Becky Jauregui has been awarded the Marmaduke Award for getting many students at Lodi High scholarships this year. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Lodi High's college and career counselor wins statewide award

Becky Jauregui's office at Lodi High School is filled with thank you cards. One oversized card reads, "We love Mrs. Jauregui," and hangs beside her desk near piles of financial aid and college information.

In her seven years as Lodi High School's college and career center coordinator, Jauregui has helped students qualify for millions of dollars in scholarships and grants.

This year's senior class qualified for $1.7 million in scholarships.

"That's actually low," she said of the total.

The highest a class has ever earned, she said, is $2.6 million.

This year, her service to students and their families earned her the Arthur Marmaduke High School Counselor Award, a statewide award from the California Student Aid Commission.

Though Jauregui, 53, is just as busy as any other person on Lodi High's campus, she never lets you know it. With her short brown hair curled neatly under her chin and her eyes focused intently on you, Jauregui has a certain motherly quality to her.

It's the sort of quality that makes you feel like no problem is unsolvable.

Jauregui came to work at Lodi High after her son, Jeff, graduated in 2001. She followed in the footsteps of beloved counselor Jan Reinstein, who left the position to retire.

"She was fabulous," Jauregui said, looking back. "I can't tell you how many times I heard, 'Those are big shoes you have to fill.'"

For Jauregui, reaching out to the students who don't have help at home, who don't know about the process and who don't think they'll ever be able to attend college is the most satisfying part of her job.

"Ms. Jauregui is an indefatigable advocate for students seeking ways to pay for college," wrote Bill Atterberry, principal at Lodi High, who nominated Jauregui for the Marmaduke award. "She doesn't just advise, counsel or suggest; she acts."

Her first year, she came across a student who had scored more than 1500 points on her SATs, but came from a poor background.

The student was even homeless during one part of her senior year.

Because she thought there was no other way to pay for college, the student signed up for the Army.

Jauregui said she doesn't have anything against the military. In fact, some students leave high school with a real passion to serve their country. The girl just wasn't one of those students.

What the girl did have a passion for was physics.

Jauregui walked the student through the financial aid process and helped her get out of her contract with the Army.

"That's when it really clicked for me that this is a big deal," Jauregui said.

The student graduated from Harvey Mudd College and is now working on her doctorate of physics at the University of Colorado.

Throughout her career at Lodi, Jauregui has developed a multi-faceted approach to lure students into her office.

Lodi High students made Becky Jauregui a banner that now hangs in her office. Jauregui, Lodi High's college and career center coordinator, recently won the Arthur Marmaduke Award for helping many Lodi High students obtain scholarships. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

She starts hunting for scholarship prospects as early as ninth-grade. She visits every senior class. She also sends out a barrage of e-mails, fills bulletin boards and manages the school's College and Career Center Web site.

She says nothing beats "face time" with students.

It's that personal contact that really made a difference for Shayna Fong, 17, a recent Lodi High graduate.

Fong, one of the top students at Lodi High, had a hard time choosing a college.

She was getting a lot of advice from friends about where to go after senior year. She still wasn't sure what college to choose, though.

It was Jauregui, though, who told her to pick a school that would be a good fit for her, not somebody else.

Fong chose Azusa Pacific University, partly because of its emphasis on Christian education.

To seal the deal Azusa Pacific offered Fong a $10,000-per-year scholarship.

"There's a lot of people that really love Mrs. Jauregui," Fong said. "I don't think Lodi would be the same without her."

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.