UCI Giving Day 2020

Help us unlock a generous $2,500 gift by helping us raise an additional $2,500.  Together, we will be able to provide a $5000 scholarship to a deserving UCI student.

Established in 1965, the UCI Town and Gown was created to support UCI students who have had a break of five years or more in their education- due to a personal life challenge or military service.  These students are some of the most determined to achieve their educational goals and aspire to give back to the community upon graduation.

Through your partnership, you empower students to maximize their abilities to thrive in today’s global community.

Ms. Cassandra Saucedo

2017-2018 Town and Gown Scholarship Recipient

I am a wife, mother to five beautiful children, and completing my last year as a neurobiology major at UCI. As hard as I work in school to reach my dreams, I work equally hard at home to help my kids reach theirs. I was raised by an amazingly strong teenage mother. I myself was a single, teenage mother. For this reason, I took a break from school to focus on raising my children, often working two jobs to care for them. I always knew one day that I would be able to attain my degree, I just did not know when.

 

This scholarship gives me the opportunity to focus on my studies, without the stress of knowing I am adding another student loan to our family debt. Aside from relieving the financial burden of loans, this scholarship has built up my confidence as a student. Throughout my entire academic career, I have had people ask me if it is worth the time I take away from my kids to be in school. I have also been told countless times that I cannot take this many classes, or that I would not be able to do something I am working towards. Being awarded this scholarship shows that I am on the right path, that it is worth the time I must put in to be successful, and most importantly, that I can do it!