The Juanita Haugen scholarship is a special $1,000 scholarship presented to PUSD students by The Community of Character Collaborative. Students who are awarded this scholarship are teens who have shown phenomenal character and civic engagement in their community.

“Juanita Haugen was one of the longest-serving members of the Pleasanton school board, and established the Community of Character program. In memorial of her, the CCC honors four seniors from PUSD who display various acts of compassion, responsibility, honesty, integrity, respect, and self discipline, and also work to service their community,” said Delaney Roehrs (‘22).

Two of the four scholarship recipients were Amador Seniors Sahana Kumar (‘22) and Delaney Roehrs (‘22). Both students have been incredibly avid members of the Pleasanton community. They’ve been involved in numerous activities that have made them worthy of this scholarship. 

“Currently, I work with a nonprofit called the Z-Cares Foundation, which focuses on bringing awareness to youth mental health and providing resources for self-help and community aid. I also am a Co-coordinator for a Teen Student Talk forum which provides students in the Foster & Kinship program in PUSD to have a safe space to chat and speak their mind,” said Roehrs.

Roehrs has a background that draws her to the community service area of work.

“When I was younger, I didn’t have the kind of help that these organizations provide. Growing up in St. Louis, MO, my family struggled with financial instability, mental illness, and other heavy topics I won’t get into. Now, I have a larger platform to make a difference in the lives of people my age and younger. I can help. I’m not alone,” said Roehrs.

Like most scholarships, there was a bit of an application process. Applicants were asked to provide background on themselves as well as other standard application procedures. 

“The application form was rather simple, I just entered my personal information, listed to references who could attest to my character, and responded to three essay prompts,” said Roehrs.

The Juanita Haugen scholarship applicants are picked by the Community of Character Collaborative, so a lot more goes into consideration than general information and writing skills.

“I feel the goal is just being as involved as a community member as possible and trying to help out other people, sharing a story of what it means to be a part of the Pleasanton community and helping others in it. So that’s basically what they screen for,” said Kumar.

Both girls have been helping others in their community for years, but their journey isn’t over yet. Roehr plans on entering the field of pediatric psychology, and Kumar hopes to work with nonprofits. 

“I just feel like whatever I do, if I’m not helping others I’ll just be really unfulfilled, so I think whatever I do has to involve ethics. I’m a part of the ethics club at my school so I’m definitely really connected to philosophy and what it means,” said Kumar.