AT&T donates money to IVC for scholarship
For the fifth year in a row AT&T has donated money to Irvine Valley College.
Throughout the years the amount has grown and a portion of the money is given to students in scholarship form. This year will be the first time IVC will give out an AT&T scholarship.
“They [AT&T] are a big philanthropist organization. AT&T values education,” said Al Tello, IVC foundation director. “They really feel that we are doing a good job here at the college.”AT&T external affairs representative Carol Tagayun has played a key role in the foundation’s fundraising success.
“Through my community involvement one of the former foundation chairmen recruited me to the board for the foundation,” Tagayun said.
Tagayun had been on the board for the foundation at Saddleback so she was familiar with the tasks involved.
The money goes into a general fund at IVC and from there it goes to support the education services provided for IVC students. Last year IVC awarded more than $170,000 in scholarships.
“We go through a selecting process,” Tello said. “We have school committees that take the available scholarship money and match the scholarship up with students who qualify.”The committees are composed of faculty and staff at IVC who volunteer their time.
Any IVC student is allowed to apply and the application can be found on the financial aid website.
Although the deadline has passed and the applications are now being evaluated, the application can be found on the financial aid website for future scholarships. The winners will receive the results via e-mail in late April.
“Anytime you can support a scholarship it’s a great way of encouraging students to obtain a college degree,” Tello said. “Companies that give the scholarships do it because they are making an investment in education. The investment is that society will benefit from education.”
There will be an awards ceremony in May and the AT&T scholarship will be given to a student who has focused on technology.
“I feel that the students at community colleges are very diverse.” Tagayun said. “I feel that it serves a group of people who do not have other options.”