Antioch High Class of 1966 awards big scholarships

t was 50 years in the making but the wait was well worth it.

Antioch High’s Class of 1966 recently honored four soon-to-be graduates with $5,000 scholarships.

Marisol Angeles, Victor Anguiano, Mariam Khird and Evan Scheiderman were rightly floored when they found out about the generous amount.

“I’m ecstatic to have received the award. It is an absolute honor to have been hand-picked by former students,” Anguiano said. “It means the world that they believe in me and my future success. Receiving this award has reaffirmed my belief in giving back to my community and my Panther pride.”

Scheiderman said: “It felt (great) to get this award. It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized by such a great class. It means a lot to me to get help further my education and to meet such great people.”

A five-decade gap was narrowed by the mutual love of their school.

Committee member Gordon (Shorty) Shelton said, “It was truly amazing how our class responded.”

It started during planning of the upcoming reunion. After classmates were asked about offering scholarships, donations came in quickly with many “wishing they could afford to give more.”

The initial plan was to give three $500 scholarships. But with generous donations and matching funds by Bob Beswick’s community foundations, the awards skyrocketed. In addition to Shelton, committee members include Barbara Lopez Olds, Dee Lopez Trotta, Earlene Noia Lanter, Sharon Stoddard Pappas and Steve Pickard.

Shelton said his class “is the greatest. Donations are still coming in.” The additional funds will be divided and given to the recipients when they start college. “They can use it for their dorms, supplies, pizza. They earned it — with their grades and involvement in the school and community.”

About 20 AHS students applied for the premier scholarships, which required having Panther alum relatives and be STEM-oriented.

“It wasn’t easy, but the four were unanimous winners,” Shelton said.

The alum group invited the accomplished quartet to a recent luncheon, where the amount of the scholarships was revealed.

“It was tremendously gratifying to see the look on their face when they found out how much they each were receiving,” said Shelton, adding that it was a bonus to meet them and get to visit.

“It was wonderful. We’re looking forward to seeing them at our events and keeping in contact as they continue on in life.”

The Class of 1966 celebrates its 50th reunion in high fashion with an array of events over five days, including opening its time capsule at Antioch High and touring the new athletic stadium, a dinner-dance, a Giants game, a tribute to classmates who served in the military, and a visit to Hazel’s.

“We have a very close class. We have done a reunion every five years, 50th and 60th birthday parties and a ‘Medicare Party.’ We have a luncheon every other month with about 50-60 classmates,” Shelton said.

The group is considering scholarships again. The Class of 1966 hopes other alum take their lead and give back to the school. All four 2016 recipients alluded to doing the same to help future generations.