2 Fallon Middle School Students Awarded CJSF Scholarship

Submitted by Audrey Shi, student at Fallon Middle School—  

California Junior Scholarship Federation (commonly known as CJSF) is an academic service organization that encourages student involvement and assistance to the community.

On Saturday, March 18th, four CJSF members and their advisor, Mrs. Terri Sharbach, went to My Big Fat Greek CSF/CJSF Central Coast Regional Conference, hosted by Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.

Michelle Yun, Audrey Shi, Sruthi Mukkamala, and Neil Bedi spent hours exploring the workshops and previewing multiple universities who were on site.  

Two eighth graders, CJSF President, Sruthi Mukkamala and Vice President, Neil Bedi were awarded the Marian Huhn Scholarship Award.

The Marian Huhn Award recognizes CJSF members that excel in service to their community as well as excellence in academics. Each middle school gets to nominate two members, and then five winners get chosen within each region and are rewarded with a case grant.

This was the first time two students from the same school have received the award. CJSF Advisor Mrs. Sharbach stated that she was nervous that only one of the Fallon representatives would win but was “thrilled” that both representatives came home with the prize. 

Award winner Sruthi Mukkamala said, “I was actually pretty happy yet calm when I got the award. Since the beginning, I had a mentality that no matter what, this award would just help me become a better person and discover my strengths and weaknesses.”  

Award winner Neil Bedi also said, “When I received the award, I was overjoyed. The fact that both nominees from Fallon won, has truly showed me what our school and Dublin is made of.”  

Both students were elated about receiving the award.  It took a lot of hard work and dedication to even become a nominee.

Fallon’s CJSF chapter is extremely active and has coordinated a number of events, such as the Lake Merritt clean up, a hot cocoa fundraiser, a book drive for seniors and a bake sale for military veterans. 

[Related article: Fallon Students Recover 'Bizarre Items' While Helping Clean Lake Merritt]

Sruthi and Neil hopes to oversee and serve in more CJSF projects before moving on to join CSF at Dublin High School.

They are both excellent examples proving that Fallon’s CJSF organization is about taking action not just words.