A scholarship from Paramount Farms is helping Azucena Robles study engineering at UC Merced.

By Donna Hemmila

UC is committed to keeping the doors to higher education open for all qualified students regardless of family income.

More low-income students enroll at UC than at any U.S. research university, and two-thirds of all undergraduates receive some kind of financial aid. An important part of that financial support comes from private gifts.

For many students, like UC Merced freshman Azucena Robles, a scholarship can make the difference between having a college education and only dreaming about it.

Robles, a Bakersfield resident, is one of the students benefiting from a $250,000 gift to UC Merced from Paramount Farms. The San Joaquin Valley pistachio and almond grower's donation funds scholarships for low-income students from Kern, Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties.

"If it wasn't for that help, I wouldn't be able to be here right now," said Robles. She is one of four children and the first in her family to go to a university. Her older brother attended a community college but dropped out.

"I feel like I'm the one who actually wants to go through with it," Robles said of her desire to graduate and someday work as an environmental engineer.

"There's always a way to go to college," she said. "I knew I didn't have the money, but that didn't stop me from coming."

In the last five years, UC's 10 campuses raised about $500 million from private donors to support students like Robles. As state support for students declines and UC is forced to increase fees, private gifts play an even greater role in helping students pay for their education.

UC recently launched Project You Can, a 10-campus effort to raise $1 billion in student support over the next four years.

Gifts from alumni, parents, foundations and other supporters can help UC continue to provide the financial support its undergraduate, graduate and professional school students deserve.

Remembering how it was

Pamela Davis enrolled at UC Santa Cruz in 1983, a re-entry student in her 30s. Federal Pell Grants and other financial aid made it possible for her to earn a degree in economics and then a master's in public policy at UC Berkeley. Today she is the founder and CEO of the Nonprofits' Insurance Alliance Group in Santa Cruz, which provides liability insurance for other nonprofits.

The financial help she received 26 years ago inspired her to put UC Santa Cruz in her will. A portion of her assets when she dies will go to support students, particularly single re-entry women.

"I felt my experience at UCSC and the assistance I was given with my own tuition just completely changed my life," Davis said. "And I have taken it seriously to give back, both with the work I'm now doing and this gift."

Supporting med students

Sophia Mac Kenzie established a scholarship foundation in 1963 because she was concerned about the high cost of medical schools in California. Since 1977, the Los Angeles-based foundation has helped 800 UC San Diego School of Medicine students with donations totaling $1.7 million.

UC San Diego medical student Julie Huber's Mac Kenzie Foundation support enabled her to travel to Kenya.

"Miss Mac Kenzie created the foundation with the goal of lessening the crushing debt with which medical students often graduate," said foundation trustee, Phil Irwin. "We hope to provide students with assistance so that they may have the flexibility to choose to go into primary care with less concern of paying back debt."

Fourth-year medical student Julie Huber currently is benefiting from the scholarship aid.

"The scholarship has enabled me to concentrate on my academics instead of worrying about finances, both now and after graduation," said Huber. "It has also allowed me to take advantage of unique opportunities in medical school, such as international travel to Kenya and Mexico."

Huber has worked in both countries and is fundraising to sponsor the education of a girl she met in Kenya.

"The generosity of those who contribute to scholarships has inspired me to give back," said Huber. "In the future, I also plan to support need-based scholarships to help others achieve their educational goals."

Donna Hemmila is managing editor at the UC Office of the President's Integrated Communications group. For more news, visit UC Newsroom or follow us on Twitter.