San Mateo Rotary Awards Nearly $90,000 in Scholarships

From the Rotary Club of San Mateo: College is no longer just a dream for many San Mateo high school students, thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club of San Mateo. In a recent ceremony, 39 high school and community college students were awarded scholarships by the club at the group‘s regular weekly meeting.

Of those students, 20 will be going to four year schools and 19 will be attending community college. Students headed to four year schools received a total of $69,000 and $19,000 was awarded to students headed to the College of San Mateo. Students from CSM, Aragon High School, San Mateo High School, Hillsdale High School and Serra High School were the recipients. Some of the students were also former recipients of the club’s “SMART” middle school scholarships who received incentive scholarships for goal setting and maintaining good grades throughout high school.

Four–Year Scholarship Committee Co-Chair John Root said that the club has now awarded over $2.2 million in scholarships to over 1,000 students over the last 32 years. These took the form of SMART scholarships, four–year and two–year scholarships. The Four –Year Committee is co-chaired by Margaret Taylor. (Taylor, who recently won the club’s annual raffle for $15, 000, donated half of her winnings back to the scholarship program. )

According to Root, finalists were interviewed in their homes by 30 Rotarians. Applicants had to go through an additional interview with a panel of Rotarians to discuss their aspirations and funding gaps in their desired education.

Community College Scholarship Committee Co-Chair Sue Lempert encouraged all of the two–year college recipients to apply for a scholarship for a four-year school upon completion of their two years in community college. The Two-Year Scholarship Committee was co-chaired by Laura Porter and Matt Lau, with 17 Rotarians participating in the interview process.

Members of the Rotary Club of San Mateo raise the scholarship money through multiple efforts: an annual raffle, a wine event, a fun run and, in alternate years, a car show. These events together generate approximately $90,000 per year in scholarship money.

Parents of the students were invited to witness the ceremony, attended by the area high school principals and guidance counselors, as well as the president of CSM.

“The scholarship program is an integral part of our club, and it’s a favorite method of outreach for many of our members,” according to Chris Eckert, President of the San Mateo Rotary Club. “In addition to the tremendous benefits it provides locally, it fulfills one of the purposes of Rotary International, which is to support educational efforts throughout the world.”

Rotary Clubs provide service opportunities designed to benefit people in need in both local communities and worldwide. The San Mateo Rotary Club was founded in 1924, and with over 160 members it is the largest Rotary club between Mountain View and Novato.

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