“When I found out that I was getting the scholarship, I was really grateful and happy because it would be a big support for my education,” said Marentes, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and plans to become an elementary school special education teacher after graduation.
The College of Education established scholarships to provide financial assistance to students preparing to be teachers, who often go on to teach in their communities. The scholarships remove some of the financial pressure of having to pay for higher education, one of the main concern for students, especially those who go on to pursue a graduate degree.
“The many scholarships that the College of Education currently has and the many more we hope to acquire have been established for various reasons, but the main reason being to give financial assistance to our hard-working students,” said Dr. Patricia Lozada-Santone, COE’s Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
Dr. Lozada-Santone added that the financial assistance allows students to dedicate more time to their studies, travel abroad, and conduct research in their respective fields.
“The students have the opportunity to dedicate themselves to their studies and participate in high impact practices. They will have less financial worries and this, of course, would place them in an environment to be successful in their studies,” added Lozada-Santone. “So when they finish their studies they will leave with a tremendous amount of knowledge, skills, and experience that they will be able to share with the communities that they will be working with.”