The 15th annual awards luncheon of the Ronald McDonald House Charities/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (RMHC/HACER) awarded 150 Southern California students with $1,000 college scholarships.

"We are very proud of our outstanding young scholarship recipients," said Frank Sanchez, McDonald's owner/operator and chairperson of the Southern California RMHC/HACER scholarship program. "These students have demonstrated that goals can be accomplished no matter what the challenge."

The criteria for being selected as an RMHC/HACER scholarship recipient included grade point average, letters of recommendation, demonstrated financial need and community involvement.

Catholic school student recipients included the following: Tanya K. Lopez of St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs; Jeanette Gonzalez of Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance; Sabrina Benedict of Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills; Desiree Echevarria and Edgard Mejia of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana; Claudia Godinez of Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills; Jose Barajas of Bishop Mora Salesian High School in Los Angeles; Jonathan Solis of Cathedral High School in Los Angeles; Crystal Cedillo, Elyssa Espinoza and Jeffrey McDowell of Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente; and Alejandra Lopez and Amanda Pena of Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra.

Including this year's scholarships, RMHC/HACER has distributed more than $1.2 million to Hispanic students in Southern California since 1989.