Willow Glen Resident
Education
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Lucky Winner: Willow Glen resident Rene Rojas received a $250 scholarship after winning a raffle during Sallie Mae's college bus tour. The tour was intended to help underprivileged high school students learn about resources available to them so that they can attend college.
Willow Glen High student wins $250 scholarship
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
Workshops and presentations made by the Sallie Mae Fund's "Paying for College Bus Tour" at Willow Glen High School turned out to be more than just a learning experience for one lucky sophomore.
Rene Rojas won a $250 scholarship to use toward the college of his choice on April 13.
"It was all very quick," Rene said. " Our teacher told us that we would have a presentation on college and financial aid during third period, and we all went."
Rene, along with the rest of the students, filled out cards in the beginning of the presentation and submitted them for a drawing that was done at the end of the presentation. The prize was a $250 scholarship.
"The presenter gave some really good advice," Rene said. "He told us how long certain careers take and that all of us are able to go to college. We just have to work hard."
Rene will be the first in his family to go on to college. He dreams of going into law enforcement.
"The goal of this tour is to motivate and encourage Latino students to seek out general information about college," said Sallie Mae national spokesperson Orlando Espinosa.
Espinosa has been involved in motivational speaking for Sallie Mae for four years and travels from the East Coast to the West Coast. His last stop on this year's tour is the state of Washington.
This is the second coast to coast, 78-city "Paying for College Bus Tour."
The Sallie Mae Fund is a nonprofit organization that tries to increase access to post-secondary education by supporting programs that help gain access to higher education.
This year, the tour addressed more than 500 San Jose high school students from various schools, including Willow Glen High School.
"The students' appreciation was apparent because so many chose to attend multiple presentations and workshops," Espinosa said.
Parents were also appreciative of the resources Espinosa shared at the presentations.
"There's a dire need for both parents and students to have their questions answered," Espinosa said.
According to the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, more than 50 percent of public school students in the San Jose Unified School District are Latino, and more than half of Latino parents and 43 percent of young adults cannot name a single source of college financial aid.
Less than 20 percent of Latino young adults have an accurate perception of tuition costs at the University of California or the California State University systems, according to the institute.
More than half of all survey respondents incorrectly believed that a student must be a U.S. citizen in order to apply for college financial aid.
"Because of the AB540 bill in California, students need only to meet the requirements of the bill in order to go to a state school," Espinosa said. "Students need to have attended a California high school for three years, regardless of their status in the country."
The only obstacle for most of these students would be getting the education funded, Espinosa said. Undocumented students do not qualify for federal financial aid. But students can still apply for private scholarships and grants.
"There's money out there; students just have to do a scholarship search," Espinosa said. "Students have to do the legwork. They can't be lazy about it."
Espinosa said the bus tour is a way to get information out to these students about financial aid available to them.
