15 students in Matagorda County receive Tenaris scholarships Tenaris
Tenaris has awarded $196,000 in Roberto Rocca Scholarships to Matagorda County, TX, high school students in a year that marks the company’s 10th anniversary of its Student of the Year award.
In a ceremony held at Tenaris’s Bay City, TX, seamless pipe mill, students, their families, community leaders, elected officials joined company leadership to present students from Palacios, Bay City, Van Vleck, and Tidehaven high schools with scholarships in honor of their academic achievements.
“As we celebrate a decade of our scholarship program in Matagorda County, seeing familiar faces of our past award recipients, I am reminded of the positive influence initiatives such as these have on communities. Each of you form part of a multiplier effect, in stimulating the drive for academic excellence among your classmates. Congratulations and best of luck,” said Luca Zanotti, Tenaris US President.
Student of the Year recipient Victoria Castañon with her family. Tenaris
Palacios High School student, Victoria Castañon received the top honor and is the company’s 10th recipient of the Student of the Year, a $60,000 scholarship that recognizes a student’s academic performance as well as their involvement in the community.
“I’m really excited for the future,” said Castañon, who attributes her motivation to her family. “I’m going to study biomedical engineering and my hope is to become a doctor and come back to Palacios. I’m just grateful for this experience, for this opportunity and am excited for the next chapter.”
Castañon is captain of the varsity soccer team and has also worked as the school’s student athletic trainer, among participating in academic competitions and other extracurricular activities. Castañon will be attending Texas A&M University in the fall. She has 12 siblings, two of which are former Tenaris scholarship recipients, Daniel Castañon, 2019’s Student of the Year, and Patricia Castañon a 2021 Merit Award recipient.
Ariel Jimenez, Tenaris’s first recipient of the Student of the Year scholarship, took part in Tenaris’s ceremony. She shared that the award has had profound impact on her life, beyond the financial support, but in motivating her to excel academically. “The recognition and support I received from the scholarship committee instilled in me a sense of confidence and self-belief that has stayed with me throughout my academic and professional career,” said Jimenez.
Tenaris also presented six graduating seniors majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) studies, with Merit Awards, at $20,000 each: Aron Ging, Abigail Dobbs, and Michael Vargas from Bay City High School; Karly Brown and Sam Brooks from Van Vleck High School; and Hannah Raleigh from Palacios High School. Eight runners-up also received scholarships in the amount of $1,000 to $3,000.
Matagorda County Commissioner Mike Estlinbaum, read comments on behalf of Matagorda County Judge Bobby Seiferman, who was unable to attend the ceremony. “Scholarship recipients, you are today’s honorees. And on this day, I will remind you that you are also our future. The future of this great country, and don’t forget, you are also the future for excellent organizations like TenarisBayCity. Matagorda County needs you as well. Don’t forget your roots.”
Over the past decade, Tenaris has invested approximately $3.2 million in education-based initiatives in Matagorda County and has awarded 134 scholarships.
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