WATSONVILLE, CA - Monterey Mushrooms is showing its support for its workforce and the next generation of leaders, presenting 81 children of its teammates with $237,300 in scholarship awards for the 2023–24 academic year. Last week, the mushroom provider presented 10 recipients with their awards in person at its Watsonville, California, office.
“This is a monumental event for all of us at Monterey to have an opportunity to meet the wonderful parents of our young leaders of tomorrow,” said Shah Kazemi, Chief Executive Officer, congratulating the students for their hard work and determination and their parents for raising such extraordinary individuals. “Education is an elevator that gives individuals the capability to climb in life to earn a better wage, raise a better family, to make a better contribution to society.”
The scholarships are awarded to students who pursue higher education degrees at accredited colleges, universities, and vocational/technical schools, and are presented to recipients from all Monterey Mushrooms locations including California, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Mexico. For the past 32 years, dependent children of full-time employees have been eligible to apply for a scholarship of up to $5,000 for up to four years, a press release explained.
In 2004, the program was renamed the Carl Victor Fields Scholarship Program to honor the company’s past Vice President of Marketing, who was passionate about the importance of young people achieving their potential. Contributing a total of more than $3.8 million, 2,541 grants have been awarded since the program’s inception.
Jacqui Pacheco, a Justice Studies major and senior at San Jose State University, attended the in-person award ceremony alongside her parents to receive the Carl Victor Fields Scholarship.
“I am working two jobs to be able to pay tuition for the upcoming semester along with other expenses. Being a first-generation student is hard as it is, and trying to balance life and work is even harder,” Pacheco said. “With this scholarship, I will be able to pay tuition for one semester, plus other expenses.”
Monterey Mushrooms recently celebrated 50 years in business in 2021 and believes the company’s scholarship program is one way to live out its company purpose of “Enhancing People’s Lives.”
Cheers to Monterey Mushrooms for this impactful effort to support its workforce and the future leaders of tomorrow!
