Students vie for scholarships

NEWPORT BEACH — Tom Hutchison had a valuable mentor when he entered the Irvine Co.’s annual scholarship program — and valuable advice.

Hutchison, a senior at Corona del Mar High School, is one of 32 students competing in the Investing in Education Student Leadership Awards Program. His friend, Corona del Mar graduate Kenneth Wong, was among the finalists in last year’s competition. When Tom, 17, became a contender, Wong gave him a simple bit of advice: Take it easy.

“I’m trying to relax a little and just have fun with it,” Tom said during a break Friday at the Irvine Co. offices, where he and his colleagues were enmeshed in competition.

At the office in Fashion Island, students formed groups of eight and spent the early afternoon creating planned communities, with members in charge of social services, environmental laws and more. Later in the day, the groups presented their communities — and, more important, their teamwork skills — to a panel of judges.

The activity marked the first round of the scholarship program, in which the 32 contestants will eventually be whittled down to four finalists. Each of the students got $2,500 in scholarship funds at the beginning, the eight semifinalists will take home $5,000, and the ultimate winners will win $10,000 each.

To qualify for the competition, students must maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 and attend one of 16 participating high schools in the Newport-Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Tustin and Orange districts. Each school sends one male and one female student to compete.

The Newport-Mesa contenders this year, in addition to Tom, are Caitlin Adams from Corona del Mar High School, Juan Arellano and Linh Hoang from Costa Mesa High School, Taylor McClanahan and Shannon Parsons from Estancia High School, and Arielle Little and Joshua Smith from Newport Harbor High School.

The second round of the competition is March 23. After an additional round April 20, the Irvine Co. will announce the finalists at its annual awards dinner May 2.