OPCMIA Scholarship Winner Alina Zavala pictured with her father, Hugo Zavala Herrejon, of Local 300 Pleasanton, CA. Alina will be attending the University of California San Diego in the fall.
OPCMIA Scholarship Winner Alina Zavala pictured with her father, Hugo Zavala Herrejon, of Local 300 Pleasanton, CA. Alina will be attending the University of California San Diego.
My name is Alina Zavala, and I am honored to be a recipient of the Patrick D. Finley scholarship! My father has been a proud member of the OPCMIA union for 18 years and works as a cement mason. I have had the privilege of learning key life lessons through his union-instilled values and passionate pursuit of his craft. Among them, OPCMIA has helped instill in me the importance of a strong work ethic, dedication, and prominence of one’s community. As a student, I graduated from Liberty High School in June 2025 as our class Valedictorian. During my time at Liberty I held various extracurricular involvements, such as a 4-year ASB membership and senior ASB president, Ballet Folklorico Performance Team member, ‘Ori Ma’Ohi Polynesian Dance Team member, as well as multiple stints in CSF/Key Club/Newspaper. In terms of academics, I took a rigorous combination of honors and AP classes and maintained an above 4.0 GPA all 4 years. As I look towards my future, I am excited to attend the University of California San Diego as a Cell and Molecular Biology major! I will be a PATHS scholar at UCSD and seek to pursue a pre-med route. Eventually, my goal is to enter the medical field and provide quality health care to diverse communities. I am immensely grateful to OPCMIA for providing this opportunity to pursue my dreams, and to my family members for working so tirelessly to nurture my successes.
