Stepping Up to Support our Scholars

In June 2024, Jackson graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in human biology. Her goal is to use her brother’s story to disrupt the status quo and ultimately save lives. She accepted an offer to attend the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, and is now working toward earning her master’s in health administration. Her goal is to change health care policies in underrepresented communities.

In an effort to support outstanding students — and tomorrow’s leaders, like Jackson — Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla established the Chancellor’s Alumni Council Scholarships Match to raise new funds for scholarships. Chancellor Khosla will match eligible gifts 1:1 that are made to scholarships endorsed by UC San Diego alumni councils including the Asian Pacific Islander Alumni Council, Black Alumni Council, Chicanx Latinx Alumni Council and the Pilipino/a/x Alumni Council. The goal is to raise $1 million before June 30, 2025, bringing the total funds for scholarships with the match to $2 million.

“At UC San Diego, we are dedicated to ensuring that students from all backgrounds have access to the world-class education this campus has to offer,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This initiative is very important to me, and I am proud of our alumni councils, which are working tirelessly to help raise scholarship funds so that the next generation of students have the tools they need to succeed.”

Jackson received the UC San Diego UJIMA Network Black History Month Scholarship, which is endorsed by the Black Alumni Council at UC San Diego. The UC San Diego UJIMA Network Black History Month Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students who have demonstrated academic and creative achievement in the study of African Americans and their history and culture.

During her time on campus, the scholarship helped her cover costs related to food and housing, which would have otherwise been a struggle. It also allowed her to volunteer her time on campus and in the community, rather than worrying about taking on more work to cover the bills. Jackson helped create the Black Pre-Med Society and participated in the Fade Hypertension initiative, where students go into local Black-owned barber shops to encourage blood pressure screenings. She was also on the UC San Diego cheer team and worked as a volunteer cheer coach at The Preuss School UC San Diego.

The UC San Diego UJIMA Network Black History Month Scholarship is one of four scholarships which are included in Chancellor Khosla’s match. The other three are the Asian/Pacific-Islander Alumni Council Scholarship, endorsed by the Asian Pacific Islander Alumni Council; the Madrinas and Padrinos Scholarship Endowment, endorsed by the Chicanx Latinx Alumni Council; and the Zenaida and Emilio dela Pena Scholarship, which is endorsed by the Pilipino/a/x Alumni Council.

Yen Tu ’91 is a member of the Asian Pacific Islander Alumni Council who is supporting the initiative. When she was an undergraduate at UC San Diego, she received two scholarships, one as a freshman and another which allowed her to spend her junior year studying abroad in Hong Kong. While Tu received Pell Grants to help cover essential expenses during her time at UC San Diego, she credits scholarship support with being pivotal in allowing her to participate in activities that shaped her as an adult.

“I was a fully independent student with no family support, so getting those scholarships meant the world to me,” said Tu, who works in nonprofit management. “It allowed me to study abroad, which was transformative for me, and really impacted the rest of my life.”

Understanding the value of student support, Tu has donated toward UC San Diego scholarships for years, but when Chancellor Khosla established this scholarship match, Tu and her husband decided they wanted to leverage the opportunity to support the Asian/Pacific-Islander Alumni Council Scholarship, a fund that will provide support for future UC San Diego students – like Vicky Chen.

Chen, who received the Asian/Pacific-Islander Alumni Council Scholarship, majored in biochemistry at UC San Diego. She recently graduated and is working toward earning her doctorate in genetics at Stanford University. Chen’s credits her scholarship with giving her the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research.

“My parents are immigrants, and they were really worried about how to pay for college,” said Chen. “Thankfully, Pell and Cal Grants have been helpful, but undergraduates typically aren’t paid for research work, and this can limit opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds. They may not be able to volunteer because they need to take on a job to help cover costs.”

The Asian/Pacific-Islander Alumni Council Scholarship helped bridge the gap so that Chen could gain hands-on research experience in UC San Diego labs. In addition, Chen found it helpful to be able to connect with members of the Asian Pacific Islander Alumni Council, who have provided career advice and support, networking opportunities and more.

“The alumni council was helpful in giving me a community in which I could thrive,” said Chen. “Members frequently reached out to me, consistently giving me opportunities to talk to other people and network. It has been a place of belonging for me where people want to see me succeed.”

Providing a support system beyond just funding is a key priority of the alumni councils, according to Tu. “The scholarship itself is wonderful for helping cover expenses for students, but we also understand that networking and mentorship opportunities are even equally important for student success. So therefore, we didn't want to just give a scholarship and never hear from these students again. We want to support them and stay connected in other ways as well – even beyond graduation when they become alumni.”

Kelly Mendoza is a second-year speculative design major who hopes to pursue a career in architecture. She comes from a low-income family who immigrated from Peru. The youngest of three children, Mendoza, along with her parents, worried about how the family would cover the cost of a university education. When she learned she would receive scholarship support at UC San Diego, it made all the difference.

“We have always been tight on money, sometimes using food stamps,” said Mendoza.  “We worried about how much college would cost, so the scholarship from UC San Diego played a significant role in my decision to come here. It eased my worries.”

Mendoza believes that scholarships can make the difference for promising students who may worry that a university education is out of reach.

“Many immigrant families come to America with little to nothing in hopes of a better future for their children,” said Mendoza. “For a child who worries about whether they can attend college and pursue their dreams due to financial concerns, a scholarship is like a ray of light. Scholarships bring hope.”

To learn more or make a gift to the Chancellor’s Alumni Council Scholarships, please visit crowdsurf.ucsd.edu/pages/alumni-council-scholarships or contact John Duca at jduca@ucsd.edu.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT UC SAN DIEGO »