The Judy Macias Young Leaders Scholarship Fund Celebrates a Successful First Year

PRESS RELEASE. July 2022.

The Judy Macias Young Leaders Scholarship Fund celebrated on June 22, 2022 at the Half Moon Bay Brewery with the scholarship students, mentors, and supporters of the fund.  Five young women graduates of Half Moon Bay High School received scholarships from the group and have had a successful first year in college despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Judy Macias was a whirlwind of good energy on the Coastside. She served as the Executive Director of the Coastside Opportunity Center (now Coastside Hope) and initiated the annual holiday Adopt-a-Family program. Later, she became the Director of Community Outreach at Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside, establishing the RotaCare Coastside Clinic for the uninsured. In addition, she was the Co-Founder and former Board Chair of Sonrisas Dental Health. She volunteered at Half Moon Bay High School, serving as the Co-President of the community service oriented Interact Club. Judy was the Founder and Co-Director of Village of the Coastside.

Judy’s friends were heartbroken when she died, but shortly thereafter thought What Would Judy Do? She would turn this sadness into an opportunity and tell us to do something.  The something seemed clear – a scholarship for young women and potential leaders.  

Judy was the first in her family to go to college and remembered how strange it seemed and how much insecurity there was about going out into a whole new world. She also was the great encourager.  She loved to empower people to get things done.  Her work with Sonrisas and starting the Village of the Coastside bear witness to that.  She was a “get-it-done” person first class.

And so, they started. The Rev. Julia McKeon, Julia O’Daly, Maureen Perron, Cecilia Penaloza, Jayne Battey, and Christine Mendonca established the Judy Macias’ Young Leaders College Fund.  Meanwhile across town, members of the Village of the Coastside leadership team, Emily Glines and Nancy Nadler had the same idea.  As Judy would have wanted they joined forces. And it grew.

The original plan

They approached Half Moon Bay High School and told them what they had in mind – scholarships for 2 young women who were the first in their families to go to college.  HS counselor Gabriela Lomeli was extremely helpful.  She figured out what was needed and helped focus what the group wanted to do.  They realized that they needed to provide support for 4 years, with some of the students choosing to pursue a 2-yr junior college program and then transfer.  

“We thought that we could sponsor 2 students.  It was at this point we started to think that it might be a good idea to offer some mentor support as well as money.  And then we met the candidates.  And the plan was revised again. 

Because they were all wonderful.  It was clear that we wouldn’t be able to choose among them.  So, the committee decided to award 5 scholarships.

It required a little more fundraising, a little more work but they were all so smart and compelling it just seemed like the way to go.  And all had leadership experience and credentials. So impressive,” said Julia O’Daly.

Launching the program in 2021, amid the pandemic, meant not only navigating the first year of college but also doing it primarily online and with a whole new set of rules (or no rules). 

First Year and Going Forward

Two of the students, Mitzy and Michelle Hernandez are twins attending UC Berkeley.  As it happened, Village of the Coastside board member, Jeanette Ward, was moving to the East Bay to be closer to her family.  She was a perfect match for one of the twins.  Though a second mentor was found for the other sister, she had to drop out of the program. But Jeanette’s daughter, Jennifer Phillips had seen what her mother was doing and decided to join in.  Jennifer is also a graduate of HMB High School, and now has her own family law practice. 

The twins are looking forward to summer in HMB working at the Boys and Girls Club.  Michelle said her “favorite class was English which focused on how practitioners write in their discipline”.

Sandy Naranjo-Lopez enrolled at CSM.  She has varied skills and interests from writing to science but focused herself on real estate.  Going forward she is expanding her studies into psychology and English while continuing to work at the library.

Veronica Noriega – described her experience at CSM like this:

“Something I didn’t expect was how diverse the student population is, as well as the age difference between students. I have met so many different people from different parts of the world and learned so much from each of them as well as talked to people of different ages, which I didn’t really experience in high school. 

  During this past year I have learned to be more independent and responsible in making choices that will benefit my college career. I learned how to manage my time with school, work, and free time for myself. Lastly, I’ve learned that a grade doesn’t define my intelligence or capability because what really matters is what I learn and take away from my classes. I now know to be proud of my work and content with what I earn because I know that I did my best. 

My plans for the summer are to attend cheer practices/camp, work…In the fall I am registered to take an English, communications, and chemistry. I’ll continue to work at Gymtowne Gymnastics and will be a part of the cheerleading team at the College of San Mateo.”

Angelica Hernandez is also at CSM and has focused her future on studying nursing.  No surprise that each of the scholarship students got great grades.

For more information and to contribute visit the Judy Macias Fund website 

About Judy

From volunteering at a children’s shelter in New York City as a young woman, to her years with the Coastside Opportunity Center (now Coastside Hope) and Seton Medical Center, and finally with Sonrisas Dental Health and Village of the Coastside, Judy had a vocation: to help others. Generous with her time, encouragement and mentorship, Judy was known for her energy and vision.

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Judith Ann Mohr grew up on Long Island. At a time of limited opportunities for women, especially working-class women, Judy was a striver, always seeking to better herself and expand her horizons. After graduating from high school, she worked at Ted Bates, an advertising agency in Manhattan. She then went to State University of New York at Albany, graduating cum laude with a degree in French and English. Soon after, Judy moved to Paris to work in Ted Bates’ Paris office, where she developed her lifelong love of French language and culture — and saw the Beatles play!

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Judy met Mois Macias in 1965 at a workshop for French teachers at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. They were married the same year. After taking a sabbatical to travel throughout Europe and North Africa, Judy and Mois moved to Half Moon Bay in 1968 and started a family.

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Judy became the executive director of the Coastside Opportunity Center in 1979; among her many initiatives was the Adopt-A-Family program at Christmas. In 1985, she became director of Community Outreach at Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside, where she administered the popular Rotacare program for uninsured Coastsiders. Judy’s interest in health care grew, and when she retired in 2005, health and wellness would be central to the next phase of her life.

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Seeing a need for affordable dental care on the Coastside, Judy helped to found, and later run, Sonrisas Dental Health, a clinic for low-income residents of San Mateo County. After Sonrisas she founded Village of the Coastside, a chapter of The Village Network, a national organization of active older adults committed to aging in place.

In 2000, Judy was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2015 she received the Service Above Self award from the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay.

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For more than 50 years, Judy Macias tirelessly served the community she loved. She was a force of nature, full of youthful energy and infectious enthusiasm, always making new friends and connections, always networking and bringing people together, always eager to learn and grow, and forever curious and interested in the world. At her premature death from cancer, she left behind a long list of books she wanted to read, films she wanted to see, and places she wanted to visit.

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Anyone wishing to donate in Judy’s memory can do so to Sonrisas Dental Health or Village of the Coastside.

Author: Coastside Buzz

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