East County Students Win College Scholarships from Helix Water District by Helix Water District May 21, 2025 Member Submitted News Two east county students, Grossmont High School senior Ashley Beard and El Capitan High School senior Agostinho Soto-wang, received $1,000 college scholarships from Helix Water District on May 7, 2025. Both are exceptional students. Midway through their senior year, Beard had a 4.87 weighted grade point average and Soto-wang had a 4.91. Beard plans to earn a degree in political science and go on to law school – a decision made after a senior year internship at a San Diego law firm showed her how legal advocacy can transform underserved communities. Beard is an athlete: captain of her varsity softball, soccer and flag football teams, named 1st Team All-League in the CIF San Diego three times and honored twice as a Mission Fed Credit Union CIF San Diego Section Scholar Athlete. Soto-wang plans to major in bioengineering and bioinformatics. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools, he developed an online gaming platform for housebound students and discovered he loves to code. He wants to pursue a career in biomedical research and use machine learning and data to demystify nutrition. Soto-wang serves on the Student Senate at his high school and is captain of the cross-country team. He is also an AP Scholar with Distinction, president of the medical club and founder of the literature club. Helix scholarships are $1,000. The Robert D. Friedgen Scholarship was established upon his retirement in 1998, after serving as the district’s general manager for 19 years. Friedgen provided the seed money and the board and others contributed additional funding. The Dr. Lillian M. Childs Scholarship was started by the Helix board in 1999 to honor Ms. Childs upon her retirement from the board and recognize the 20 years of service and leadership she had given to the district. Applicants must live in the district’s service area, have excellent academic standing and excel in community service and extracurricular activities. Helix Water District is a local government agency responsible for tap water in San Diego’s east county suburbs. The district’s regional water treatment plant serves 500,000 residents and the district distributes water to 278,000 residents in La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and other unincorporated areas.
