A record-breaking amount of more than $537,000 in scholarships will be awarded this year by the Allan Hancock College Foundation.
The college’s 46th annual scholarship awards banquet will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 21 in the Joe White Memorial Gymnasium at the college’s Santa Maria campus.
Nearly 1,000 students, relatives, friends, donors and community members are expected to attend the event.
A total of 424 scholarships ranging from $500 to $10,000 will be awarded to a record 364 students. The number of recipients represents a 38 percent increase from the record of 266 students that was set last year.
The total dollar amount will be a 12 percent increase from the $479,000 awarded by the foundation in 2014, and a 79 percent jump from the $307,000 given in 2013.
“The generosity of our community is inspiring,” said Jeff Cotter, the foundation’s executive director. “It’s amazing how much of a response we have seen this year from our friends and neighbors because they believe in our students and believe in Allan Hancock College.”
Seventeen new scholarships will be awarded this year, including the Presqu’ile Winery and Murphy Family Scholarships, as well as the Bartlett Family Scholarships.
A scholarship committee composed of 15 Hancock faculty and staff determined the recipients from nearly 750 applications.
“Once again we had an impressive applicant pool,” said Toni McCracken, the foundation’s scholarship program coordinator. “Our faculty and staff did an amazing job encouraging students to apply, and our new online application process was a huge success.”
Applicants will be notified in late April that they would receive a scholarship. However, they do not know the specific scholarship or dollar amount, which makes for a night to remember for hundreds of students and donors.
“The awards banquet will be an evening of great moments and memories,” Cotter promised.
“It’s my favorite night of the year,” McCracken added.
The keynote speaker will be former scholarship award recipients Vicky Giese and Allan Hancock College trustee Hilda Zacarías.
— Stefanie Aye represents Allan Hancock College.