Garee Lee Smith was one of the first nine employees of our company and we believe Heffernan Insurance Brokers would not be the company it is today if it hadn’t been for Garee. Last Thursday night at the Garee Lee Smith Scholarship Award Dinner, Mike shared fond memories, “She was the kindest human being I have ever met. She made sure everyone who came to Heffernan was welcomed. She was so giving, which today is rather odd in our society.” He continued on with a humorous story of how he had demoted an employee from an office to a cubicle and in response Garee had been more than eager to give up or share hers, not knowing he had been “kicked out”.
We are proud to carry on in Garee’s giving spirit by awarding eight students scholarships to continue on making positive changes in the world, and trust us, they have big plans. Continue on to see what each of them will be up to this fall.
Kathryn Navarra will be attending the Kalmanovitz School of Education at Saint Mary’s College in order to obtain a Master’s of Arts in Counseling. This is the next step for her in her career towards becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist.
Anna Nguyen (not pictured) will be double majoring in political science and studio art at Clark University with hopes to one day join the ranks of Congress, federal bureaucracies, or the House of Representatives in order to implement the changes in the world she wishes to see made.
Kathleen Scavo will begin her junior year at Justin Siena, a Catholic high school in Napa. Upon graduating she would like to study Business Administration at Stanford or UCLA.
Allison Christensen will begin her college career at Azusa Pacific University. After graduating she wants to obtain her teaching credential in order to become an elementary school teacher and focus on children with special needs.
Collette Roberto (not pictured) will be attending Cornell University as a sophomore continuing to study Physics as her undergraduate major. By the time she graduates she hopes to a commissioned officer of the United States Air Force. From there she would like to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology and Management to pursue a graduate degree in Physics or Astrophysical technologies.
Matthew Esparza will be beginning his freshman year at UC Berkeley who plans to specialize in computer science while a member of the Bears Track and Field Team. He even spent his summer interning here at Heffernan!
Michelle Kang (not pictured) will be transferring into UCLA to begin her junior year of college studying a degree in Sociology. She knows that as she expands her knowledge of Sociology at UCLA she will be able to pursue a career based on
Mika Ciotola graduated from UC Berkeley this past spring and will be attending the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. At Georgetown she will be specializing in international affairs, specifically in regards to international security.
We wish them well on their next journey!