Hat's off to Juan De La Cruz

Juan De La Cruz maybe well on his way to getting a star on the Walk of Fame.

The 18-year-old Montclair resident was one of 18 talented California teens who were awarded the first Herb Albert Scholarship for Emerging Young Artists scholarship.

The scholarships were awarded in six categories: animation and film/video, creative writing, dance, music, theater and visual arts.

De La Cruz, also a freshman at Cal Poly Pomona, received a $40,000 scholarship in the category of theater.

The scholarship program is in partnership with the California State Summer School for the Arts, or InnerSpark, to nurture and recognize young, quality artists.

Innerspark provides a four-week summer arts program to 10,508 talented high school students for more than two decades.