MVHS Student Wins Scholarships Through Adversity

MORENO VALLEY >> A graduating Moreno Valley High School (MVHS) student received two scholarships, not despite, but because of her determination to overcome difficult circumstances and pursue higher education. Syrena Morek is one of six winners who recently received a $500 scholarship from California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare & Attendance (CASCWA) Southern Section. She also received the Shine-a-Light scholarship through Children’s Fund in April. "When I first met her at orientation for incoming students, she seemed so cheery," said Teresa Mares, MVHS librarian and the CASCWA member who nominated Morek. "It was hard to believe that after I really found out the details of her background that she had overcome a lot of hard times. I just felt like it was really refreshing and that she had a lot of courage.” Morek grew up in the foster care system after being removed from her family home at the age of 5 due to neglect and parental drug use. Her teenage years were sprinkled with juvenile delinquency, from being arrested to getting kicked out her group home. After years of moving from foster home to group home and repeat, Morek discovered CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates. Volunteers with CASA aim to help those in the foster system through mentoring and caring. When she was a sophomore in high school, she decided to say enough was enough and make a life change. Mares, who has come to know Morek over the past year while Morek has passed through the library to use the school computers for the yearbook (she was on staff), said Morek is now a leader. "She’s a leader in her own little niche," Mares said. "She has lived with other high school students in certain group homes, and they often get together and walk home from school and chat about education. In a way, she’s taking the lead and showing others that they can do it.” Mares added that along with being a leader, Morek stays connected to those she has impacted over the years. “Over the years she’s come and gone, but she still has maintained her friendships with a lot of students here and the other schools she went to," Mares said. Morek said a big influence to her has been the police. "They help and save people everyday," she said. "That's what makes me want to become a police officer." Morek will be studying criminology at Moreno Valley College in the fall so that she can one day join the police force.