The 2024-2025 academic year is off to a fantastic start, and we are excited to share that our donors and supporters have provided Mentor-Supported Scholarships to 123 graduates from San Bernardino City Unified School District’s high schools (both continuation and comprehensive) and the Inland Career Education Center adult school. This life-changing support is made possible through the generosity of institutional donors like the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Inland Empire Community Foundation, Loma Linda University Health, California State University, San Bernardino, and the I AM Gifted Foundation. We are also grateful for our individual and endowment donors, including the Jack Brown Family Foundation, the Harbison Family Trust via Bill Lemann, the Jerry and Arlene Lewis family, AM, LLC, Sarah Mack, and many others. With each scholarship valued at $4,500, this year’s total award is an incredible $553,500.
These scholarships go beyond financial aid. Each recipient receives a $3,000 cash award and a paid mentor for two years—mentors who are former scholarship recipients themselves, now upperclassmen or graduate students. These mentors, having experienced the challenges of being largely first-generation college students, offer relatable guidance and support. They serve as trusted friends, available to help students navigate the transition to post-secondary life, providing encouragement through phone, email, text, virtual office hours, and group or in-person meetings.
Unless otherwise stipulated by the donor, scholarships can be used at any accredited post-secondary institution, and our students have gone on to thrive at vocational schools, Ivy League colleges, community colleges, state universities, and private colleges. Mentors help students with everything from managing money and time, selecting the right courses, and finding their sense of belonging on campus to bigger life challenges like dealing with mental health issues, family crises, job loss, and academic struggles. They may not have all the answers, but their firsthand experience and empathetic support empower students to overcome obstacles and build successful futures.
Students like Sebastian Torres, a 2023 graduate of Arroyo Valley High School now attending UCLA, in his own words
My name is Sebastian Torres, and I was raised in San Bernardino, California. My path to higher education has honestly been a rocky one; not many in my family have been given the similar privilege as I have so I devoted myself to making the best of the opportunity UCLA provided. In just my first year alone I was able to break into research with my first project being analyzing algae cultures off the coast of California to update Oceanic stream currents, to now analyzing Spindle formations of cell division to mitigate regulations and enhance medication absorption. Not to mention getting the privilege to hold 3 board positions with organizations whose goals are to mitigate health desperation in various sectors of California. Flying Sams who provide care to the citizens of Ensenada Mexico, Mobile clinic with the focus on treating patients in East LA, and Medical Aid Initiative, where we take non-expired Medical supplies that would’ve been wasted by Ronald Reagan and repurpose them to better aid those who need them.
As for this following summer I never let the spark go out as I’ve been getting ahead with 16 credits of summer courses, working full time as an EMT, and on the weekends volunteering my time at Loma Linda, where I help make the days of admitted children a little brighter. I honestly don’t believe I would have been able to accomplish all I did if it wasn’t for the financial freedom MHHF has provided me. This scholarship gave me the mobility to study without the financial burden and the necessity to work and allocate my time to give back to those who need it the most. For that I am eternally grateful and can’t wait to see what more I accomplish this upcoming 2024-25 academic year.
