USTA NorCal News

USTA Northern California is proud to announce the 2011 recipients of the Diversity Committee Scholarship program. The scholarship program which began in 1999 aims to encourage multicultural tennis student athletes to pursue a higher education and over 25 high school seniors have been awarded to date. "We are immensely proud of all our recipients and impressed with their determination to pursue a higher education despite some very personal obstacles," says Silvia Duenas-Bielser of Diversity and Outreach.

 

Diversity Committee Chair, Martha Ehrenfeld, "The Diversity Committee looks for applicants who are tennis players and have given something back to their community, but it’s not necessary to be the star of the tennis team. They may not play D-1 college tennis but will participate in intramural clubs and Tennis on Campus programs and hopefully will become lifelong tennis players and ambassadors of USTA."

 

I’m a high school graduate and will be attending UC Riverside in the fall. I love playing tennis because it has taught me patience and how to be a student-athlete.

 

Receiving this scholarship was a surprise because I wasn’t going to apply for it, but my wonderful coaches motivated me to apply for it. I am very proud of myself because my journey of receiving scholarships was tough. In college I hope to discover more about myself while receiving a quality education.

 

Besides tennis which I have been playing for about a year now, I’m just like any other typical teenager. I love to hang out with my friends and have a great time. I love to give back to my community and help out when I can. For example, I love working in "I C Hope" where community women leaders are honored at an annual tea. I love to read books because you can learn many things and sharpen your skills. I just try to enjoy life the best that I can.

 

I am 18 years old and have lived in San Francisco my whole life. I recently graduated from Balboa High School. I played for the tennis team all four years and won the San Francisco All City Championship Singles Title in 2011. I started playing tennis at 11 years old at Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA) at Mission Playground in San Francisco.

 

I love sports, which includes football, basketball, and baseball. I’ve played the piano since the age of seven. I am attending UC Davis in the fall. I’m currently majoring in Biological Systems Engineering, but it is not permanent. I hope to continue playing tennis on the team or club at UC Davis. I cannot wait to meet different kinds of people and to learn more at Davis.

 

I am so proud and grateful that the USTA awarded this scholarship to me. Out of all the applicants, they chose me. It is amazing and indescribable. It being a tennis scholarship and named after Michael Chang makes it even more special to me. This will make it easier for my parents to pay for my college tuition. I will not let this scholarship go to waste.

 

My Name is Esteban Ray Ramos but most people call me Stevie. I was named after the famous guitar player, Stevie Ray Vaughan. I play guitar myself and I like to jam with friends in my spare time or on camping trips with my dad and uncle. Sports are also a big part of my life.

 

I started playing tennis when I was about 10 years old. I played high school tennis my freshman and senior year at Pleasant Grove High School. I won the singles section title for the first time in Pleasant Grove's history. I have also competed in many USTA tournaments and events including the Zonals tournaments. I received athletic scholarship offers to a number of schools on the east coast, but my preference has always been to stay in California.

 

I will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall and am going to try out for the tennis team. I will be majoring in computer science. I hope to graduate in four years with a bachelor’s degree, make the men’s tennis team, and also create a few apps to put out on the android market! Receiving this still hasn’t fully sunk in, that I was one of the few selected! I am very excited and grateful for what I have been blessed with.

 

I am honored to be recognized as a recipient of a USTA Diversity Scholarship and am excited about being rewarded for doing something that I love. I have been playing tennis with my family for most of my life but only started playing tournaments at 13. With my dad as my main coach, I also attended programs like the Elmhurst Youth Tennis Development Center under the direction of coach, Mark Manning. I was fortunate enough to have been mentored and trained by Manning and the older players there and later had the privilege of mentoring younger players in return.

 

I have a strong, but rather unconventional looking forehand. Every coach that has worked with me has, unsuccessfully, tried to ‘fix’ it. They started out determined and certain that they could change and improve it, but they eventually learned to work with it, not against it. Up until my senior year in high school, I aspired to be an ice cream woman for two reasons: 1. To make children happy and 2. To have a job where I am always surrounded by food.

 

This fall, I will be attending the University of the Pacific in the hopes of becoming a pharmacist. Although I will not be playing for the school’s team, I hope to find time throughout the rigorous pre-pharmacy program to continue playing. I hope to make a positive impact on the community in both tennis and academics.