GRC Foundation: Scholarship Student Welcome Reception
The GRC Foundation hosted a reception to honor its scholarship winners for academic year 2016-17.
On September 29, scholarship recipients gathered in the River Room of Student Union building. It was a casual open-house style event with refreshments available for all attendees. Along with the students, the College and Foundation staff and the selection committee were present at the event.
The scholarship was divided into several categories: General, need based, program based, single parent, veterans, and merit based. The awards ranged from $300 to $3,000 per student, with the total budget of $527,000. This amount was divided between 248 recipients.
Among the Foundation Staff that attended the reception were George Frasier, Beth Gatzke, Megan Evans, Patsy Cadwell, Matt Swenson, and Josh Gerstman. Interim president Scott Morgan, vice president of instruction Dr. Rebecca Williamson, director of financial aid Mary Edington, and members of Foundation Board were also present during the event.
“The Foundation, really, has been in existence to support students to achieve the educational goals and help the college achieve educational excellence, and one of the best ways to be able to do that is create opportunity through scholarships,” said development director Josh Gerstman while talking to The Current. He also added that this is a very good way to show the Foundation donors that their money is being put to some ‘real’ use in the welfare of the students.
This scholarship is available to all the students attending GRC for the academic year. However, when asked if most students know about this opportunity, Development Specialist Megan Evans responded, “We try every year in different ways to make sure that more students know about the scholarships that are available, and that’s always hard.” She mentioned that the Foundation tries various ways like contacting faculty, going to classes, etc. to let the students know about this scholarship. “… Still we don’t catch up with everybody.”
Wasif Siddique, a GRC graduate and current UW student, was the recipient for Summer scholarship. He mentioned that he was going through a hard time for paying the Summer tuition, but this scholarship really helped him out.
Ayako Kasai, another scholarship winner, thanked GRC Foundation for this scholarship. She was planning to go back to Japan because of financial hardships, but this scholarship has helped her in continuing her education at Green River.
The event ended with all the winners standing together in SU for group pictures. Some students stayed in River Room socializing with each other and chatting with the Foundation staff, cherishing their achievement.
