At the June OPCL meeting, Betty Dierstein, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, announced the recipients of the 2026 Scholarships that are awarded by the Ocean Park Civic League and thanked the Scholarship Committee for their work in evaluating the applications and selecting the winners. “A big thank you to Blair Valdivieso and Natalie McIntyre for their time and insights in making these selections.  Applications average 8-10 pages in length and include any number of deserving students.  I appreciate the time spent reading, evaluating, and discussing each applicant’s application.”  

LYON FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP

(privately funded by the Lyon Family)

We are pleased to announce the recipient of the Lyon Family Scholarship for the 2026-27 school year is Kira Bonfiglio.  Kira is graduating from the Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High School with a GPA of 4.48 and will be attending the University of Virginia in the fall.  The Lyon Family Scholarship has a particular emphasis on volunteering. Kira is a three-sport athlete who volunteered for almost 400 hours at several organizations including the Legal Aid Society where she spent much of her time working with two children experiencing homelessness after being in foster care for over a year.  Kira plans to complete a degree in political science and continue to law school to pursue a career in public interest law. Her recommendation letters describe her as highly organized, able to work collaboratively, diligent in her studies, and very caring about those around her.   

LOUISE AND GEORGE LYON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

(the Ocean Park Civic League legacy scholarship)

We are pleased to announce the recipient of the Louise and George Lyon Memorial Scholarship is Sophia Bolivar.  Sophia is graduating from Bayside High School with a 3.8 GPA and will be attending the Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center in the fall to complete the nursing assistant program.  She will then continue to Tidewater Community College’s LPN program and then to Old Dominion University with the ultimate goal of becoming a Registered Nurse.   Her volunteer activities were varied and included work with AVID where she was the main organizer of an AVID Club.  AVID: Advancement Via Individual Determination.  The AVID program helps students bridge gaps between their aspirations and their readiness for college and careers.  One of her recommendation letters highlighted that she is a great student, a valuable contributor to everything she involves herself in, and contributed to the school and community at large in so many ways.