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2 Manteca teens compete in state scholarship event
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Allison Nussbaumer, Miss Manteca and Nathaniel Padilla, Manteca City Ambassador will both compete in this year’s California State Scholarship Competition being held in San Jose this week.

Allison is 18 years old and will be a freshman at Grand Canyon University located in Phoenix Arizona where she will pursue a Master’s Degree in Psychology. Additional studies will focus on Child Development and Family. She hopes to work in Child Custody Mediation and Investigation for the Superior Court.

Activities and honors achieved during her high school career include class president and secretary, honor roll each year, Junior High Speech Meet Award, 5 educational scholarships from Manteca Youth Focus, 7 time recipient of the Gold Level President’s Volunteer Service Award, 7 time recipient of Manteca Youth Focus Community Service Award, 5 time recipient of Manteca Youth Focus’ Most Inspirational Award, and Recipient of the Scholastic Achievement Award. 

With a passion for Community Service, Allison participated in Operation Christmas Child for five years where she helped coordinate the collection of shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, school supplies, etc. that are sent to less fortunate children in 3rd world countries. Through Manteca Youth Focus, she participated in a variety of programs representing her community and serving as a role model for other young people. 

Nathaniel Padilla, is a Manteca High School graduate and this fall will attend CSU Chico pursuing a BA in Business Management. He will minor in Musical Theatre. Ultimately, he hopes to combine these two degrees and open his own theater company. Passionate about theater and music, he was the Thespian Club President in his senior year in high school. He participated in his school’s musicals all four years and believes that each role helped further his skills as an actor.

As part of Manteca Youth Focus, he was very active in his community. Projects included selling Watermelon Slices for Perry & Sons as a fundraiser, setting up flags around Manteca during the holidays and being responsible for creating and participating in Manteca’s Fitness Fest. In addition he has judged various competitions, worked at the Second Harvest Chili Cook Off and much more. As this year’s Manteca City Ambassador, Nathaniel feels he has learned valuable life skills by participating in various community service projects and becoming a role model for other young people.

The competition finals take place on Thursday and  Friday, July 13 -14 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The show begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at the door for $25. The theme of this year’s competition is “La La Land — A Tribute to Broadway and Movie Musicals.”  Drawing inspiration from movies and musicals, the production will feature songs from prominent Broadway shows, and movie musicals, including “Les Miserables”, “Hamilton”, “Trolls”, and of course, “La La Land”.  

The California State Scholarship Competition is a prestigious youth program sponsored by Youth Focus Inc. This statewide scholarship program is conducted to recognize and select outstanding youth who will serve as youth ambassadors representing Youth Focus Inc. As youth ambassadors, they have the opportunity to meet and interact with civic leaders, volunteers and other young people, spreading the word about the importance of giving back to their communities. The top two winners will each receive a $10,000 scholarship.