San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation

Mechanical engineering major Federico Lopez- Casildo Jr.’s parents never completed high school and do not earn enough to be help him financially through school. “My father works so hard for so little pay,” Federico says. An alumnus of Cañada College, one of Federico’s top reasons for attending college is to be able to help his parents financially one day -- and in the meantime, he is supporting himself through college.

Two years ago, Federico was struggling to complete his prerequisites while working at Taco Bell where the hours were terrible and interfering with his studies. He says, “During class, they’d call me and tell me I had to go work. Even if I wasn’t on the schedule.”

Then, Federico received a scholarship. He was immediately able quit his job and instead devote those hours during the rest of his time at Cañada to prestigious engineering internships through NASA and at UC Berkeley. With these impressive additions to his resume, last year Federico was accepted to his first choice transfer school -- Cal Poly.

“Thank you for donating,” Federico says. “Without scholarships, I think I would be in a very different place.”

The Problem
Federico is not the only struggling student! With the high cost of living in the Bay Area, financial worries are pushing many of our students to leave school, and already 80% of our students must work while in school. Studies have shown that working more than 20 hours as a week as a full-time student has a detrimental effect on grades, and many of our students are working 40 hours a week (or more!) on top of school.

How You Help
Because of donors like you, students with high financial need will receive scholarships. This enables them work less outside of school and instead use that time to:

✔ study more

✔ enroll in more classes (students who can afford to attend full-time are twice as likely to ultimately graduate)

✔ take advantage of office hours, advising, study groups, and other campus programs and services critical to student success That all directly contributes to their ultimate success in school. You help make graduation day possible for these students and change the course of their lives!

And That’s Not All!
Today, a college degree is how the majority of people from low-income backgrounds are entering the middle class. College graduates on average enjoy higher incomes, better health, increased family stability, and increase the likelihood that their children and other family members will also attend college.

This is wonderful for students, and it’s wonderful for the Bay Area in general! A robust middle class means economic stability for us all. The middle-class fuels spending with their healthy incomes, and middle-class workers are the educated, local workforce our businesses rely on.

By supporting our college students, you are ensuring the health and well-being of our entire community!