Sequoia Adult School Scholars

Helping adult learners succeed, one semester at a time

Fall 2015

Our mission: Sequoia Adult School Scholars provides financial support, tutoring, and assistance to Sequoia District Adult School ESL and GED students--the vast majority of whom have minimum wage jobs--so they can enroll in community college to continue their education, expand their career options, and serve as role models for their children.

Look Who Made the Cañada College Dean's List!

SASS recipients Priscilla Limoli, Silvia Gomez, and Viridiana Yengle were named to Cañada College's Deans List of Honor Students for the spring 2015 semester. Only 362 of 6,125 students enrolled in Cañada received this honor.

Priscilla Limoli

Silvia Gomez

Viridiana Yengle

Priscilla is working towards an associate degree in radiologic technology, Silvia plans to receive an associate degree in medical assisting, and Viridiana's goal is to receive an associate degree in early childhood education.

Jose Uyu:

SASS Recipient in the News

SASS recipient Jose Uyu was chosen to participate in the Adult Learner Leadership Institute, a
statewide training program designed for adult learners to improve their leadership, communication, and advocacy skills. As a result of that training, Jose was asked to speak at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Redwood City about his experiences attending community college.

Jose currently works as a server. His goal for now is to complete the ESL sequence at Cañada College and get a better job.

Tom Mohr,
San Mateo County Community College Trustee,
Joins SASS Advisory Council

Long-time educator Tom Mohr is the newest addition to the SASS Advisory Council. Tom currently serves on the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees and is past-president of Cañada Co

llege.

"SASS serves a unique role in helping immigrants in our community move into jobs that pay family-sustaining wages, and I am eager to support their efforts," Tom said.

Record Number of SASS Recipients Heads Off
to College

This fall, SASS is supporting 166 students attending community college, a new record! Students range in age from 18 to 63. While most are from Central America, we also have students from Cambodia, Iran, Japan, Cameroon, Colombia, and Peru.

The number of students entering college has remained fairly stable for the past few years, but the number staying in college for two years or longer continues to climb. For example, This fall, there are 57 percent more students who have been enrolled in college for 6+ semesters than there were last spring.

Outstanding SASS Recipients Awarded Microsoft Surface Tablets

Thanks to four very generous SASS donors, 16 SASS recipients who previously did not own computers were awarded Microsoft Surface Tablets.

All SASS recipients were invited to apply to receive a tablet. Winners were chosen based on need, grades, and the number of semesters they'd been in college.

Students received their tablets at an "out of box" experience held at the Microsoft Store at Stanford Shopping Center on September 12th and 13th.

The anonymous donor who spearheaded the project said she decided to fund the tablets after learning that many students were doing their homework on their phones or in the library, often with their children in tow.

"Given how many obstacles these students face, I wanted to remove at least one," she said.

Taking a Stand
Check out the Guest Opinion by SASS Executive Director Elizabeth Weal in the September 18th issue of the Palo Alto Weekly.

Help support our deserving students!

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And remenber...None of this would be possible without for your ongoing support!