1. Page 16 Valley Courier Saturday, November 22, 2014
Education
At TSJC Valley Campus, a scholarship makes a big difference
ALAMOSA — “Without
this scholarship, I wouldn’t
be here,” says Bobbi Maul.
The 34-year-old mother
of two is a first semester
nursing student at Trinidad
State’s Valley Campus.
By anyone’s standards,
her life is difficult. Her hus-band
is currently disabled.
After two back surgeries he
isn’t allowed to lift more
than five pounds. He man-ages
to take care of their
two children, ages 2 and 6,
while his wife is in class.
“And we just lost our in-surance,”
said Maul. “We’re
just in a little rut right
there.”
Maul is one of more than
40 Valley Campus students
currently receiving scholar-
ship assistance from the
Trinidad State Educational
Foundation.
“Last year we awarded
over $200,000 in scholar-ships,”
said Foundation
Executive Director Toni
DeAngelis. At a luncheon
on Wednesday in Alamosa,
she recognized the students
for their accomplishments
and thanked the donors for
their generous support. The
donors then had a chance
to visit with students and
hear their stories.
“This year we’re on track
to award over $250,000 in
scholarships. So we con-tinue
to see our scholar-ship
base grow thanks to
continuing support from
the community and donors
who invest in our students.”
Maul already has a two-year
college degree but
had always dreamed of the
health field.
“I want to be a nurse and
I want to be able to provide
for my family.”
Despite her situation at
home, she declares, “I need
to go for it, right now.”
Maul is a recipient of the
Miller River Valley Ranch
Scholarship. It’s worth
$1,850 this school year and
for Maul it’s the difference
between staying in school
and dropping out.
“There are going to be
some days you just want to
give up, but you just keep
at it.”
Jesse DeHerrera says the
$1,000 Kaiser Permanente/
SLV Health Foundation
Scholarship he received has
been a big help. DeHerrera
chose the nursing program
at Trinidad State based
on its stellar reputation
and high graduate success
rates. At 39, he entered
the nursing program after
burning out on a retail sales
career.
“I had a health crisis that
kind of opened my eyes to
the health field,” said De-
Herrera. Despite occasional
12-hour sessions in class, “I
feel this is going to give me
a sense of worth at the end
of the day.”
He also works three days
a week at a local restaurant
to help pay the bills.
Current Student Govern-ment
Association President
Jason Delman is working on
a degree in psychology. Del-man
recently had some seri-ous
health issues and now
cannot work. Now 44 years
old, he came back to college
after a bad experience as a
teenager at another school.
“Unfortunately I went to
a school that didn’t have
the support Trinidad State
has,” said Delman. “It was
kind of like ‘Here you go.
Figure it out.’”
He found Trinidad State
to offer exceptional support.
“People walked me through
the process and helped
me. It was nice, it was like
family. There were people
in every area to help you.
From the administration to
the advisors, they’re willing
to take time and sit with
you and explain things. The
instructors are excellent.
And during my health is-sues
I’ve had to miss some
classes and they’ve been
very supportive in keeping
me on track and giving me
missed assignments.”
So his $500 scholarship
from Masonic Lodge #44
came at the perfect time.
“We’re always very ap-preciative
to all the in-dividuals,
organizations,
and service groups who
contribute to the scholar-ship
program,” said DeAn-gelis.
“Scholarships are an
integral part of what the
Foundation provides in its
mission to support Trinidad
State. It’s great to be able
to help our students.”
Bobbi Maul is a fi rst semester nursing student at Trinidad
State’s Valley Campus.
Jesse DeHerrera is studying nursing at Trinidad State-
Valley Campus.
Current Student Government Association President Jason Delman is working on a
degree in psychology.
Courtesy photos
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