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Turlock Certified Farmers Market awards scholarships to local students
TCFM scholarships
From left to right: Elizabeth Claes, Anjelica Rizo Perez, Jeanie Ferrari, Jessica Sanchez and current TCFM board president Pamela Werther pose together during a scholarship presentation at Saturday’s farmers market in downtown Turlock (Photo contributed).

A pair of Turlock High School seniors were recognized as the winners of two scholarships awarded by the Turlock Certified Farmers Market on Saturday morning.

The 2024 Jeani Ferrari and Elizabeth Claes scholarships were awarded to Angelica Rizo Perez and Jasmine Sanchez. The two scholarships, named after the two founding members of the TCFM board, were established to support two graduating high school seniors in the Turlock area who exemplify the values of the farmers market and who plan post-high school studies in this general area.

Rizo Perez is a member of the Turlock High FFA chapter and earned the Greenhand Award. She plans to study psychology at California State University, Stanislaus this fall to pursue a career as a mental health therapist. She notes that the farmers’ market’s promotion of healthy food locally produced connects to her interests in community and mental health, and suggests that a holistic view of well-being recognizes the importance of physical health and mental health. Not only does she view the Turlock Certified Farmers Market to play an important role in contributing to the well-being of the community through nutrition, but also as a calming space for community connection.

Sanchez, also a member of Turlock High FFA, earned numerous awards with the Future Farmers of America including the Greenhand and Chapter Star Award. She has also received the FFA State Degree, which requires 25 hours of community service. Sanchez will be a first-generation college student and plans to attend Modesto Junior College with hopes to transfer to Fresno State to study either enology or viticulture. She hopes her education can lead to a career in the wine industry, where she can contribute to the more sustainable production of grapes and wine to improve farmworker health. She has a dream of one day having her own vineyard and opening her own winery business.

“The Turlock Certified Farmers Market was impressed by all the scholarship applicants,” the organization said in a press release. “We encourage regional high school seniors to apply for our scholarships in future years.”

Those interested in learning more about the TCFM Scholarship program are encouraged to contact Richard Wallace at rwallace@csustan.edu.