Scholarship News By Elizabeth Rose

Our branch continues to support women in their education by offering scholarships to residents of Sacramento County.

The scholarship committee updated the scholarship flyer and the application to reflect that women at least 21 years of age (as of Sept. 1, 2025) are eligible to apply for a scholarship for attendance in the Los Rios Community College system, California State University, Sacramento, or the University of California, Davis. The scholarship amounts for these would be $3,000, $5,000 and $6,000, respectively. The number of scholarships to be awarded will be determined by the scholarship funds available and the eligibility of applicants as reviewed by the committee.

The Scholarship Application for the 2025-2026 academic year can be found on our website. Look for the “Branch Outreach Programs” tab along the top banner on the website, then click on “Scholarships.”

The applicant must have completed 12 units with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree. The application requests a discussion of financial need and clearly defined educational goals. The applications must be received by April 30, 2025, and will then be
reviewed by the committee.

Data available on the internet indicate that for school year 2023-24, the annual undergraduate tuition at CSUS was $7,602 for in-state students. It was $15,247 in 2024 at UC Davis. In 2025, it is $46 per unit (12 units would cost $552) in the Los Rios Community College system.

Scholarships will provide assistance to those who might otherwise not be able to fulfill their dreams of a bachelor’s degree. In these uncertain times, your support of the AAUW scholarship program is more important than ever. Please contribute to our scholarship fund so that we may support more students to achieve their goals. Thank you.

Scholarship News By Cherril Peabody

Our scholarship winner for the 2024-25 school year is Erin Gottis, who was also a recipient this year. She will receive $3,000 to assist her in her academic goals as she transfers from Sacramento City College to Sacramento State University, Sacramento.

Erin is the mother of two dependent children, including a son with Type 1 Diabetes, who requires special care. She achieved highest honors at SCC and graduated in May with an Associate of Science degree in design and digital media. The skills she has learned in college have enabled her to work with other staff at the California Department of Motor Vehicles to implement a new intranet system for the statewide department. Since January she has been working part time at CSUS in the library where she learns software and machinery skills that enable her to create immersive learning workshops for students, staff and faculty.

In addition to her work, she is involved with her son’s school support team to create learning information and the school care her son needs. She also created a support group for parents and caregivers called Take Five from Type 1, where caregivers can gain needed information and vent their frustrations.

We are pleased to give this award to such a deserving candidate! We were unable to make additional awards because of a lack of other applicants, but we make this award with full confidence that Erin will continue to achieve great things.

Branch awards $15,000 in scholarships for coming year By Cathy Locke

Five women have been selected to receive a total of $15,000 in scholarships from AAUW Sacramento for the 2023-24 academic year.

We received 11 applications this year. After reviewing the applications, the scholarship committee selected seven finalists to participate in interviews on Zoom. We had a strong pool of candidates with compelling needs, making the final selection process particularly difficult.  Thanks to the generosity of our members and friends, we are able to award scholarships in the amount of $3,000 each to Elizabeth Adam, Erin Gottis, Nichole Overbay, Wahida Rasoli and Natalia Safi.

Elizabeth Adam, 40, is studying anthropology and economics at UC Davis. She previously received a branch scholarship in 2020-21, when she was a student at American River College and a member of AAUW’s campus affiliate. She served as president of AAUW@ARC before transferring to UC Davis in fall 2022.  She currently works as a student contracting trainee with the US Geological Survey in Sacramento and has a 12-year-old son.

Erin Gottis, 42, is majoring in graphic design at Sacramento City College. After working for 20 years in special education and with students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, she decided to pursue her dream of working in an art-related field. As the parent of a child with a chronic medical disability, Erin said she hopes to use her graphic design skills to “contribute to the advancement of marginalized groups in my community.”

Nichole Overbay, 30, was selected to receive our scholarship for a second year. She transferred to CSUS in January. She is pursuing a degree in exercise science with the goal of becoming a physical therapist. Her interest in the field grew out of her own experiences recovering from serious injuries she suffered in a vehicle accident when she was 17. She is expecting her third child this fall and said she has arranged to take classes online so as not to interrupt her education.

Wahida Rasoli, 32, is majoring in Asian studies at CSUS after completing her associate degree in social justice and ethnic studies at American River College in 2022. She immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan in 2018. She worked for women’s and children’s rights in Afghanistan, where she held positions with human rights and civil society organizations. Since coming to the US, she has worked with the International Rescue Committee as an interpreter to help new immigrants get settled. Her career goal, she said, is to become an advocate for human rights and women’s rights. She has three children.

Natalia Safi, 50, also is a recent immigrant, coming to the United States from Ukraine in 2019. She is majoring in business administration at American River College and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the field. Natalia said she would like to work in business management and possibly start her own business. She has two daughters, ages 11 and 16. “As an immigrant and non-native speaker of English, I understand the challenges of pursuing higher education in a foreign language,” she said. “However, I am determined to overcome these challenges and succeed in my academic pursuits.”

We look forward to hearing from the recipients during a branch meeting this fall.

Again, we thank branch members for your ongoing support of the scholarship program through regular contributions, memorial gifts and bequests.

UC Davis Added to Branch Scholarship List By Cathy Locke

Women attending UC Davis are now eligible for AAUW Sacramento scholarships.

The branch board on Dec. 5 approved the scholarship committee’s recommendation to add UC Davis to the list of colleges that scholarship recipients may attend. Previously, we have had to turn away otherwise qualified applicants who were transferring from a Los Rios Community College campus to UC Davis. Because UCD is a public university with a major presence in the Sacramento region, it is a logical option for community college transfer students.

The branch is offering $3,000 scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year to women age 25 and older who are pursuing their first baccalaureate degree at American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Sacramento City College, California State University, Sacramento, or UC Davis. Students must be Sacramento County residents at the time of application. The number of scholarships will depend on available funds and the number of qualified applicants. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2023.

Our scholarship program is listed on the financial aid office websites for the various campuses. Information also is provided to mentoring organizations, student services centers and community groups, including Women’s Empowerment and Saint John’s Program for Real Change. We encourage branch members to assist in outreach efforts by passing along information to other organizations and individuals that might be interested in the scholarship program.

Academic and other criteria for applicants are available at https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net/programs/scholarships. Applications may be completed and supplemental materials submitted using the link on the webpage.

Prospective applicants may direct questions about the program or application process to the Scholarship Committee at aauwsacramentoscholarships@gmail.com.

Thanks to the generous support of our members, families and friends, we are assisting five women who were each awarded $3,000 scholarships for the current academic year.