Foundation donors give $3.5M to students in 2022-2023

The San Jacinto College Foundation celebrated donors’ life-changing impact during its Donor Appreciation Luncheon May 24.

Donors make dreams possible — dreams like student Aileene Gallegos’. Gallegos, a luncheon speaker, is finishing her Associate of Arts degree to transfer to study interior architecture.

“Without the individuals who invest in students’ education and futures, my dream would have been postponed and forgotten,” she said.

From July 2022 through April 2023, donors gave almost $3.5 million in cash and pledges to help students, and the Foundation awarded $2.7 million in scholarships and provided emergency assistance with meals, tuition, and books.

Gallegos learned the value of work from her father. After school, in 100-plus degrees, she would help him build fences and wield sledgehammers to break concrete.

Despite her parents’ hard work to provide food and shelter, Gallegos knew her college dreams came with a “real cost,” so she worked in high school to pay for her dual credit classes. Foundation scholarships removed financial barriers, helping her focus on “creating better projects, writing stronger essays, and succeeding in my studies.”

“My story is just one of many,” Gallegos said. “So many young people have dreams they want to achieve but no idea how they will achieve them. Many of you here today are making it possible.”

Learn how you can help students at sanjac.edu/foundation. View event photos at bit.ly/SJCDonorLuncheon23.