In a collective effort to support youth working towards the goal of higher education, Bay Area professional sports franchises, including the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, San Jose Earthquakes and San Jose Sharks, have teamed up for the 17th year of the Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Team (BAASST). As part of this program-the first of its kind among professional sports organizations-seven high school seniors have been selected to each receive a $3,000 scholarship. Since its inception, over $300,000 has been given to local student athletes to be applied toward their college education.
Each Bay Area sports franchise will recognize this year's seven Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Team recipients in a ceremony this year.
The 2013 BAASST recipients are Grace Barosky of Miramonte High School (Oakland A's), Halli Dobson of Sonoma Valley High School (Oakland Raiders), Claire Williams of Amador Valley High School (Golden State Warriors), Rachel Riddick of Aptos High School (San Francisco 49ers), Medhanie Berih of San Francisco International High School (San Francisco Giants), Dalena Tran of Irvington High School (San Jose Earthquakes), and Omar Vasquez of James Lick High School (San Jose Sharks).
Students were selected from high schools within ten Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma. Each high school was provided with information about this scholarship and was encouraged to nominate candidates that met the following criteria: a minimum grade point average of 3.0, displays leadership qualities in the classroom and/or inspirational qualities on the athletic field and demonstrates the value of education, good work ethic and community outreach.
