Skip to contentBy Wayne A. Wiegand
Tuesday, June 10 (10:30 a.m.): Every year the Rossmoor Scholarship Foundation (RSF) offers up to two scholarships to qualifying Rossmoor Walnut Creek (RWC) employees or their children. This year will be no different; under the able leadership of retiring RSF Trustee Patsy Sharaf (who initiated the program and ran it from its beginnings in 2019), RSF will give out two GRF scholarships.
“My family has had a rough past,” writes Concord High School student Camille Bordelon in her 2025 RSF scholarship application. “But watching my family persevere through these things is what made it evident that investing in myself and the future is serious.” Bordelon is the daughter of RWC employee Simone Bordelon, who has been a bus driver for GRF for 17 years. Camille is graduating with a GPA of 3.6. She received honors several years for her efforts in cross country running. “I am super committed to moving forward with my education.” Bordelon’s older sister Creola was the recipient of the first GRF Employee Scholarship in 2020. In the fall Camille Bordelon will major in art at San Francisco State University.
“Life has a way of unfolding in unexpected ways, reshaping our carefully laid plans in moments we never anticipate,” writes Marquita Shelton in her 2025 RSF scholarship application. For the past three years Shelton has been an employee in the GRF Accounting Department. “One significant experience for me was when my husband and I took on significant family responsibilities, deeply altering the path of our lives.”
In 2019 Shelton and her husband decided to become legal guardians for their two nieces (one of whom is autistic) when their mother passed away. They were also making a home for their own three children, plus a brother-in-law with cerebral palsy.
Over the years she has taken courses where she was able to work toward an accounting degree. “As a 40-year-old woman returning to school to complete my degree, I’ve faced the challenge of balancing academics with personal responsibilities.” Shelton will use her scholarship to continue work towards her B.S. in accounting at California State University, East Bay.
Her daughter, Kimora Amari Sky McLemore, received a GRF scholarship in 2023. McLemore is currently a junior at Grambling State University in Louisiana, where she was recently elected Ms. National Society of Black Engineers for the 2025-26 school year and finished the semester with an impressive 3.64 GPA. “I’m incredibly proud of her!” her mom writes. RSF is proud too, proud to be playing a role in the higher education of both mother and daughter.
RSF Trustees make these RWC scholarship awards in the spirit of giving back to the Rossmoor community that these working families support on a daily basis. Rossmoorians can easily become a part of this endeavor by donating to RSF. To make a gift, mail a donation to the Rossmoor Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 2056, Walnut Creek, CA 94595, or go online to www.rossmoorscholarship.org and click on DONATE. Any gift is greatly appreciated, and the entire amount goes towards awards such as the RWC scholarships.