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Matsui makes college
dreams reality
Orchid grower picks up the tab
By Beverly Byer - The Salinas Californian
Here's the deal: Teachers at Salinas-area
high schools choose a winning student, and the Matsui Foundation picks up
the tab for four years of college.
In charge of this personal project is Andy
Matsui, whose nursery grows orchids in south Salinas. Matsui created the
foundation last year, awarding one student a $40,000 scholarship to attend
San Jose State University. This year, he's expanded the scholarships to three
students.
"We in Salinas Valley cannot just depend
on farming," Matsui said Friday. "People need to diversify, and
that depends on the education of our children. The cheapest and easiest way
to help the local economy grow and change is with education."
The first of this year's Matsui Foundation
scholarship award winners, Noemi Solis, received her oversized, $40,000 check
Thursday at Alisal High School's graduation in Salinas.
Solis earned a grade point average of 3.20,
performed 568 hours of community service and had been chosen as a "student
of the month" by the Salinas Rotary Club.
A second winner will be announced today
at Gonzales High School's graduation, and a third surprise scholarship will
be awarded to a student at Soledad High School on June 18.
"Some of these students will learn
and come back to this area to change and help the economy here," Matsui
said. "A lot of young kids don't have hope. I'm trying to give them
hope. We have to change the basics with education. I'm starting with myself
and hope others will do the same."
Matsui, the child of poor farmers, came
to the United States from Japan 44 years ago when he was 25 years old.
"I went to high school in Japan. That's
it," Matsui said. "I came as a trainee ... to Mountain View to
train in agriculture. I wanted to train in flowers."
After the training, Matsui briefly returned
to Japan and then came back to the United States to work in Mountain View
until he got his green card. He then sent for his wife and daughter and looked
for a place to start his own business."
Nursery sees changes
Matsui settled on Old State Road, and over
the past 38 years, has grown a variety of flowers and plants. He started
with chrysanthemums then changed to roses, switched to eucalyptus plants,
and in 1998, turned everything into a booming business of growing orchids.
Meanwhile, his four children went to Chualar
schools and eventually graduated from Harvard.
"I told them, go to Harvard, or grow
flowers," Matsui said with a laugh. "They had a big reason to go
to Harvard!"
After Harvard, his second daughter, Kathy,
got a Rotary scholarship for business training in Japan, and Matsui joined
Rotary the next year.
"I had learned years ago that people
worked hard and spent money on whatever they wanted," Matsui said. "But
in Rotary, it was totally different, you know."
He said Rotary showed him how to share his
good fortune and help others.
"I have money; I worked hard, have
my kids, but I thought, 'I am missing something else,'" Matsui said.
"So, the best way is to give away and help others."
He said he plans to give out more scholarships
next year. Just how many will depend on how business, plants and profits
grow.
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