Foundation celebrates students awarded record $5.54 million in scholarships

Certain of the scholarship recipients at Saturday s San Diego Foundation luncheon Photo courtesy of the foundation The San Diego Foundation on Saturday awarded a record-breaking million in scholarships to expand higher instruction access for students At its annual Region Scholarship Celebration held at the San Diego Zoo the foundation brought together scholarship recipients plenty of of whom are low-income their loved ones and donors Special guests included U S Rep Sara Jacobs D-San Diego and state Assemblymember Chris Ward Through the Area Scholarship Venture San Diego Foundation is ensuring that local students preparation for college is matched with the financial encouragement needed to succeed and grow our region s future workforce Mark Stuart the organization s president and CEO declared in a news release For the - season the operation granted awards from scholarship funds worth a total of almost million exceeding last year s total by more than Among the recipients were first-time awardees including who are first-generation college students or the first in their immediate families to pursue higher guidance who are considered low-middle income who identify as Latino a who identify as U S -born Black and or African American who are affiliated with a college access and readiness effort such as AVID Reality Changers and TRIO Upward Bound The figures provided by the foundation s Aspirant Aid Index formerly known as Earned Family Contribution underscore why investing in underrepresented students is essential executives mentioned Strengthening opportunities for Black and Latino a students to compete for high-demand innovation jobs is vital to meet the region s projected need for new skilled workers each year and fosters inclusive economic advancement according to the San Diego Regional Economic Progress Corp It was an honor to speak to future scholars and witness firsthand the incredible difference San Diego Foundation is making in the lives of so multiple students noted Becky Petitt a vice chancellor at UC San Diego who was the keynote speaker at SDF s Scholarship Celebration By investing in their teaching and dreams San Diego Foundation is not only transforming individual futures but also strengthening the fabric of our entire area Pettit serves on the advisory council of the National Rainbow College Fund a new foundation initiative supporting LGBTQ and other students across California This year patronage for the fund helped triple the number learner scholarships Applications were submitted by more than local high school seniors area college graduate and adult re-entry students set to inquiry a variety of subjects including science equipment engineering and math STEM wellbeing sciences and more There were moments in high school when I truly didn t know if I d make it mentioned Sajanah King a scholarship recipient and Young Prosperous Foundation participant who graduated in May I faced setbacks self-doubt and hard lessons but I kept going The Lincoln High School grad is headed to Morgan State University this fall to major in psychology This scholarship is more than just funding King noted It s a reminder that my story isn t over and that people believe in where it s going next The Neighborhood Scholarship Initiative is made achievable through the donor promotion of charitable funds at San Diego Foundation which is the largest non-university scholarship provider in the region Since its inception in the scheme has awarded more than million to students