Meet Our Chevron Scholarship Recipients: Juan Pablo Roa and Mitchell Fong

Congratulations to FTSV alumni, Juan Pablo Roa and Mitchell Fong for receiving the 2020 National Chevron STEM Scholarship. Chevron selected Juan Pablo and Mitchell for their accomplishments in academics, leadership, and community involvement, as well as for majoring in a STEM related field. Each will receive $10,000 total over the next 4 years. Juan Pablo Roa has been a participant with us since 2011 and volunteered as a junior coach as soon as he was able. He is currently a freshman at UC Berkeley majoring in data science with a focus on sports analytics. As Juan Pablo states, “being awarded with the Chevron STEM Scholarship is a real honor. This award gives me hope to embrace challenges during these challenging times, knowing there are good people that can help make goals and dreams possible. The scholarship has lightened my financial burden and have allowed me to focus more of my energy on studying and pursuing my dream of giving back to the community through my data science work.” Mitchell has been in our program for 4 years as a participant and 1 year as a volunteer coach. He is entering his first year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he is majoring in engineering. As Mitchell states, “I learned in the First Tee – Silicon Valley that we all need to ask for help and build a go-to team and I am grateful for Chevron extending their hand. With passions for sports, engineering, business, and community, my dream is to become a social entrepreneur to provide underprivilege youth opportunities to pursue athletics. Thank you for believing in my future and for your support.” The scholarships are named after the First Tee participants who competed in the 2019 Chevron Shoot-Out at the PURE Insurance Championship as a pay-it-forward scholarship. In addition to receiving the scholarship, Chevron will be connected with possible internships and employment opportunities. As an added part of Juan Pablo’s and Mitchell’s scholarship, they were connected with First Tee – Silicon Valley alum Varsha Nekkanti as a college mentor. Varsha is a junior at UC Berkeley and Ace-certified participant. She spoke with both recipients via Zoom offering advice for how to navigate the new experience of college. She will be available to Juan Pablo and Mitchell throughout their time at UC Berkeley and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Congratulations, Juan Pablo and Mitchell! We are excited for you to begin your journey through college and we wish you all the best!