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Left to right are: Eddie Lopez, Barbara Wilson, Charlotte Ellberg |
Barbara Wilson Mupu 4-H Scholarship Winners
June 24, 2011
Santa Paula News
Three long time Mupu 4-H graduating seniors recently won Barbara Wilson Mupu 4-H Scholarships. Ashleigh Clendening, club president, received $800. Charlotte Ellburg club secretary and Edward Lopez each received $700.
Each of these students is active in the swine project. Ashleigh is raising her 9th pig for the Ventura County Fair and Eddie is raising his 10th pig. Charlotte raised pigs for 9 years but this year college obligations take precedence. Ashleigh is working very hard with her pig this year, training it so she can do well in Showmanship at the fair. She would like to win the 1st place belt buckle this year. Eddie is raising a pig bred by Craig Harvey from Fillmore. Since his pig is locally bred and fed, he is eligible to compete in the Ventura County Bred and Fed competition, where he could win a belt buckle if his pig places highest.
Ashleigh has been the Mupu 4-H club President, Secretary, and Treasurer. She is the junior leader of the swine project, helping new members, assisting leaders, and demonstrating how to show pigs. She has explored the back country with the hiking project, and participated in many community service projects. Ashleigh coordinated the Mupu 4-H Relay for Life team as well as yearly canned food drives. She has worked in Uncle Leo’s barn at the fair, collected stuffed animals to donate to the fire department, and made blankets to donate to the Santa Paula Hospital. She plans to attend Pierce Community College then transfer to a university. Her major will be Agricultural Animal Sciences.
Eddie has been in Mupu 4-H for 10 years. Always ready to help, he was the go to guy in the pig project. Need to worm the pigs? Eddie was there to help. Need to work on the pens? Eddie was there to help. This is his last year in 4-H, but he plans to continue helping members and leaders in the years to come. He has been on many hikes with the hiking project, picking up trash while having fun, as well as helping with Santa Paula Beautiful. He is very active in the Santa Paula Police Explorer program. Eddie plans to attend Ventura College majoring in Animal Science, and hopes to someday breed and raise pigs for the Ventura County Fair.
Charlotte stated raising pigs when she was 9 years old, and remembers how hard it was that first year to control her pig. She learned that her grandfather also raised pigs in 4-H, and she used his hog cane to show her pig. Charlotte has been the club Secretary this year and Treasurer last year. This experience of organizing and running the club meetings has helped her become more confident speaking in front of crowds and communicating with people. She will be attending Davis majoring in Biology.
Barbara Wilson generously donated to the Mupu 4-H Club in 2005. She knew the floods that year washed away the club pig pens and she wanted to help. 4-H’ers, their parents, and community members worked hard to get new pens ready in time for the fair pigs. Their efforts were successful, so Barbara Wilson’s donation now funds these scholarships. Because of her generosity, graduating Mupu 4-H seniors have had the opportunity to win scholarships to further their education. This is the 6th year the scholarships have been awarded.
