Eight students awarded

Eight seniors from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District have won $2,500 in college money after being named as contenders in the Irvine Co.’s annual scholarship competition.

Every year, the company’s Student Leadership Awards Program selects 32 students from schools in the Newport-Mesa, Irvine, Tustin, Laguna Beach and Orange school districts. The Newport-Mesa students on this year’s list are Caitlin Adams and Thomas Hutchison from Corona del Mar High School, Juan Arellano and Linh Hoang from Costa Mesa High School, Taylor McClanahan and Shannon Parsons from Estancia High School and Arielle Little and Joshua Smith from Newport Harbor High School.

Each student was nominated by his or her school for the competition, which requires students to have at least a 3.0 grade-point average and be bound for college in the fall. The Irvine Co. awarded $2,500 to each contender and will later narrow the field to eight semifinalists and four finalists.

The company plans to honor the finalists, who will receive $10,000 each, at a dinner on May 2.

“The Student Leadership Awards program is an effort to identify and encourage future leaders who will make a real difference in their communities,” said Robin Leftwich, vice president of community affairs for the Irvine Co., in a release. “These students are truly an inspiration and their accomplishments demonstrate why they are considered as the most gifted and talented students in the state.”