Scholarship recipients give thanks through new Facebook application
The Facebook application enables those who benefited from Stanford's financial aid program to post a message – written or via video – about how scholarships make all the difference. Since its launch, students, incoming freshmen, alumni and parents of financial aid recipients have posted messages.
For undergraduates like Alexandra Bossert, '10, the financial aid award letters they receive from Stanford are just as exciting as the acceptance letters. Getting into Stanford was a dream for Bossert, but one she feared would not be realized due to finances.
"The worry was always there whether it was going to be something my family could manage financially. It was basically getting into Stanford again when I got my financial aid letter," she says. "The thing about Stanford is they don't make it so that you can get by – they really make it so you can thrive."
Using an application the university recently developed on Facebook called "What's Your Stanford Story?" Bossert was able to share her story with the rest of the Stanford community with a few taps on her keyboard.
The application enables those who benefited from Stanford's financial aid program to post a message – written or via video – about how scholarships make all the difference. Since its launch, students, incoming freshmen, alumni and parents of financial aid recipients have posted messages.
Sarah Quartey, who has been admitted to the incoming Class of 2014, tells a story about the power of financial aid to transform lives.
"As a first-generation college student, I have been given the tools needed to break the cycle of poverty in my family. I've seen my mom cry. I saw her cry when they repossessed the car, when they shut off the electricity, when they threatened to take the house. But this time when she cried, she whispered, 'You did it, baby.'"
Campaign highlights financial aid
The Facebook application is part of an awareness campaign President John Hennessy kicked off earlier this month in his Stanford magazine column to highlight the importance of financial aid, despite considerable strain on the budget. Today, 50 percent of undergraduates rely on financial assistance directly from Stanford, up from 40 percent prior to the global economic crisis. At the same time, Stanford's endowment – the principal source of scholarship funding – has declined sharply. Similarly, endowment for Stanford's athletic scholarship program is projected to fall short of commitments to student-athletes over the next few years.
To bolster financial aid resources, the university has raised its Stanford Challenge goal for endowed need-based scholarships to $300 million – three times the target at the outset of the campaign – and has added a new $25 million goal for endowed athletic scholarships. Annual gifts to The Stanford Fund and the Buck/Cardinal Club, which supports athletic scholarships, will be called upon more than ever before to fill the gap between immediate needs and endowment. These efforts will help ensure the university maintains its commitment to support the best and the brightest.
For Ryan Hall, '05, financial aid was the gift through which he achieved his dreams. Growing up in a family of five kids who were all being supported by his father's teaching salary, Hall writes, "I knew I would have to earn my way to college through a scholarship. The opportunities that resulted from this scholarship changed my life forever."
Hall met his future wife the first week of freshman year, participated on two national championship cross-country teams and earned a spot to compete for the U.S. team in the 2008 Olympic Marathon. "More than any accomplishments, the highlight of my time at Stanford was the people I met."
For Tip Kim, '92, financial aid was the gift of opportunity he is working to pay forward.
"Stanford changed the trajectory of my life. In many ways, my story is not that different from many others," he says. "I was a first-generation immigrant whose parents came to this country in search of a better future. … I worked hard."
Like Hall, Kim met his future wife at Stanford. He also studied abroad, formed lifelong friendships and was recruited by his current company, of which he is now a partner. His eight freshman-year dorm mates still visit each other, although now with all of their children (pictured in his post). "Stanford gave me the opportunity to access parts of the world of which I was not aware. For that, I am forever grateful and proud."
Parents like Cathy Garzio, '79, posted their appreciation for Stanford's expanded financial aid program. Garzio's parents took extra jobs to pay for her tuition. With the help of financial aid, she was able to graduate from Stanford.
"I am proud to be an alum, and a Stanford parent," she writes. "I am also proud that students in that same situation today – first generation [college students], middle income – get support, both emotional and financial, to assure their success. I believe my son's educational path is enriched by Stanford's socioeconomic diversity."
Kristen Munson is a writer for Stanford's Office of Development.
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