The
Memorial Scholarship

During Conrad's senior year at La Quinta High School he was on the staff of the school's newspaper, Hawkview, as its advertising editor. After graduating he was hired by LQHS as a consultant to the paper and worked with the students.

Conrad was in the Tough Guys and Gals Do Dance class for two years. He also took choir for two years and was a member of the Camerata La Quinta choral group. Although Conrad was not in band in high school, he was fluent with the guitar and clarinet.

About the Scholarship

The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship was established by the students, teachers and staff of La Quinta High School the day after Conrad died. It is an annual scholarship.

Conrad's scholarship is awarded to the graduating senior or junior who has excelled in music or journalism, or both. Conrad's two greatest loves were music and journalism.

Although the scholarship is not large, it is a wonderful way to keep Conrad's memory alive. We, his parents, are grateful to La Quinta High School for allowing this to happen.

Who Receives It

Every year in May Conrad's mother and I go down to La Quinta High School and look through the students' senior portfolios. The portfolios are very important and give us a first glimpse of who the student is. However, we're not restricted to just the senior portfolios; we can choose any student we want. But because we no longer know any of the students personally, the portfolios are the best way to get some insight into who the student is and wants to be.

We look for a student who was in music, choir, dance or journalism... the things Conrad was proud of doing in school. We also look for someone who will be attending College Of The Desert in the fall, like Conrad did. The money will always go to a COD student.

We look at the student's need for money. If a student is going to receive scholarship money from other sources, then we move on to someone else who hasn't been so lucky. It isn't a lot of money that we give out, although every year the amount has increased.

A great help in selecting a student for Conrad's scholarship is Ms. Carol Ramirez, Scholarship Coordinator. She is the counselor who is in charge of scholarships and financial aide at LQHS. Another source we use for guidance is Ms. Suzannah Kennedy, Conrad's journalism teacher and advisor to the school's newspaper, Hawkview. Both have always been invaluable to us when it comes to selecting a student and we can't thank them enough. Ms. Ramirez always calls us to set up a time to come to the school and when we get there she has everything laid out and ready to go through. We usually spend the better part of the afternoon researching before we finally decide on someone.

Our final decision is based on 'what would Conrad do...?'

Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to Jennifer Cortez for being the recipient of the 2009 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. This year we chose a young lady who, like Conrad, was involved with La Quinta High School's newspaper, Hawkview. She has worked her entire high school career in journalism and on the paper, most importantly as one of its editors. She will be attending College of the Desert in the fall where she will begin her studies with double majors of Communications/Journalism and Graphic Design.

Congratulations to Michael Trevino for being the recipient of the 2008 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. Like Conrad, Michael was involved in Tough Guys and Gals Do Dance, Camarata La Quinta and plays the guitar. He has also taken Music Theory CP and plans to attend Musicians Institute after completing his studies at College of the Desert, where he'll be majoring in music and nursing.

Congratulations to Kaira Murdock for being the recipient of the 2007 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. Kaira was co-president of the La Quinta High School Choir and was active in Women’s Choir, Camerata La Quinta, the La Quinta High School Marching Band and Blackhawks on Broadway. She has just completed a year of Music Theory CP. She plans on attending College of the Desert in the fall with the goal of becoming a children’s music teacher.

Congratulations to Hilary Van Messel for being the recipient of the 2007 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. For 2007 we were honored to present two awards. Hilary was in the La Quinta High School Marching Band the entire four years of her high school career. Giving this young lady one of Conrad’s scholarships is extra special to us because she and her family knew Conrad and they were there for us when he died. When she starts college in the fall Hilary will be majoring in dance, broadcast journalism and communications.

Congratulations to Esperanza Rios for being the recipient of the 2006 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. Esperanza was in choir, La Flor Dancing Club and Latinos Unidos while she attended La Quinta High School. Esperanza's goal is to become an algebra teacher and she will attend College of the Desert in the fall.

Congratulations to Trenna Latham for being the recipient of the 2005 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. Treena will be attending College of the Desert where she'll major in mass communications before moving on to a university and a career in film. Treena writes novels and scripts, and will also be taking classes in ballroom dancing while at COD.

Congratulations to Adrianna "80" Martinez for being the recipient of the 2004 Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship. Like Conrad, 80 wrote for La Quinta High School's newspaper, the Hawkview. She was also a close friend of Conrad's, which made choosing her for this year's award extra special to us. 80 will attend College of the Desert this fall. Her family and friends should be proud of her, as we know Conrad is.

Good luck to all of you...

Scholarship Donors

Because this is an annual award we are constantly engaged in fund raising for it. Please know that 100% of all funds raised go directly into Conrad's scholarship. None of the funds are used in any way for 'overhead' or 'expenses'. This website, the expense and time to maintain it, fund drives and their related expenses, scholarship award certificates, photos and any other expenses related to Conrad or his scholarship in anyway, is volunteered by Conrad's parents, family and friends. You can be assured that all of your generous donations will benefit La Quinta High School students now and in the years to come. The La Quinta High School ASB, in an account dedicated to The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship, maintains all donations. However, we ask that all donations be sent to the address below. This way we can record your donation before we hand deliver it to Ms. Carol Ramirez at La Quinta High School where we check and verify that your donation is properly credited to The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship Fund. You may reach Ms. Ramirez at 760-772-4150. If you would like to donate to this scholarship fund please make your check payable to:

The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship

and send it to:

The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship
c/o Leighton or Elizabeth Anderson
P.O. Box 535
La Quinta, CA 92247

Remember, your gift is tax deductable. Cash donations are also welcome.

We deeply appreciate those who have donated to this scholarship fund. This couldn't have happened without your help and we are honored to list your name here... thank you. If you have donated and don't see your name, email us and your name will be put on the list. Because you care, The Conrad De La Rosa Memorial Scholarship will be around to keep Conrad's memory alive for another year...

Tom Ackland

Sam Applebaum

Breanna Baine

Joe & Rosalyn Bierek

Dick & Becky Brundage

Dr. Steve Carter & Tom Paris

Joseph & Leslie Daniel

Tencha De La Rosa

Desiree DePorter

Gerald & Wendy Doan

Tim Esser

Kevin & Maria Fenton & family

Mr. Fischer

Luis & Rosalinda Garcia

Noelle & Richard Gatti & Family

Raymond & Linda Gearheart

Arthur Getz

Robert & Barbara Gibson

Lawrence & Joan Grill

Bryan Hamm

Larry & Pat Hatfield

Yajaira Hussein

William & Carol Judge

M.J. Kessler

Michael & Francine Kohut

Martin & Judy Krasnov

La Quinta High Journalism Class

La Quinta High Spanish Club

Dede & Ron Ledford

Joanie & Gary Long

Adrianna "80" Martinez

Jack & Gayle McDonald

Clark & Marce Munro

Dave & Renee Nichols

Jessica Nitwitski

Nancy Norton

Dee Palacio

Adalia Pena

Daniel Pereyra

Ronald & Sandy Pope

Marci Puetz

William & Karen Reeder

Ritzi Rover

Dominic Rios

Alejandra Rivera

Christine Robinson

Rick Salazar

Jacqueline Schroeder

Cheryl Schuler

James Stevens

Tour de Palm Springs

Duvier Verdel

Dr. David & Diane Waldman

Gail Walker

Derek & Deborah Wolstenholme

Kim Worrel

Again... thank you to all of you...

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