Rodarte Joins, BVEF Fellow
Last updated 8/1/2022 at 11:19am
Borrego Springs High School graduate Vanessa Rodarte will be starting a one-year internship on the Borrego Valley Endowment Fund Board of Directors.
Vanessa brings a variety of background and experience to the Board. She is currently in her fourth year at San Diego State University, where she is majoring in kinesiology and is the Aztec Women’s Basketball Team Manager.
While at BSHS, she served three years as Class Treasurer and one year as Class President. She was involved in many high school clubs including the Interact Club, Junior Soroptimist, and Dream Club. Vanessa showcased her athletic skills in softball, where she was the catcher, shortstop and team captain, and basketball as a point guard and team captain. She was twice chosen as basketball MVP and invited two times to the All-Academic Team.
Vanessa developed her leadership skills through the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, M.E.Ch.A. (an organization that promotes Latino leadership), and LEAD (Leadership, Ethics, Aspirations & Determination). A lengthy list of awards includes National Society of Leadership and Success (SDSU) and Principal’s Award (BSHS).
The BVEF Internship program was developed to give local students real-world experience in serving on a Board of Directors.
By attending monthly meetings, the intern learns how meetings are conducted, how to review financial statements, develop discussion and consider input, make decisions and develop plans of action.
David Garmon, President of the BVEF Board, says “We are looking forward to having Vanessa on our Board. Her bi-lingual ability and leadership skills will help the Board strengthen communication and interaction with Borrego Springs’ LatinX community.”
Board Fellows are individuals under 25 years of age who have distinguished themselves in their chosen area(s) of endeavor – academia, profession, sports, arts, etc – and who wish to learn about the philanthropic activities of a community foundation such as the BVEF. Board Fellows are elected for a term of one year and may be elected for an additional one-year term.
The BVEF’s mission is to harness the power of philanthropy to create enduring, community-wide benefits for the Borrego region.
The Borrego Valley Endowment Fund (BVEF) is a public, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization operating in the Borrego Valley in Southeastern California. Begun in 1996, it now manages a 9 million dollar portfolio.
If you would like to donate to support projects like this, or others that may be of special interest to you, visit bvefund.org or contact Jim Dion at jdionbvef@gmail.com
