Support the AAPAAN Jack T. Chen Memorial Scholarship
You can make a difference in a student’s future.
The holidays are a time for sharing joy with others. In that light, AAPAAN would like you to spread some holiday cheer to the next generation of Asian and Asian Pacific American leaders in our community and at U.Va. by supporting the AAPAAN Jack T. Chen Memorial Scholarship.
The Jack T. Chen Memorial Scholarship provides financial support to rising U.Va. students. The scholarship criteria includes academic merit, financial need, and contributions to UVA’s Asian/Asian Pacific American community. The first two awards, for $500, were made in April 2012, but we need your help to grow our endowment! Your donation will help students achieve their academic and future career goals.
Here are some excerpts from past applications which showcase the tremendous amount of need in the student body and the amazing resilience and hard work of students at U.Va.:
- “One of the most embarrassing moments I’ve had regarding my financial status happened when I was in the financial aid office, hoping that they could defer a part of my loans that were due. When I sat down to talk to a financial advisor, she asked why I had to defer just $250, because it was such a little amount, and normally students would never ask for a deferment on such a small amount of money. Although it wasn’t a direct insult to my low-income status, it definitely reminded me of how in need I was. I come from a single mother home, and I try my best not to make her pay for much. I have taken two jobs as a research assistant in hopes of helping pay of these deferments, but with a full time school schedule, it has been a struggle. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to have less of a financial burden on my shoulders. I have given and sacrificed a lot of a college activities out of frugality, but I refuse to have my education be impeded because of money.”
- “I am from an ordinary family and my parents did not have the means to send me to private schools, but they always stressed to me how important academics was. When I came to UVA, I always tried to cut costs whenever I could. I seldom ate out in restaurants and tried to study without textbooks as long as I could get the information from somewhere else. I also reduced my printing costs by 8 cents by increasing the words on a single page. When I heard my mother tell me that her salary for 10 years would pay for my tuition for 1 year, I could not help by cry. I have several jobs at UVA so that I can help support myself and although $500 may not be a lot for someone else, it is my mother’s salary for 1 ½ month, and that is a tremendous amount for me.
Donation Levels:
Founder Society: $500 and above
Legacy Society: $250 – $499
Leadership Society: $100 – $249
Patron Circle: $50 – $99
Membership: $5 – $49
Donate at www.aapaan.org (click on: Jack T. Chen Memorial Scholarship) or by mail at:
UVA Fund, Jack T. Chen Scholarship
UVA Alumni Association
P.O. Box 400314
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Don’t forget to ask your company about matching your donation.