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Honoring others, helping students

Benefactors recognized for providing scholarships

Bob Johnson and Diego Espinoza will be among the honorees at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 21. Both were nominated for awards by CSU Monterey Bay, but they share something much more important.

Each is motivated to help others by a woman who influenced him greatly. In Johnson’s case, it was his mother. For Espinoza, it was a kind and caring university staff member.

Johnson, a retired Salinas Valley grower and CSUMB Foundation board member, will receive the Outstanding Philanthropist award at the annual event.

Two decades after his mother’s death, he remains awed by her accomplishments. He hopes her example can inspire students to set and achieve ambitious goals, and since 2005, when he established a scholarship endowment in her honor, he has contributed more than $500,000 in support of students, faculty and programs. Jane Pere Johnson, who was 85 when she died in 1992, came to Monterey County from the Pyrenees region of France when she was 13 years old. As a young woman, she married Harry Johnson and raised three sons near Chualar, south of Salinas. She instilled in her children the values of education and hard work, and all three went to college. “The older I got, the more I reflected on what she accomplished in her life with almost zero education,” Johnson told CSUMB’s magazine in 2012. ?“I still have a hard time believing it, but it really happened.” The Jane Pere Johnson Scholarship is awarded on a priority basis to students who have attended Chualar Elementary School, Gonzales High School or Hartnell College in Salinas. Dozens of students have benefited. Many Chualar students now come from immigrant farm worker families, and Johnson said he wants to encourage them to reach for the opportunities made possible by a college degree. “Education is the ticket to a better life,” he said. Diego Espinoza A university staff member’s dedication to helping migrant students inspired Espinoza to honor her memory with a scholarship. For that effort, he will be honored as the Outstanding Young Adult.

Now a senior at CSUMB, Espinoza moved to Salinas from Mexico when he was 12 years old. He encountered the problems many migrant students face – limited English skills, overcrowded housing, exposure to violence in the community.

A counselor with CSUMB’s College Assistance Migrant Program helped him through the application and registration process. That’s where he encountered Carrie Gonzalez, “Miss Carrie” to the students who came into her orbit.

Sensing his strong motivation to help others, Miss Carrie hired Espinoza to be a peer mentor for incoming migrant students. That position brought a sense of fulfillment, and his grades quickly improved. After his sophomore year, however, she died of cancer.

To honor her dedication to students and thank her for the support she provided during his first two years of college, Espinosa is leading the effort to raise at least $5,000 for a scholarship in Miss Carrie’s name. He hopes the recipients will be inspired to pay it forward.

Raising scholarship money is only part of his philanthropic work. He also serves as community service liaison for his fraternity and volunteers as a basketball and soccer coach for youngsters in East Salinas.

National Philanthropy Day is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of giving and all that it makes possible. The local celebration, now in its 23rd year, is hosted by the Development Executives Network and the Monterey Bay chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Awards are presented to individuals, corporations, service organizations, youth and young adults who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to the community. Nominations are rated by a team of reviewers from the local AFP and DEN chapters, business leaders and leaders of private foundations. For more information, click here. Also being honored at the luncheon: • Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation: ST.A.R. Foundation of Monterey County

• Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation: Chevron North America Exploration and Production

• Outstanding Philanthropic Service Organization: The Agricultural Leadership Council

• Outstanding Philanthropic Youth: Austin Eaton