San Diego – The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) recognized the 40 winners of the annual MTS and Coca-Cola Laptop Scholarship Contest in a ceremony at the 12th & Imperial Transit Center on Friday, May 10. MTS had students from 70 different high schools enter the contest.
The top 40 scoring students came from 27 different campuses and were awarded a 15.6” HP Touch-Screen laptop and a North Face laptop backpack. Students in grades 9-12 were required to submit an essay about lowering the cost of student transit passes and how this can help increase ridership. MTS also asked students to provide strategies for how MTS can encourage more students to ride.
“It was great that winners came from so many campuses. Their essays presented convincing ideas. Students were required to think critically about the way public transit shapes our communities,” said Paul Jablonski, MTS chief executive officer. “We appreciate the partnership with Coca-Cola and the San Diego County Office of Education in making this contest a success. It’s a great learning experience for the students.”
The laptop scholarship contest is a long-standing event partnership between MTS, Coca-Cola Refreshments of San Diego and the San Diego County Office of Education. To be eligible to win, students had to be San Diego County residents and enrolled in a San Diego County high school.
Winners of the 2019 MTS & Coca-Cola Laptop Scholarship Contest are:
Bezalel Aboye
The Preuss School UCSD
Maria Aguirre
The Preuss School UCSD
Ashley Asadi
Del Norte High School
Bryan Quezada-Ayala
Diego Hills Central Charter School
Kate Calhoun
Fallbrook Union High School
Cherish Clarkson
Grossmont High School
Holly Day
El Capitan High School
Aleia Dela Cuadra
High Tech High Chula Vista
Robert Dennett
River Valley Charter School
Fulton Elkins
Valley Center High School
Lindsey Flores
Clairemont High School
Mandy Frazer
El Capitan High School
Alexsandra Garcia
High Tech High Chula Vista
Nephtali Garcia
Sweetwater Union High School
Arianna Girmai
Hoover High School
Melissa Hernandez
Granite Hills High School
Bennett Hochner
Sage Creek High School
Isaiah Irizarry
Bonita Vista High School
Christabelle Junaidi
Del Norte High School
Nicholas Lam
Helix Charter High School
Mark Lindgren
Canyon Crest Academy
Alexis Lona
Mater Dei Catholic High School
Valeria Montemayor
East Village High School
Emett Morrow
Rancho Buena Vista High School
Derek Murchison
High Tech High Chula Vista
Karoshi Nanavati
Rancho Bernardo High School
Jose Padilla Tapia
The Preuss School UCSD
Faith Pilbin
Fallbrook Union High School
Ethan Prom
Carlsbad High School
Jed Quiaoit
Rancho Buena Vista High School
Rusty Rinehart
Rancho Bernardo High School
Isaac Rivera
High Tech High Media Arts
Olivia Root
Helix Charter High School
Evelia Rosas
Vista High School
Neha Sahota
San Marcos High School
Juan Serrano
The Preuss School UCSD
Lauren Sherburne
Christian High School
Matthew Skimina
Fallbrook Union High School
Julia Starkey
Mira Mesa High School
Melissa Tamarkin
Valley Center High School
MTS operates 95 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every weekday more than 300,000 passenger trips are taken on MTS bus and Trolley services in 10 cities and the county. In FY 2018, MTS served more than 86 million riders.
Photo (from L to R): Paul Jablonski, MTS Chief Executive Officer; Cory Holstein, Coca-Cola Refreshments; winning students; Music Watson, San Diego County Office of Education; and Georgette Gómez, MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Council President
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