The 2011 President’s Scholarship Reception on April 21 highlighted the achievements of those among top performing students at California State University, Dominguez Hills and the support of community and corporate friends of the university. President Mildred García welcomed honorees and guests to the University Library’s Main Hall and thanked donors for their part in contributing more than $190,000 this year in scholarships and close to $3 million in gifts to the university.
“These gifts make an enormous difference in the lives of our students. Because of your donation, higher education is becoming a reality for these Presidential Scholars,” said García.
García urged the audience to take an active part in saving higher education in California by communicating with legislators. She also underscored CSU Dominguez Hills’s contribution to rebuilding California’s economy with an educated workforce.
“With so many students and alumni from this immediate area, it is safe to say that a strong Dominguez Hills means a steady stream of talented employees for the economic area and for our region,” she said.
Greg Saks, vice president of University Advancement, presided over the evening’s program, which included recognition of Dr. Eleanor Chang and Steve Morikawa of American Honda Motor Co. Chang was named the Katherine B. Loker Friend of Education for the $150,000 scholarship that she and her family established in 2008 in memory of her late husband, Dr. Chiou-Hsiung “Bear” Chang, who was a professor of accounting at CSU Dominguez Hills from 1983 to 2006. Morikawa accepted the Corporate Partner of Education Award on behalf of American Honda. The corporation’s $100,000 gift last year created an endowment fund to support the university’s Science Opportunity Program, which provides college-level science courses to high school students at the California Academy of Math and Science located on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus.
García urged guests at the reception to talk to and hear the stories of the students they were supporting. Presidential Scholars Amy Stedman, sophomore, music, and Eddie Moretti, junior, interdisciplinary studies, addressed the assembled audience and shared their gratitude and experiences at the podium.
“We represent the high achievers on campus, the hard workers, and the most dedicated students here,” said Stedman of herself and her 22 fellow Presidential Scholars, who represent disciplines from throughout the university. “The [Presidential Scholarship] has allowed me to work part-time and go to school full-time, as opposed to the other way around. The financial support you give us is really the determining factor in continuing our education. It really creates a community, a family here on campus.”
Moretti underscored the long-term investment in an educated society by supporting today’s students.
“My goal is to become a teacher and send others down the path I am taking now,” he said. “Like education itself, your contribution will be continuous – it will not end with me. I’m simply the beginning of what I hope will be a long line of people who will be positively affected by your generous contributions.”
The Presidential Scholars for the 2011-12 academic year are: Selene Aguilar (sociology); Vanessa Arantes (graphic design); Lauren E. Benjamin (pre-physical therapy); Victor Chen (clinical science); Candice Cochran (psychology); Corrine Cowan (art design); Niya Doncheva (public relations); Katherine Fogle-Collazo (nursing); Patrick Fuertes (clinical science); Katherine Geesing (religious studies); Nicole Lystne (English); Kristi Medearis (biology); Andres Medina (physics); Alexandra Pfau (business administration); Rebecca Raymond (criminal justice); Claudia Rios-Tino (health science); Desmond Smith (Africana studies); Darwin Thomas (business administration); Dana Watson-Sherrod (public administration); and Sarah White (occupational therapy).
For more information on the Presidential Scholars, click here.
