Our scholarship committee is pleased to announce our December 2015 Community College Scholarship winners! Hernan Cortes of Reedley College and Rebecca Bender of Spokane Community College were picked due to their exceptional abilities to overcome financial hardships. We have awarded them each a $2,500 scholarship to go towards their education.
"This scholarship means so much to me,” said Rebecca Bender of Spokane Community College. “As a single mom, I struggle with finances and making ends meet continuously. My heart is full of gratitude. Thank you so much for believing in me." Rebecca has dedicated her time to various non-profits and hopes to one day open a community for homeless single fathers. She is the first of her family to attend college and is majoring in Public Service Administration.
When we told Hernan Cortes that he won our scholarship, he responded simply, “Dreams don't work unless you do." Hernan is going to school for his automotive technology degree and hopes to one day open his own shop. He had a baby boy this summer and told us, “Having a baby made me change my perspective on a lot of things; He motivated me to do better.” He tells us that this scholarship award will help Hernan scale back on his full time job so that he can focus on his family and his studies during this upcoming semester.
There were five outstanding finalists that did not win either scholarship this round but we still wanted to recognize them by awarding each of them $100. The five finalists for the December 2015 Community College Scholarship were: Austin Wang, Courtney Karr, Gabrielle Pemberton, Ivy Huge, and Oscar Gonzales. Congratulations to our winners and our amazing finalists!
We encourage our finalists to reapply in our next round! The next deadline for the Community College Scholarships is March 26, 2016. Learn more and apply on our Scholarship's page.