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| Most of the students on UCSD’s sun-washed campus seem
to be a privileged bunch. But not all are. |
We see them strolling along Library
Walk, tossing footballs on a RIMAC field, hunched over textbooks
at Price Center
tables, laughing with friends as they spill out of lectures. Most
of the students on UCSD’s sun-washed campus seem to be a
privileged bunch. But not all are, as the people who evaluate scholarship
applications for the Alumni Leadership Scholarship Program quickly
learned. Many have overcome, or are overcoming, difficulties and
painful challenges in their young lives—obstacles that make
their presence on campus all the more remarkable.
And deciding which of these worthy students most deserve the Alumni
Leadership Scholarships—two-year scholarships of $2,000 a
year—is a process fraught with equal amounts of admiration,
compassion and frustration, because so many deserve help, and funds
are so limited.
The scholarship program, established in 2005, offers alumni a practical
way to help undergraduate leadership-orientated students during
their junior and senior years and is intended to offset or replace
federal funds or work-study monies.
Mary Johnson, assistant director of program development for the
Alumni Association, illustrates the dilemmas faced by the selection
committee when she describes students who were awarded the scholarships,
and some who were not. She does not use their real names, but the
details of their lives at home, at work, and in school, illustrate
how many candidates merit recognition for their struggles and their
fierce determination to succeed—both at UCSD and at life.
Sue Hart, Ph.D. ’86, served on the Alumni Leadership Committee
and says it’s difficult to choose. “Their level of
achievement would be remarkable even if they had not encountered
any obstacles,” she says, “but the stories of the hardships
they have overcome are truly inspiring.”
Fellow committee member Kenneth Schell, ’78, considers “demonstration
of accountability and future impact on society” when making
a choice, and admits that an “intangible feeling of humanity” helps
him decide.
The students’ stories fairly glow with that intangible feeling.
One scholarship recipient, we will call him “James,” admits
he was not a model student in middle school or high school, and
says he did not receive “useful encouragement or direction” from
his teachers and counselors. James didn’t consider college
an option, and entered the workforce after graduation. Nothing
exceptional there, except that at home his mother had been accused
in a highly publicized criminal trial and his only sibling was
suffering from debilitating mental disorders. His mother was acquitted,
but the family had been deeply wounded, and he felt humiliated. “The
ordeal left a still-unhealed wound on my family’s financial
and mental stability,” he says.
 |
| Chancellor Marye Anne Fox (right) with scholarship recipients
and John Valva, director of Alumni Relations (second from left). |
A resourceful and resilient
young man, James eventually began classes at a community college
and earned top academic honors, which gained
him admission to UCSD. “I went from being one of the worst
students in high school to one of the best students in college,” he
says. James is grateful for the Leadership Scholarship because
all the family’s surplus money must go to health-care and
medical costs for his sibling, and he barely gets by on part-time
work, and partial grants. But his study and work have not stopped
him playing an active leadership role in the arts community in
San Diego, where he is particularly interested in advancing gender
equity and documenting the current societal and political challenges
of immigration. “Despite the many obstacles I have encountered,” he
says, “I believe that success is ultimately based on the
mistakes we make along the way, and on the lessons that we learn
from them.” Another student, “Maria,” is the first in her family
to attend a university, and is doing so despite many personal and
family hardships. Maria works part time while taking a full load
of courses. “The past quarter has been the hardest quarter
of my college career,” she says. “I was under enormous
stress and suffered depression.” This was due to her parents’ separation,
unemployment, and resulting family upheaval. The misery of an unhappy
home life, however, hasn’t distracted her focus on long-term
goals. “Despite the circumstances and conflicts I am determined
to devote myself to my studies,” she says. “I didn’t
want my situation to be an excuse for inferior grades.”
A recipient of several scholarship and provost honors, Maria has
an impressive record of volunteer work for schools, libraries and
orphanages. With her family unable to help her financially, the
Alumni Leadership Scholarship—with other partial grants and
her part-time work—allows her to persevere. “I’m
inspired,” she says, “when I read true stories of Latina
women surpassing the struggles of everyday life and demonstrating
the strength of our people.”
An older student, “Daniel,” shares a background fraught
with horror. His interests in psychology, the arts, and athletics
lifted him out of a childhood “which nearly destroyed three
young children and a mother.” His father, ravaged by methamphetamines
and alcohol, subjected his family to years of emotional and financial
turmoil.
“Once the methamphetamines wore off, my father’s anger and
paranoia became mental and physical abuse,” Daniel says. “He
raped my sister, tied me to a chair and forced me to watch, and
then told us that he would kill us and our mother if we ever told
anyone. …Once we lost everything, we moved into a tent trailer
and went from state park to state park for six years.”
Rather than succumb to his circumstance, Daniel was determined
to help other families in distress. Speaking of the children’s
center that housed him as an abused child, he says, “I knew
I would return, not as a displaced, abused child, but as a practitioner
who could help these children.”
Now in his 30s and an undergraduate, Daniel’s ambition is
to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology. By working part time
and with the aid of the Leadership Scholarship and other partial
grants, he manages to meet expenses. But Daniel gives back as much
as he receives, with volunteer service to churches, hospitals,
halfway houses and other community groups.
As difficult as their lives are, these were the lucky ones. They
received scholarships. The Alumni Leadership Committee received
124 applications and 69 students met all the criteria. Since
there were funds for only 11 scholarships, the choices facing
the committee
were daunting.
“Kevin,” is just one of the many who
did not receive a scholarship and he neither expects nor receives
monetary help from his
family. The eldest son, Kevin was 13 when his mother was diagnosed
with
Grave’s disease and underwent heart surgery, and he faced
the possibility of losing her. Two years ago, his father suffered
a grand-mal seizure and, to make matters worse, his sister
was assaulted and became pregnant. But he fought back his own
anger
to help his sister face her bleak situation. She gave birth
to a girl and Kevin says the baby inspires him every day. “I
am glad for the knowledge I have gained and will be able to
share with her,” he says. Still he faces a difficult
financial struggle and gets by on partial scholarships and
grants, and by
summertime work for a general contractor. “I have embarked
upon only a fraction of the journeys that I will encounter
in my life,” he says.
Yet another student, “Derek,” says, with plaintiff
simplicity, that “not everyone is meant to be a parent.” His
mother lacked the ability to handle the pressures of life and regularly
beat him and his brother. Without a father in their lives, the
boys endured the abuse until they were big enough that she couldn’t
do that anymore. When Derek was 17, his mother concocted false
charges against him and, without resources, he spent months in
jail.
“I saw first-hand how society treats the poor and homeless,” he
says. He also says that he’s a strong person, and he fought
for survival. “I was lucky—over time, I grew the ability
to set aside my feelings every night and sat myself down to do
my homework.” That drive helped get him admitted to UCSD,
but during his freshman year fate struck again when his brother
was diagnosed with brain cancer. His brother has since recovered,
and both of them have re-established contact with their father.
Derek barely manages to cover his expenses with other grants and
a variety of jobs, including tutoring, food-service work, and selling
tires.
“It was both harrowing and inspiring to read these applicant files,” says
John Valva, UCSD’s director of Alumni Relations. “I
honestly don’t know how students with these types of personal
hardships still manage to succeed in the challenging environment
of UCSD. They are exceptional and we’re pleased we could
offer 11 scholarships in just this first year. The program’s
mission is to enable UCSD’s top students, who have considerable
financial hardship, to succeed. And the program is really resonating
with alumni volunteers and donors. Our goal is to offer as many
as 40 to 50 scholarships each year, so we still have a way to go.
But with these incredible 11 scholars we feel it’s been a
great start.”
Paul Mueller is a senior communications advisor at UCSD. |
