NMUSD quartet among 15 selected as Toshiba Classic Scholarship Award finalists

Corona del Mar High senior Vincent Ong, Costa Mesa senior Nora Vartanian, Estancia senior Taranjit Kaur and Newport Harbor senior Cooper Hendrix were among 15 students who were selected as Toshiba Classic Scholarship Award finalists and honored with a Toshiba laptop computer Wednesday at Hoag Hospital Irvine Auditorium.

Beckman’s Zayyan Takieddine; Irvine’s Benjamin Bui; Northwood’s Stephanie Chang; University’s Seungyeon Han; Woodbridge’s Lauren Kim and Natasha Takahashi; El Toro’s Zeina Elhanbaly; Laguna Hills’ Alexandria Zoch; Mission Viejo’s Michael Finley; and Tustin’s Ashley Alcaraz and Clarissa Echevarria were seniors who were also honored.

In addition to receiving a laptop, two of the finalists will also be selected to each receive a $10,000 grant. The two winners will be notified in March, and a presentation event will take place later this spring.

Through 16 years of the scholarship program, which is co-sponsored by Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and Hoag Charity Sports, a total of 185 Toshiba laptops and $309,000 will have been awarded to outstanding Orange County high school students.

The 22nd Annual Toshiba Classic takes place Oct. 5-9 at the Newport Beach Country Club. After moving from its long-standing March timeframe in 2015, the tournament will continue to be played in the fall as one of the last events before the inaugural 2016 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

— From staff reports