John Klavins Endowed Construction Technology Scholarship

The John Klavins Endowed Construction Technology scholarship was established by Ms. Rita Chenoweth, Associate Professor of Dance at Riverside City College, in honor of her late father. Ms. Chenoweth shared the following Latvian folk stanza as a tribute to her father, with the hope that he will be remembered as a loving, caring, productive and highly respected family man and friend:

Zirdzins vien, arklins vien,
Lielaja tiruma;
Arajins atsagula
Visu muzu dienas-vidu.
In his wide field – all we can see
is just his horse, just his plow:
The plower himself takes his mid-day rest
- eternally.

In the Latvian culture “ARAJS” – the head of the homestead in charge of plowing in the spring and subsequently tending the fields – is also a time-honored symbol. A dependable provider for family and kin. A role model of a painstaking, honest, and productive work.
To his family, John was truly an “ARAJS”. An immigrant himself, he warmly welcomed other family members to the U.S. in the late 1950’s into his family fold. He helped these newly arriving family members find jobs and he more than likely funded some of their initial and ongoing survival needs. John’s family members who joined him in the U.S., and their subsequent families, all ended up with a good life because John played HIS part by deeply caring about each of his kin.
John was, of course, strong minded and strong willed. Anyone surviving the unfathomable ravages of war, which cruelly robbed him of his first family and his homeland – starting life from scratch all over again as an immigrant in a strange, yet welcoming land, and then truly succeeding as a highly productive, well respected, and much loved human being -
is worth remembering in perpetuity. For these and many other reasons, Ms. Chenoweth has chosen to honor her father’s memory with this scholarship fund.

Basic requirements and reviewer notes:
Major: Construction Technology
Cumulative GPA required: 2.0
Financial need required: Yes
Student activities, volunteer work required: None required
Other special requirements: None