The San Diego Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship

The primary goal of the Penn State Alumni Chapter of San Diego is to raise funds to provide scholarships to San Diego County residents who have chosen to attend Penn State University at a Pennsylvania campus and Penn State World Campus.

AWARDS: For students attending a Pennsylvania campus, one (1) Joseph V. Paterno $3,500 scholarship shall be awarded per school year. For students attending Penn State World Campus, at least four (4) Jim Laslavic $500.00 scholarships shall be awarded per school year. In order to be considered for the awards, students must have a GPA of 3.0+, live in San Diego County, and be eligible per PSU’s Student Aid department.

GOALS: The endowed scholarship fund must be steadily increased each year to preserve the future integrity of the scholarship. The Chapter will continue to fund additional increases as finances allow, keeping pace with rising costs of tuition. At the end of 2021 fiscal year (30 June 2021), our endowment was over $105,000.

REVENUE: Endowment principal revenue shall be procured from, but not limited to: 25% of each membership year’s dues, all proceeds from special raffle items requested from the University and friends of the University, 100% of the football game-day raffle profits and 100% of all scholarship donations.

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING: Each year the University Investment Committee makes a determination (approved by the Board of Trustees) of how much will be spent off the endowments (only endowment earnings can be spent).

APPLICATION: The application format shall be four questions with three of the questions rotated out of the application each year. The question that shall remain constant is “Why are you a good candidate to receive this award?”

THE PROCESS: The Student Aid department sends our chapter a list of eligible students in May each year. The list is in two parts; students who attend a Pennsylvania Campus and students who attend the World Campus. The students on the lists are sent a letter with essay questions which they must respond to by the deadline. All are then reviewed anonymously by the Scholarship Committee and/or Board and selected via vote. The Scholarship Chair will notify the Student Aid Department at Penn State of the award recipients. The Scholarship Chair will send email notifications to all participants thanking them, and a congratulations email to the award recipients.

Jim Laslavic Endowed Scholarship

2023: Brandy Cornett, Renato Isaac De Leon, Sumi Foley, Tanner Renfro
2019: Lisa Myers, Dania Gallardo, Elizabeth Chavez, & Asereth Rodriquez-Trujillo
2018: Roger Barajas, Marie Stewart, Christian Kim, & Audrey Mellblom
2017: Roger Barajas, Eddie Harden, & Trevor Fisher
2016: Michele Schrotenboer, Eric Hierlozer, Julian Boquison, & Roger Barajas
2015: David Strausser, Leana Mason, & Bradley Gehling.