SAGUACHE — Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick announced that Center School District’s Azia DeHerrera-Valdez was this year's recipient of the County Sheriffs of Colorado (CSOC), scholarship award for Saguache County. 

CSOC, Colorado's state sheriffs' association, offered a total of 30 awards of $500 each this year to deserving high school and college students in Colorado to fund higher-level educational expenses for the 2021-2022 academic year. 

A citizens' committee selected the winner from each county. Committees made their selections based upon criteria established by CSOC, including leadership, merit, character, involvement, purpose and need. Applicants were required to be full-time, legal Colorado residents who planned to attend a Colorado university, college or trade school. 

CSOC established the scholarship program in 1978. Since then, this effort has continued as a meaningful expression of the sheriffs' confidence in and respect for education and training. Money for the program is derived, in part, from the CSOC honorary membership fund that consists of contributions from individual citizens and businesses each year.