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Receiving our very first Mesa Awards are Marina Jackson and Aldo Bernal. Established by a generous donation to the Loma Prieta Club by Gil and Barbara Mesa (LGHS Class of ‘62), these scholarships honor two students this year who are fully bilingual, have earned 3.0 or better GPAs, are going on to higher education, and have outstanding teacher recommendations.

Marina Jackson will attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. She plans to earn a master’s degree in education and become an elementary school teacher. Outgoing and quick to make everyone around her feel comfortable and supported, Marina has been a valued member of the LGHS swim team and the West Valley Club Water Polo team for all four years of high school.

She has also worked as a lifeguard/swim instructor for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Rec Department. She has been a lifeguard at the Redwood Estates pool since 2024. Our second Mesa Awards recipient, Aldo Bernal, was unable to attend the scholarship reception because of a family emergency. Aldo was recommended for this scholarship by every teacher who had him as a student — from Loma Prieta to CTE to LGHS. Aldo impressed Gil Mesa with his superb bilingualism and his aspirations for continuing his education beyond high school. He is currently working at Kids + Co and plans to attend the Center for Educational Technology (CET) to become an electrician.

From left: Gil Mesa, Patti Hughes, Marina, Carolina, and David Jackson Patti with Cameron and Donna DeGraff Stacey Dorn, Patti, and Alexis Dorn From left: Cameron DeGraff, Marina Jackson, Patti Hughes, Aldo Bernal, Gil Mesa, and Alexis Dorn at the Senior Awards Night Program at LGHS