SCHOLARSHIP
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Meet BBC Scholarship Recipient , Nestor Esparza
BY ANN CHATILLON
Have you ever looked , I mean really looked , at the marble tabletops there on the patio at A & O ? Nestor Esparza has .
“ It ’ s beautiful ,” he says tapping the glossy surface . “ This limestone marble comes from miles deep into the earth where the extreme heat and pressure squish the granite and create these wavy lines .”
As a kid , Nestor played soccer , but he was always more interested in kicking around rocks than balls . As a high school student , he preferred a lab coat to an athletic jersey . Nestor excelled academically at Harbor High , and was involved with the Bridge Club — not the card game ( that would be my mom ). This Bridge Club builds bridges among the diverse student body . Nestor formed friendships with classmates from different backgrounds , religions and race .
This twenty-year-old is in his third year at Cal State Fullerton and he ’ s on track to graduate next spring . He ’ s a geology major with an emphasis on seismology . Nestor wants to shake things up . His dream job is to lead a research team that examines earthquakes to better understand and predict them , thus saving lives . He plans to remain in California where the industry is strong because our ground is riddled with seismic activity .
Nestor lives in Costa Mesa with his mom , Maria Esparza , and two younger brothers . Maria works fulltime in housekeeping at the Balboa Bay Resort . “ I ’ m grateful for the scholarship , the community , and the team behind me ,” says Maria . “ I ’ m proud of my son and happy that the BBC has taken some of our financial worries away .” And Nestor is proud of his mom . “ She works hard all day , then comes home and makes a nice dinner for my brothers and me every night .”
Asked about hobbies , Nestor responds that he loves to read geology textbooks . In addition to books , this young man knows the value of hands-on learning so he takes self-directed field trips to geological sites . Recently he and a friend journeyed to Death Valley , one of the hottest places on earth . “ The salt beds are insane — miles of dried up salt ,” Nestor tells me enthusiastically . “ I ’ ve never seen anything like it ; the topography and all . I took my tools and testing kits which I was able to afford thanks to scholarship money , not to mention hiking gear and the gas to get there .”
A day trip to Death Valley isn ’ t on my bucket list , but for Nestor Esparza , it ’ s all part of the dream . His passion and goals are solid — rock solid .
SCAN TO DONATE TO THE EMPLOYEE SCHOLARSHIP FUND NOW , OR VISIT YOUR CLUB WEBSITE .
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