Hello Friends,
Our RTE scholars are special people. These young adults, mostly first-generation college students, are fighting against the odds. Some of us were lucky to have at least one professional parent with a steady income growing up. We had a leg up and had a whole network of adults who could open doors for us and share their university and professional experiences. This month, we are welcoming 25 more students from Paly Class of 2024!
To put into context the obstacles our scholars face, when I attended UCSB in the late ‘80s, my tuition was about $840/year. In today’s money, that would be around $2,000/year. Today UCSB’s tuition (without fees, textbook, and living expenses) is about $13,000/year. Our RTE College Scholarship Fund is made up of mostly individual donations. Our entire organization is composed of volunteers so all your donations go directly to supporting the scholars.
RTE works hard to continue to improve our program and make life a little easier for our students. We have adjusted our mentorship program and scholarship requirements to be more flexible to accommodate community college students who are facing major life challenges to get through their AA degrees in a timely manner. Our mentor John Fitton has met with some of our students about 20 times just in one year to make sure that the students get all the help that they need and stay on track. All of our community college students are juggling life, full time work, and academic classes.
This fall, we will increase our scholarship to try to keep up with inflation. Community college students will receive $750/year and 4-year students will receive $3,500/year.
This Annual Spring Campaign Week, we will introduce you to some of our 10 new college graduates who were supported by your financial gifts for the past four years. These young adults, Leanna, David, Madeleine, and Brooklyn were all impacted greatly by the Covid shut down, isolation and remote schooling. They started college fully online during the first year of the Covid pandemic. That they graduated on time shows how resilient they are - they are excelling in every sense of the word. Your financial support will continue to support about 55 scholarships per academic year. Please help our all-volunteer organization by giving generously to our College Scholarship Fund!
With gratitude,
Tida Violante
RTE President
Paly, Class of 1989
