Two Murrieta Valley Unified School District seniors – Emilra Hernandez and Raifei Lui — are receiving Murrieta Rotary Club’s special renewable scholarships. Each of the June graduates will receive a $4,000 scholarship payable in $1,000 annual increments to further their education.

Emilra Hernandez, graduating from Vista Murrieta High School, plans to attend a four-year college to study mechanical engineering. While in high school, she has worked as a lab technician at Project X Corrosion Engineering and as a private tutor. At Vista, she has been a member of the National Honor Society, the California Scholarship Federation and part of the Interact Club (the youth branch of Rotary International) for all four years. She was founding president of SWENext which encourages women to pursue Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) fields.

Raifei Lui, graduating from Murrieta Mesa High School, plans to attend the University of California Irvine to study Biology with the goal of specializing in genetics and ecological research. During her years at Mesa, Raifei has been active in the April Autism Awareness program which brings together local businesses, schools and the autistic community; the Yes! Club Summer Camp which is designed to be both fun and instructive for underprivileged elementary and middle-school students. She was one of seven international ambassadors for the Chinese delegation at HOBY World Leadership Congress. She was active in Border Angels and organized the collection of over 1,000 care packages, diapers and Christmas gifts, benefitting refugee women and children.

“We are delighted to present these awards to very deserving students who will go on to make a difference in our world, just as they have during their high school years,” President Dr. Jim Yanoschik said.

Murrieta Rotary’s renewable scholarship is awarded through Dollars for Scholars which raises money annually to support advanced education. The awards were presented April 21 at Murrieta Mesa High School’s auditorium.

In addition to the four-year renewable scholarship, Murrieta Rotary annually offers a number of career tech scholarships for graduating high school and community college students.

Murrieta Rotary’s scholarship program as well as other educational and community funding is made possible by the club’s annual Murrieta Field of Honor held during Veterans Day week in November.