A Helping Hand
Bronco Alumni Network Raises Scholarship Funds for Students in Need
By Michelle Hiskey
Last fall, Sandra Perez entered Cal Poly Pomona as a 30-year-old mother of two. Her children were in school, so she would further her education too. A four-year degree was a step to a professional career that would financially benefit her family and teach her kids “that no matter what your age, you can get an education."
In her first month of classes, when a family crisis almost made Perez quit, another “family” — the Latin Alumni Network of Cal Poly Pomona — stepped up. They and the Black Alumni and Friends are fundraising for, and giving, scholarships to students who remind them of their own goals and challenges. Half of the $2,000 scholarship cleared Perez’s tuition balance; the rest covered this semester. She will graduate in May 2023 with a sociology degree and psychology minor.
“When I saw what I owed was zero, I felt so grateful and honored,” Perez says. “If you have the means to provide a scholarship, it‘s so impactful for that student.”
Since 2010, LAN and its predecessors awarded scholarships to 85 students totaling $219,633.
“I see the need almost every day,” says LAN president Cynthia Avina-Tejeda (’07, management and human resources), who coordinates Project CAMINOS Student Success, Equity and Innovation at Cal Poly Pomona.
It’s Avina-Tejeda’s story, too. The youngest of seven children, her family’s first generation in college, she remembers her single mom’s caveat: “I’m not going to be able to help you.” In many Latino/a/x families, everyone contributes to the household financially, she says. LAN donors are a family that extends finances to the student. At Cal Poly Pomona, Avina-Tejeda became a single parent and fought a custody battle. At a low moment, her high school basketball coach gave her a few hundred dollars that helped pay an electric bill and put gas in her car. “With funds donated to LAN scholarships, we reach students who are in need,” she says. “And these needs are very similar to what our alumni faced through their journey at Cal Poly Pomona.”
The Cal Poly Pomona Black Alumni and Friends Chapter has raised $6,464 of a $10,000 goal for scholarships to benefit rising leaders in Cal Poly Pomona’s Black community. The first award is expected in 2023. “Our scholarship is strictly based on a student‘s activities to uplift the Black community,” says Corey Gaither (’11, sociology), president of the chapter and member of the Cal Poly Pomona Alumni Board. “We envision [scholarships] will increase our engagement with students, as they apply each year.”
Gaither made it through Cal Poly Pomona by working for UPS. Many successful alumni donate so today’s students can make it too. “There were people who I knew that dropped out because of money issues and left to help their families or figure out a way to continue their education,” says Gaither, a cybersecurity recruiter for Google. “And most of them didn’t come back.”
Perez plans to get a master’s degree and become a school counselor. When her husband lost his job last fall, borrowing money meant more financial pressure, so she applied for a dozen scholarships, and made dropping out her last resort.
“I’m already here. I can’t give up,” she told herself.
Another factor was Perez’s commitment to her own mom. “She is undocumented, so me and my siblings will provide for her,” she says. “Pursuing higher education to get a better job is for my extended family as well.”
The scholarship inspired and enabled Perez to give back. She is president of Parenting Broncos, where she helps fellow students find resources for juggling family and school, vice president and secretary of the National Society of Leadership and Success, and a member of Grrrl Squad and Hermanas Unidas.
“I was surprised and shocked, and still can’t believe it,” Perez says of her scholarship. “It really did close the gap for me. I thought, ‘Someone does care about my education.’”
