This is the time of the year when students have discovered whether or not they have been awarded scholarships to assist with college costs. For some students, a $1,000- $3,000 scholarship is the angel's breath that enables them to finish college in four years without a huge debt burden. Gemperle Farms is proud to announce that $6,000 in scholarships have been awarded to six outstanding students for the 2017-18 school year.
Congratulations to: Daisy Santana, Geralado Santana, Julia Correa, Charley Baptista, Janelly Zarco and Daniel Santana. All the scholarship recipients plan to attend public colleges and Universities in California.
This is the second year of the Gemperle Family Farms scholarship program and it has been a huge success.
"We were hoping to be a model for other medium sized companies in California's Central Valley," says Mike Gemperle, Vice President at Gemperle Family Farms. The Central Valley has a lot of catching up to do with respect to education, where only 16% of adults over 25 have a college degree, versus 32% for the rest of California.
"A lot of work needs to be done to help bridge the gap. We encourage other medium size companies to consider starting a scholarship fund," says Gemperle. "Assisting with education is one of the greatest gifts of gratitude that you can give your employees that have helped make your company successful. Education enriches your local community and has an impact for generations."
Awards for the Gemperle Farms Scholarship Fund can range from $1,000 to $3,000 per year and can be used towards education expenses such as tuition, institutional fees, books, and school supplies. The scholarship is awarded through the Stanislaus Community Foundation and is issued over the course of one academic year. The recipient can renew the scholarship for up to four years. The Stanislaus Community Foundation Scholarship Committee, an independent community and volunteer organization, reviews and selects the final applicants. Finalists are selected based on financial need, academic merit, and personal statement.
The Gemperle Family Farms Scholarship Fund is available to the children and grandchildren of current employees who have been employed for a minimum of three continuous years. The applicant must attend an accredited two or four-year college or university, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and maintain a continuous, full-time enrollment of at least 12 units per semester. This last year, the GPA requirement was loosened to 2.5 to encourage students to stick with very difficult majors such as math, computer science, and engineering without the fear of losing their scholarship funding.
