SALINAS VALLEY — A total of $25,000 has been awarded to 15 Salinas Valley students who have been selected as the 2025 Raymond H. Costa Family Scholarship recipients.
A scholarship celebration was held July 16 in Salinas to honor the recipients, who are high school graduates, undergraduates or graduate students at California academic institutions who work, or their parents work, at local McDonald’s restaurants owned by longtime businessman Raymond H. Costa.
“We’re so proud to help our scholarship recipients achieve their dreams of higher education, especially knowing that many are the first in their families to attend college,” Costa said. “From the beginning, our program has been dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of our employees and their families through supporting their academic pursuits.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are: Alexandra Leyva Romero (Salinas), California State University, Monterey Bay; Brian Lopez (Salinas), San Diego State University; Carlos Ysais Arroyo Jr. (Greenfield), California State University, Fresno; Estefany Mandujano Mesa (Salinas), California State University, Monterey Bay; Francisco Skandall Sandoval (King City), California State University, Fresno; Giselle Hernandez Hernandez (King City), Hartnell College; Gloria Estefania Julian (Salinas), Hartnell College; Joel Isaias Camacho-Maravilla (Soledad), Hartnell College; Lisette Reyes Ortiz (Soledad), California State University, Monterey Bay; Luke Naegle (Gonzales), Hartnell College; Maya Aviles-Contreras (Hollister), California State University, Monterey Bay; Rene Chavez (Greenfield), California State University, Monterey Bay; Shadi Guzman-Aguilar (Salinas), UC Berkley; Star Cruz Sanchez (Salinas), California State University, Fresno; and Tomas Vargas (Greenfield), Hartnell College.
The Raymond H. Costa Family Scholarship is solely funded by the Costa Family who owns and operates local McDonald’s restaurants. The program is administered through the Community Foundation for Monterey County.
Since the scholarship fund was created in 2017, they have awarded more than $444,000 to 166 scholarship recipients.
For more information, or to apply for future programs, visit the Community Foundation for Monterey County website cfmco.org.
