaveras-San Andreas
2017
Abigail Andrus, Mount Shasta
Emily Garcia, LACES-Los Angeles
Zoe Stachowski, Redwood-Larkspur
2018
Alyssa Andrews, Vintage-Napa
Klara Astrom, Pinewood-Los Altos Hills
Paige Lyons, Eureka
