Scholarship Recipients

The Pasadena City College Foundation Scholarship and Student Success Committee honors our Fall 2024 Top Westerbeck Scholars.

More than 1500 student applicants were in the running for over $350,000 in scholarship dollars.  They will eventually leave Pasadena City College and take on the world, but they will always be our Scholarship Recipients, and Lancers for Life. 

A Spotlight on our Recipients

Each year we feature...and the impact these scholarhips have on their lives.

Meet Our Featured Recipients

Robert and Adrienne Westerbeck Reviewers Choice Recipients for Fall 2024

Melia Bessaria

Norman Gensemer

Aaron Lobato

Linn Khant Thuya

Meet Scholarship Winner, Norman Gensemer

Growing up in Baldwin Park, California, I spent much of my childhood on the baseball field, a sport I loved and played throughout my youth. At Sierra Vista High School, I had the privilege of playing both varsity football and baseball for three years, experiences that taught me discipline, teamwork, and perseverance. I am currently pursuing a double major in Psychology and Administration of Justice at Pasadena City College, with plans to graduate in 2025.

Norman

Norman's Story

Receiving the Robert and Adrienne Westerbeck Scholarship: 2024 Reviewers Choice has been a life-changing blessing. This scholarship has alleviated financial worries and allowed me to focus on achieving my academic and career goals. It will help cover essential expenses such as books, technology, and other materials as I prepare to transfer to a four-year university. Thanks to this support, I am now closer to earning my bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. My ultimate goal is to give back to my community by helping individuals who have been system-impacted. This scholarship is more than financial assistance—it is a vote of confidence in my ability to make a difference. I am profoundly grateful to Robert and Adrienne Westerbeck for their generosity and commitment to students like me. Their support reminds me of the importance of lifting others up and inspires me to one day pay it forward. Thank you for believing in my potential and being a part of my journey.

Meet Scholarship Winner, Melia Bessaria.

My name is Melia Bessaria. I'm from Indonesia and I want to study Nursing because I have passion for helping people based on my past experience as a volunteer in pregnancy crisis center and mom’s community at church. My hobbies are running, cooking, travelling, and reading.

Melia's Story

I’m currently a sophomore at PCC, preparing to transfer to a university for a nursing major and someday I would like to be a part of the medical field. I will finish my nursing prerequisite in Winter 2025 and Spring 2025 will be my last semester before I transfer to university.  I love my classes where I can learn a lot, I love my instructors who are very inspirational, I love my friends where we can learn about diversity and study together to enrich our abilities, I love my community where I can express myself and serve them by working in two departments (I work at Math Success Center as statistic tutor and at Student Success Center in Speech Department as speech tutor now).

While attending PCC, I have been involved with volunteering at USC Hospital to get new experiences and learn more about my workplace in the future. I have been assigned as a volunteer in the Nursing Department where I check the availability of patient supplies, help the visitor to find the room or if they need to talk to the nurses in charge, and check the availability of stuff in every patient’s room. I have also been involved at ZOE Church LA my church, as a part of the welcome and host teams. My job is to greet people, help newcomers get information, and arrange the seats during the service according to the church rules. I love my roles!