Three years ago, Oliva Sanchez, the daughter of long-time Governors Club golf course employee Rafael Sanchez, was accepted at Appalachian State in Boone, NC. As she prepared for her first year, Oliva had one burning concern, and it wasn’t academic. "I knew I could do the work. I didn’t know if I would be able to pay for it,” said Oliva who is the first in her family to go to college.
Enter the Step Forward Scholarship Fund – an independent, non-profit organization staffed by Governors Club members and financed by the generosity of the GC community. The organization provides financial aid and mentoring to GC employees and employees of children to help them achieve their education and career goals.
Since 2019, the SFSF has awarded 80 scholarships totaling nearly $400,000. Many recipients have received awards in multiple years; recently the SFSF saw one of its four-year recipients, Samantha Rojas, daughter of GC housekeeping services head Luis Rojas, graduate from NC State with a degree in animal science. She too was the first in her family to go to college.
SFSF makes a special effort to help those who are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. Those applicants, in addition to receiving financial support, also can tap into the organization’s mentoring program to help with the often-confusing process of applying for college admission and selecting courses of study. There is a special link with SFSF’s founder Bill Wallace and current President Nancy Broaddus who were the first in their families to attend college.
“I know what it’s like when you are the first one in your family to break through,” Broaddus said. “There is no family experience to draw on, and available services in public schools can be inadequate. We want to do everything we can to help our recipients to achieve their dreams.”
Oliva has received two SFSF scholarships, including a Governors Scholarship. She is again applying for a SFSF award for the coming academic year. Annual scholarships range from $500 to $7,000. The organization will also award one $12,000 Governors Scholarship.
Oliva is majoring in criminal justice at Appalachian State and she found during her studies that she had a love for the law and wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer. She was lucky enough to secure a paid internship this summer with Munson & Munson, a law firm owned by GC members Mike and Sophia Munson.
“It is wonderful that the Munsons made a paying internship available to Oliva,” said Broaddus. “It shows their dedication to Oliva, SFSF and the legal profession.” But, Broaddus added, some internships are either are low-paying or come without any compensation. “We don’t want an applicant to have to choose between taking a job to pay for school or taking an internship that can help them decide if a certain career is for them and give them a leg-up in their post undergraduate search for a job or a post-graduate degree,” Broaddus said.
Enter the SFSF again. Two years ago, the organization started a program that offers a stipend to enable recipients to take a non-paying or low-paying internship. A recipient can receive a “living wage” of up to $4,000 over a two-month period to gain the vital experience an internship can provide.
Andrea Valdez, the daughter of Edy Chos who has worked in GC housekeeping services for nearly 15 years, received a SFSF scholarship for three years and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in kinesiology. She also took additional courses to prepare for graduate school. Andrea has worked part-time at GC, first with her mom in housekeeping and then in dining services.
Andrea, also the first in her family to attend college, has been accepted into the Duke University School of Nursing for the fall semester and has applied again for SFSF support. “As a first generation, tuition cost was always my primary concern, but with the help of the SFSF scholarship it lifted so much stress off my shoulders,” Andrea said when she received her first SFSF scholarship.
Tani Valdez Rivas, the daughter Jose Rivas in GC’s food services, has received three SFSF scholarships including a Governors Scholarship. She graduated from NC State with a degree in marine biology and is pursuing a degree in environmental science from Duke University. Like Oliva and Andrea, she is the first in her family to attend college.
“The SFSF scholarship had enabled me to focus more on exploring opportunities within my field and in science, technology, engineering and math,” Tani said. “There is a special place in our hearts for those who are the first in their families to attend college,” Broaddus said. “They sometimes have to overcome significant challenges. We are so glad we are able to help.”
Enter the Step Forward Scholarship Fund – an independent, non-profit organization staffed by Governors Club members and financed by the generosity of the GC community. The organization provides financial aid and mentoring to GC employees and employees of children to help them achieve their education and career goals.
Since 2019, the SFSF has awarded 80 scholarships totaling nearly $400,000. Many recipients have received awards in multiple years; recently the SFSF saw one of its four-year recipients, Samantha Rojas, daughter of GC housekeeping services head Luis Rojas, graduate from NC State with a degree in animal science. She too was the first in her family to go to college.
SFSF makes a special effort to help those who are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. Those applicants, in addition to receiving financial support, also can tap into the organization’s mentoring program to help with the often-confusing process of applying for college admission and selecting courses of study. There is a special link with SFSF’s founder Bill Wallace and current President Nancy Broaddus who were the first in their families to attend college.
“I know what it’s like when you are the first one in your family to break through,” Broaddus said. “There is no family experience to draw on, and available services in public schools can be inadequate. We want to do everything we can to help our recipients to achieve their dreams.”
Oliva has received two SFSF scholarships, including a Governors Scholarship. She is again applying for a SFSF award for the coming academic year. Annual scholarships range from $500 to $7,000. The organization will also award one $12,000 Governors Scholarship.
Oliva is majoring in criminal justice at Appalachian State and she found during her studies that she had a love for the law and wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer. She was lucky enough to secure a paid internship this summer with Munson & Munson, a law firm owned by GC members Mike and Sophia Munson.
“It is wonderful that the Munsons made a paying internship available to Oliva,” said Broaddus. “It shows their dedication to Oliva, SFSF and the legal profession.” But, Broaddus added, some internships are either are low-paying or come without any compensation. “We don’t want an applicant to have to choose between taking a job to pay for school or taking an internship that can help them decide if a certain career is for them and give them a leg-up in their post undergraduate search for a job or a post-graduate degree,” Broaddus said.
Enter the SFSF again. Two years ago, the organization started a program that offers a stipend to enable recipients to take a non-paying or low-paying internship. A recipient can receive a “living wage” of up to $4,000 over a two-month period to gain the vital experience an internship can provide.
Andrea Valdez, the daughter of Edy Chos who has worked in GC housekeeping services for nearly 15 years, received a SFSF scholarship for three years and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in kinesiology. She also took additional courses to prepare for graduate school. Andrea has worked part-time at GC, first with her mom in housekeeping and then in dining services.
Andrea, also the first in her family to attend college, has been accepted into the Duke University School of Nursing for the fall semester and has applied again for SFSF support. “As a first generation, tuition cost was always my primary concern, but with the help of the SFSF scholarship it lifted so much stress off my shoulders,” Andrea said when she received her first SFSF scholarship.
Tani Valdez Rivas, the daughter Jose Rivas in GC’s food services, has received three SFSF scholarships including a Governors Scholarship. She graduated from NC State with a degree in marine biology and is pursuing a degree in environmental science from Duke University. Like Oliva and Andrea, she is the first in her family to attend college.
“The SFSF scholarship had enabled me to focus more on exploring opportunities within my field and in science, technology, engineering and math,” Tani said. “There is a special place in our hearts for those who are the first in their families to attend college,” Broaddus said. “They sometimes have to overcome significant challenges. We are so glad we are able to help.”
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Step Forward Scholarship Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 4631
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4631
[email protected]
Step Forward Scholarship Fund, Inc. is a 501c3 organization. EIN #83-3175469