Our 2022 Patrick D. Finley Scholarship Fund Winners

In Modesto California on January 21 2004, came a bright and determined young lady. My name is Gisel Noemi Garcia. Ever since the day I was born my mother knew that I was going to be a very strong, independent, and special woman. She was right. As a little girl, I always strove to do more. I wanted to do everything by myself with the assistance of no one, even if it meant learning the hard way. I quickly became eager to learn and succeed in every aspect of life. When I started school, I grew to have a passion for it. I loved being social, meeting new people, and most importantly learning new things. I quickly surpassed the average reading level and learned that my strengths would be English and writing, while my most disliked and difficult subject was math. Growing up I always had a love for talking, so much so that it was the only thing I ever got called out for in class.

To this day I enjoy engaging in conversations with my peers, mentors, and teachers. I find anything from food to politics a great conversation starter and it’s my way of portraying my personality. Throughout my many extracurricular and in-classroom experiences, I have always strived to lead. I am a leader at heart, I take pride and joy in leading others from anything such as in-class projects, to making posters to public presentations. Within my academic career, I will be attending Sacramento State in the fall and am striving to obtain a degree in Health Sciences. I hope to achieve greatness and accomplish all of the goals I have set for myself.

I am extremely thankful for being selected to receive this scholarship.

I am Jose Landeros. I am 17 years old, and I am part of the Class of ’22. I live in Southern California with my mom, dad, two sisters, and one brother. Out of my siblings, I am the oldest which means I am the first out of my family to enter a higher education. For me this is uncharted territory since neither of my parents received a higher education. Regardless of this, my parents are absolutely successful and excellent people who are very loving and supportive. I am entering college this fall ready for what is coming. I plan on majoring in engineering, which is very broad, so specifically I want to study electrical and electronics engineering. From a young age I have enjoyed forming my own creations with toys like Lego’s and that has not changed. Now however, I want to take this to a professional level by creating my own electrical systems, circuits, prototypes, etc. With this scholarship I can reach this goal by receiving the education necessary to obtain the skills that are essential to engineers.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Hi, my name is Haley Jacoby, granddaughter of Damacio Cortez, who is a member of Local 755. My grandparents adopted me at the age of 8 and have provided me with everything I have needed to succeed. I graduated from John F. Kennedy Senior Medical Magnet with Magna Cum Laude. I am very involved with my academics, extracurricular activities and community service work at Kaiser Permanente.

This fall, I plan to further my education at San Diego State University to receive my bachelor’s in nursing. I aim to pursue a doctorate in nursing to become a neonatal nurse practitioner. Thank you so much OPCMIA and Local 755 for this opportunity; I am very grateful.

My name is Maile Lueck, and I am the daughter of Jason Lueck. My dad has been working in the Union for 24 years and I am so proud to see all of his accomplishments. I am currently attending Grand Canyon University and pursuing a degree in Finance and Economics while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. This upcoming year will be my senior year and I am so excited to see what this year holds! I completed Running Start my last two years of high school and was able to receive my Associates of Arts along with my high school diploma.

I am honored to be a recipient of the OPCMIA Patrick D. Finley Scholarship Fund and I am so excited to see how this expands my academic career. I would like to thank Local 528 and the OPCMIA for this amazing opportunity!

My name is Gerryzze Ilan, daughter of Gerry Ilan who has been a member of Local 630 for 16 years! I am a recent graduate of Waipahu High School (WHS) and am the first in my family to be a valedictorian and achieve all honors. While in WHS, I engaged in numerous extra-curricular activities to stay involved with my campus. These activities include Student Council, Key Club, Health Occupations Students of America, my Academy of Health and Sciences’ Student Board of Directors, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Science Bowl, and Chamber Choir. In addition to that, I participated in our Early College Running-Start Program where I earned college credits. I gained many skills ranging from health, leadership, interpersonal, and laboratory research from my experiences. As a result, I aim to apply my accomplishments to my aspirations.

I am proud to announce that I will be attending Chapman University where I will pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences. It is a great honor to receive the generous Patrick D. Finley Scholarship that will help fund the expenses of my higher education. I plan to get into medical school and become a dermatologist in the future.

Again, I am highly grateful for Local 630 and OPCMIA for giving me this opportunity and I will definitely be sure to use it to its full potential. Thank you for investing in my future and supporting me through my journey.