August 2021: Our Scholarship Impact

The annual funding of scholarship awards to support hundreds of students at Alliant International University is one of the most impactful things the Alliant Educational Foundation (AEF) does each year.

In the upcoming year alone, the Foundation has approved more than $800,000 in student support through both block granting dollars administered directly through the university and by soliciting student applications for competitive scholarships administered through the Foundation.

For 2021 – 2022, over $350,000 of these awards will support 75 underserved students from diverse backgrounds and populations across all six California campuses.

Merit-based scholarships administered directly by the Foundation will total nearly $165,000 and include a generous dollar-for-dollar year-end match approved by the AEF Board of Directors, effectively doubling the generosity of more than 50 donor-restricted scholarship funds aimed at helping Alliant students.

In the case of the new Stephanie Byers-Bell Scholarship for Los Angeles students, this means that this year’s recipient will be awarded $8,000 in tuition assistance, up from the presumed $4,000 scholarship they anticipated when applying!

But what difference does this make in the lives of actual students? Hear from just a few below…

“As a child of immigrants and the first in my family to attain a graduate degree, I carry great honor and responsibility as I aspire to continue making an impact in the lives of others and within my community. Your contribution will be immensely helpful in reducing barriers I have  navigated in pursuit of higher education.”
– JENNY T.
“This scholarship affords me the opportunity to meaningfully develop my teaching, research, and clinical skills serving the largest under-served, impoverished, and distressed diverse population: undocumented, multi-stressed, low income, monolingual Spanish-speaking Latinx immigrants residing in the United States.”
–  JASON L.
“My undergraduate and graduate experiences have emphasized the importance of social justice and advocacy work. As a woman of color, it is even more meaningful for me to be a recipient of this scholarship.”
–  KRYSTAL A.
“Although I could not have imagined this ten years ago, I am humbled and excited to be pursuing my dream of becoming a psychologist. My goal is to work with at-risk youth and promote therapy as a life skill within the classroom. The financial assistance you provided is important to me because it is helping to make my dream an even smoother reality.”
–  IMOSE O.

 

While a variety of funding sources make our scholarships possible, the generosity of our valued donors is a critical, and often recurring, component. Their trust in the Foundation makes our impact possible. With deep appreciation to these and all of our supporters, here are a few of the major donors to our work through 2020:

MAJOR DONORS

Sue Ammen
Susann Bauman
Joyce Berenstein
Howard Braunstein
Valin Brown
Stephanie Byers-Bell
Jim & Joanne Callan
James T. Cois
David Diamond
Martha Diamond
Clara Farah
Gonzalo Garreton
Ellen Glaser
Janet Hurwich
Vicki & Lindsey Inouye
Michael & Sharon Jacques
Mojgan Khademi
Dana Kiesel
Kay A. Knox
Ron Longinotti
Kris Mohandie
Barbara O. Murray
Bonnie R. Nash & Donald S. Wing
Venus Nicolino
Kazumi Nishio
Connell F. Persico
Natalie Porter
Saul Rosenbaum
Ruth Rubinstein
Margery Somers
Mason Sommers
Andy Vaughn
Jennifer & Gregg Wilson

 

A few more comments from the students that have received scholarships…

“Much of the work I do is for the betterment of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx community. Your investment supports and motivates me to continue doing the best I can to help the community we care for.”
–  ALFIE V.
“I plan to open a private practice that serves diverse populations from a multicultural lens, and more specifically focused on the LGBTQ community. I intend to advance research related to health psychology, including chronic illness and mental health. This scholarship has lightened my financial burden, allowing me to focus my time on my studies as a full-time student to achieve academic excellence.”
–  ALYSIA A.
“I am eternally grateful for the support. I am a full-time student with a part-time job struggling to make ends meet with school being one of the most financially challenging of the bunch.”
–  GERARDO V.