At the annual Gavilan College Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Friday May 9, the Gavilan College Education Foundation and Financial Aid office dispersed more than $83,400 in scholarships for Gavilan College students. 72 separate monetary awards were given to 57 students, with some students garnering more than one award.
“The best thing you can do to help a college student is provide a scholarship” said Gavilan College president Steve Kinsella in his remarks at the start of the event, explaining that even though community college fees are low, and can be waived for low income students, the costs of textbooks and living expenses are often significant.
The largest single scholarship, the Karl Pister Award of $20,000 for a student transferring to UC Santa Cruz, was awarded to Anthony Anggo. The second-largest award, $15,000 from the Gilroy Rotary Susan Seledon Scholarship, was awarded to Ryan Shook. Eleven new scholarships of $500 each were made possible by the Sowing Seeds, Nurturing Dreams benefit gala held at Gavilan College in April.
The 29 scholarship donors (many providing ore than one scholarship) included families, individuals, civic organizations, businesses, and clubs. A number of scholarships were established by the community and Gavilan College staff in memory of departed loved ones and former colleagues: Individuals honored in this way include Pablo Balancio, Fran Braverman, John Pruitt, Andrew John Farkas, Edma and Waldo Rohnert, Rudy Melone, Cindy Starr, Raymond Valadez, Esther Costales, and Marge and George Dufresne.
Many of the awards were presented by their donors, some of whom provided touching testimony about their inspiration for giving. Kai and Libby Lai, whose family provided three scholarships, spoke about their own challenges, including that of of being a first-generation college student. Martin Braverman spoke about his late wife, Fran, and her journey through Gavilan’s nursing program and career as a nurse.
Many scholarships are targeted to specific courses of study, such as the American Legion scholarships for nursing, math, and business majors and the South Valley Unitarian Nursing scholarships.
To find out more about establishing a scholarship, contact the Gavilan College Director of Financial Aid, Veronica Martinez, a vm*******@ga*****.edu or call (408) 848-4725.
