Since 1978, Village Laguna has awarded a scholarship to a Laguna Beach High School graduating senior who shows leadership and involvement in activities that protect the environment and promote humanitarian goals. For the 2022-23 school year, Village Laguna presented the Bonnie and Arnold Hano scholarship to Uma Bhatia.
In addition to being an outstanding scholar, Bhatia was president of Zero Trash Laguna, which spearheaded environmental initiatives on campus and in the city.
Bhatia also participated in a marine conservation service trip to the Dominican Republic, rebuilding coral reefs, maintaining mangrove forests and protecting existing coral.
Bhatia rounded out her profile with volunteer experiences at the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, No Square Theatre and tutoring elementary and middle school students. She was editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper and participated in school sports and music groups.
Bhatia spoke at Village Laguna’s June general meeting, where she thanked the group and said she plans to study medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
“The scholarship committee is pleased that we had one of the largest groups of very qualified scholarship applicants ever,” Village Laguna wrote in a release. “We look forward to hearing about their future endeavors and achievements and thank them for their applications.”
