Chris Smith: Santa Rosa High’s Alana Macken earns inaugural environmental scholarship

Alana Macken, a kid who’s studied the ice cap in Greenland and done so much else in her 18 years that trying to take it all in hurts your head, starred in a surprise moment at Santa Rosa High’s senior awards ceremony.

Macken, bound for ?Dartmouth College, was declared the winner of a new, ?$1,000 scholarship for the SRHS graduate “with the best combination of academic excellence and desire to contribute to the global effort to reduce the man-made causes of climate change.”

The Sonoma County native perceives a silver lining in the challenge of greenhouse gas concentration.

“It brings the world together, interestingly enough,” she said. “I think the only way to fight this is to unite.”

She seems the ideal recipient of the inaugural Renewable Energy/Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scholarship, sponsored by Santa Rosa High alum Don Cambou of the Class of ’64.

Anyone interested in helping Cambou sustain and grow the scholarship can drop him a line at doncambou1@gmail.com.

Alana Macken won Cambou’s first award because beyond having worked alongside environmental scientists in Greenland she founded a beekeeping club at Santa Rosa High, organized a Green Teen Conference, served with the Center for Climate Protection and more.

She’s convinced that though “we’re really far into” climate change we can “at least slow down some of the effects.”

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THANKS TO COACH: There was a big end-of-the-year surprise, too, at Santa Rosa’s Village Elementary, where PE teacher Sam Pisenti has for decades inspired and delighted kids and dramatically elevated their appreciation of roshambo.

Coach Sam knew the students and staff would bid good-bye to him last Friday afternoon. He had most of his family there at the school for the occasion.

What he didn’t know was that Village would unveil in the gym/multi-use room a splendid banner informally dedicating the space to him. And onto the wall near the banner went a plaque praising Coach Sam for teaching kids to be kind, helpful, tenacious, mindful of their health, confident and on and on and on.

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ALSO RETIRING is 35-year Kawana Elementary teacher Jim Boyce, who tells of the “gift of fire.”

Boyce never cherished his work more than when his family’s Mark West Springs home fell to the Tubbs fire. “We got out with our two Huskies, that was it,” he said.

Mere months after the disaster, former students teamed up for Christmas of 2017 showered Boyce with gifts invaluable to his family’s recovery.

And on Saturday, students from past decades hosted a great retirement party for the beacon of positivity at the Santa Rosa Vets Memorial Building.

Ever-present in big letters in Boyce’s classroom was “GIVE TO THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE AND THE BEST WILL COME BACK TO YOU.”

He said, “What’s crazy is that’s exactly what has happened for me. I feel like I’ve given it my best and the kids have given it their best.”

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes streamed the other afternoon from a celebration at Santa Rosa’s Proctor Terrace Elementary replete with cake, art, music and guests who’d studied there years and years ago.

Who’s birthday? The school’s.

Rockin’ at 70.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 or chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.