Why Scholarships?
Every year, youth in Oakland overcome incredible challenges and barriers to attain the dream of a post-secondary education that many others take for granted. If there are any doubts about this fact, our 2009 scholarship demographics illustrate this point clearly.
• 85% of our awardees come from low income backgrounds
• 42% come from single-parent homes
• 55% of our awardees are first generation college students, while only 35% had two parents that had graduated from high school
• 50% had parents who were limited or non-English speakers.
Many of these students were Oakland's top performing scholars, so our demographics say a lot about the incredible odds that our scholars are overcoming to get into college. Jorge Labastida, awardee of the Clorox Partners Scholarship, talks about how he changed his life by deciding to leave life on the streets behind after he witnessed a friend get shot. I knew that, if I continued hanging out with that crowd, I would end up dead or in jail, so I began participating in programs that would help me get back on track with my schoolwork. Instead of spending afternoons in the streets, he joined a tutoring program, and also enrolled in many other extracurricular activities. He convinced his counselors to let him enroll in AP classes, and by the end of his junior year, he was the only student in his class to pass the AP History exam. Such numbers and such stories are a gentle reminder of why we give scholarships to Oakland's college bound youth.
2008 Awardee writes about importance of Scholarships
2009 Awardee writes compelling essay about personal circumstances
About Marcus Foster Education Fund Scholarships
MFEF, in partnership with local business, community groups, and individuals, provides scholarship funds to at least 60 graduating high school seniors who are pursuing a post-secondary degree every year.
Graduating seniors may use the scholarships to pursue post-secondary education at a two- or four-year college, or at a vocational training institute. Some scholarship donors choose to maintain a long-term relationship with their students, providing extended internships and employment for them upon graduation.
MFEF receives dozens of letters each year from scholarship students. Here are some of the things that scholarship students have said about the program:
"This semester my class registration, books, etc., have overwhelmed me with their costs. Your money has definitely been appreciated. I know you give this money to many other students in my position, I also know you don't have to. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving me an opportunity to go to college and to make myself, your organization, my family, and community proud."
"I am absolutely thrilled to know that I will be able to attend Occidental College in Los Angeles without worrying too much about money. Even though I will have work-study and have already taken out a few loans, the award will help pay the rest of the tuition."
"Thank you again for enabling me to fulfill my dream to attend a black college and study to become an OB/GYN."
Selection Criteria & Process
In order to apply you must:
• Be an Oakland Public School high school senior
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50
• Plan to attend a four-year or two-year institution in the fall following your graduation from high school
• Be an educationally motivated youth that embodies Dr. Foster's vision that education requires the involvement of the whole community
• Attend the annual Scholarship Ceremony in June
• Attend a financial literacy workshop after high school graduation
| 
Photo by Rob Her