School is just around the corner, which means it's time to buy new notebooks, finalize the class schedule and soak up the last moments of summer. For many students, it also means beginning or continuing to write those large tuition checks and pay for expensive textbooks. But every year, hundreds of students have a portion of this burden lifted off their shoulders with the help of Grand Rapids Community Foundation scholarships.
This year Grand Rapids Community Foundation awarded over $1 million in scholarships for the first time in history! $62,000 of that total (44 of the 642 awards), went to GRCC students, including Gabriel Orduna. He has received three Community Foundation scholarships, totaling $3,500. Orduna, a 2012 graduate from the Grand Rapids School of Health Science and Technology, plans to get an associate degree in radiologic technology from GRCC and eventually become an MRI technologist. He’s also pursuing a welding minor from GRCC.
“My dream is to work within the Medical Mile and give back to my community of Grand Rapids and my school of Health Science and Technology,” he said. “Without the funding I’ve received from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation over the years, none of this would be possible for me. I rely on scholarships to help pay for my tuition and put me into those classrooms every semester. Without the assistance the foundation’s given me, I don’t know where I’d be today. The Grand Rapids Community Foundation is helping my dreams become reality.”
We are thrilled for Gabriel and the opportunities that await him. What a great thing to see the support from our donors inspire students to give back to our community!
Our scholarship recipients experience the generosity of our donors financially and also through the community support and motivation that they convey. GRCC President Dr. Steven C. Ender said “Our students are always grateful, not only for the financial help, but for the faith and confidence that all of these scholarships represent,” he said.
As we mark the $1 million milestone, we are proud to celebrate Gabriel and all of these scholarship recipients. We are thrilled to know that we could play a part in what lies ahead for them as the start of a new school year approaches.