Local Scholarships and Grants

We award annual scholarships to girls and women who have a local connection to Morgan Hill. Please review the individual scholarship applications for details.

High School Seniors

Each spring, AAUW Morgan Hill awards several scholarships to women entering college and graduating from Live Oak, Ann Sobrato and Central High Schools. Students completing the “Common Scholarship Application,” available at their high school and due for submission to the high school counseling office in early December, are considered for these scholarships. Finalists are interviewed by an AAUW member panel.

For an application and further instructions, inquire at the high school's counseling office.

Some of our 2023  Scholarship recipients helping at the 2023 Wildflower Run

2023 High School Scholarship Recipients

Recipient High School College Field of Study
Lysette Avila Live Oak High School Gavilan College Ultrasound Tech
Helen Bui Live Oak High School Cal Poly SLO Embryology
Danielle Cassidy Ann Sobrato High School Loyola Marymount (?) Psychology
Iris Chiang Ann Sobrato High School USC Neurosience
Taylor Chukes Live Oak High School SFSU Linguistics
Daniela Cruz Valasco Ann Sobrato High School San Jose State Business Administration
Isabella Fredericks Live Oak High School UCSD Chemical Engineering
Brenna Graffigna Central High School San Jose City College Ultrasound Tech
Emily Lopez Live Oak High School UCLA Physical Therapy
Yaquelin Martinez Live Oak High School San Jose State Computer Engineering
Rachel Robert Ann Sobrato High School USC Pre-Med

Re-Entry/Deferred Entry Scholarships

Our local AAUW branch invites women with a connection to the local community to consider applying for one of these scholarships. Only current or past Morgan Hill residents or students who attended school in the Morgan Hill Unified School District are eligible. We welcome your application if you have a Morgan Hill connection and meet these additional criteria:

Re-Entry Scholarship

  • You are re-entering college after a break or interruption in your undergraduate studies.
  • You are re-enrolling or already are enrolled at a community college and plan to continue at a four-year institution or you are re-enrolling or already are enrolled at a four-year institution at this time.
  • You are working toward an Associate or Bachelor degree on a part-time (6 units) to full-time (12 units) basis.
  • You are able to demonstrate financial need.
  • You are able to provide verification of enrollment for the upcoming fall and/or spring term in order to receive any AAUW scholarship funds.

Deferred Entry Scholarship

  • You are transitioning to college and entering college for the first time after a break or interruption after graduating from high school or obtaining GED equivalent. (Note that this category also includes students graduating from the Morgan Hill Community Adult School.)
  • You are enrolling at a community college or enrolling at a four-year college/university at this time.
  • You will be working toward an Associate or Bachelor degree or will be taking career training courses leading to a specific certificate program on a part-time (6 units) to full-time (12 units) basis.
  • You are able to demonstrate financial need.
  • You are able to provide verification of enrollment for the upcoming fall and/or spring term in order to receive any AAUW scholarship funds.
RE-ENTRY/DEFERRED ENTRY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Women may apply for one of these scholarships by completing the appropriate section of the application.  Applications are due May 16.

RE-ENTRY/DEFERRED ENTRY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

All 2023 Re-Emtry/Deferred Entry scholarships were awarded to Morgan Hill Community Adult School graduates.

Mellisa Figueroa, Selena Gonzalez, Sammantha Jones, Juanita Salinas.

2023 Students Receiving Re-Entry / Deferred Entry College Scholarships

Recipient College Major or Field of Study
Mellisa Figuerca Gavilan College Social Work
Selena Gonzalez Gavilan College Medical Coding Certification
Sammantha Jones Cabrillo College Education
Juanita Salinas Gavilan College Administrative Justice

Lauren Jenkins Healthcare Profession Scholarship

This scholarship is in honor of Lauren Jenkins, a clinical geneticist and former member of the AAUW Morgan Hill Branch. Lauren believed in the advancement of women and girls through education and actively worked with them to advance their technical skills and scientific goals.

Applicants must be accepted into a formal accredited university-based Healthcare Program- which leads to a professional practice license in fields such as nursing, dental, laboratory, medicine, molecular, pharmacy, radiology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, veterinary, etc. Scholarship amount: $2,000

HEALTHCARE PROFESSION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Applications are due May 16. The AAUW Morgan Hill Scholarship Committee will review the applications, make the final selection, and notify the winners.

HEALTHCARE PROFESSION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

2023 Lauren Jenkins Healthcare Profession Scholarship Recipients

Recipient College Major or Field of Study
Jazlyn Sanchez San Jose State Nursing
Nikki Nguyen San Jose State Nursing

Fritts Family STEM Scholarship

Susan Oldham-Fritts and her late husband David Fritts were STEM professionals with a shared passion for education and mentoring women and girls in the fields of science and engineering. Susan, a retired researcher, chemical engineer, and branch member, has been actively involved in Tech Trek, GEMS, the Synopsys Championship, South Valley Science and Engineering Fair, and various local science outreach activities. In addition to helping her with many of these activities, David was a failure analysis engineer who was instrumental in training female graduate engineers in the electronics industry. Their commitment to equity for all in the STEM fields lives on through this scholarship.

Applicants must currently be a freshman, sophomore, or junior working toward a bachelor’s degree in science, math, technology, or engineering and planning to graduate from an accredited four-year college or university. They must live or have lived within the Morgan Hill Unified or Gilroy Unified School District boundaries. They must have a demonstrable financial need. Scholarship amount: $1.000.

STEM SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Applications are due May 16. The AAUW Morgan Hill Scholarship Committee will review the applications, interview candidates, make the final selection, and notify the winners.

STEM SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

No qualifying recipients were identified last year, so two scholarships were presented in 2023.

2023 Fritts Family STEM Scholarship Recipient

Recipient College Major or Field of Study
Hassti Tirgardoon Pepperdine University Biology
Lixian Ou West Valley College Mathematics

NEW: Provide two “Judy Kinker Memorial Scholarships”, established in memory of AAUW Morgan Hill member Judy Kinker.

This is an endowed scholarship, with $10,000 provided by Judy’s four daughters and an additional $2,000 by friends. One or two $1000 scholarships will be given each year from this fund while money remains. Recipient selection will be from among students applying in any of the above scholarship categories.

Ria Deshpande, one of the Kinker scholarship recipients, was a member of AAUW’s Young Women Leaders and one of their conference organizers and presenters.

Recipient College Major or Field of Study
Ria Deshpande UC Berkeley Biomedical Engineering
Taylor Conely CSU Fullerton Early Childhood Education

Enrollment Verification (Required For All Above Scholarships)

ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION FORM

Enrollment Verification

All scholarship money for the above scholarships is paid, after enrollment is verified, directly to the college that the student is attending.

ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION FORM

Keeping In Touch (KIT) Grants

Previous AAUW scholarship winners who are currently undergraduates have the opportunity each year to apply for supplemental grants to support their continuing education. The amount of each grant will depend on the number of qualified applicants each year, but the minimum grant to any qualified applicant will be $500.

Thank you to Cecelia Ponzini and the Edward Boss Prado for their generous donation which supplemented the funds we were able to provide to our 2023 KIT recipients.

KIT GRANT APPLICATION

Please complete our KIT Grant Application. Applications are due February 1. The AAUW Morgan Hill Scholarship Committee will review the applications and make the final selection.

KIT GRANT APPLICATION

2023 Keeping in Touch Grant Recipients

Recipient College Major or Field of Study
Emilie Allaert UC Davis Medicine
Shirley Antonio Arriaga San Jose State Industrial Systems Engineering
Adriana Arroyo Gavilan College Health Science
Ashlee Atkins Cuesta College Agricultural Business
Kelsey Beard Northern Arizona University Psychology
Sophia Carrillo Milwaukee School of Engineering Engineering
Cleopatra Ellis Gavilan College Nursing
Pamela Frederick San Jose State Nursing
Aliyah Habib UC Santa Barbara Political Science
Hailey Haynes CSU San Marcos Nursing
Hannah Herrick Cal Poly Ponoma Botany
Diya Kandhra UC Berkeley Environmental Studies
Elise Kim UC Merced Computer Science
Janelle Laflin USC Health & Human Services
Shalimar McGinnis Grossmont College International Relations
Madelynne McKenzie Grand Canyon University Criminal Justice
Yessinia Reed Howard University Biology and Spanish
Kassandra Shores Sonoma State University Nursing
Grace Sullivan UC Davis Psychology