The Venice Japanese Community Center introduced its scholarship winners and the 2014 Nisei Week Court during the annual VJCC Summer Festival on June 21.
VJCC President Hiro Harada presented $600 scholarships to four outstanding high school graduates.
• Logan Kim is a graduate of Culver City High School and plans to attend UCLA. Her parents are Vickie and Nobbie Kim.
• Grant Nagai is a graduate of Pacifica Christian High School and plans to attend Loyola Marymount Univeristy. His parents are Linda and Michael Nagai.
• Kelli Tademaru is a graduate of Culver City High School and plans to attend USC Her parents are Arlene and Dave Tademaru.
• Kelsey Ueda is a graduate of Culver City High School and plans to attend UCLA. She is the daughter of Julia and Dean Ueda.
Six Nisei Week Queen candidates, including VJCC’s representative, introduced themselves to festival-goers:
• Lindsey Sugimoto, VJCC and Western Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League
• Tori Nishinaka-Leon, Pasadena Cultural Institute
• Dominique Mashburn, Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Committee
• Melissa Kozono, East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center
• Tiffany Hashimoto, Gardena Evening Optimist Club
• Ashley Arikawa, Japanese Restaurant Association
The candidates made their official debut on July 13 at a Nisei Week event in Little Tokyo.
