A day in the life of SDCC's Scholarship Coordinator
About Me
My name is Sylvia Ramirez and I have the honor and privilege of serving as the Scholarship Coordinator at San Diego City College (SDCC). SDCC is nestled in the downtown area of East Village and serves students from the surrounding communities. I have worked at SDCC for the past three years and I am always excited to kick off our scholarship season with the Friends of Downtown (FOD) Academic and Technical Scholarships. It’s truly a highlight of the work I do at City College.
Supporting Students: SDCC and FOD
FOD has been supporting SDCC students for nearly twenty years. The scholarship application process opens the first day of the fall semester and remains open for one month. Our students eagerly anticipate the opening of the scholarship application. The applicant pool usually consists of students who are part of our Honors Program, Nursing Program, MESA Program, Dean’s List, and or other competitive programs on campus. .
Connecting Students with Opportunities
During the FOD Scholarship kick off, I reach out to all of our underserved and underrepresented student populations and groups (HUBU, Puente, Umoja, Promise, and others), host scholarship workshops, conduct classroom presentations, and coordinate efforts to promote the opportunity to the campus. City College is committed to social justice, and quite naturally, our students tend to write about such matters in their scholarship applications. Through their studies, course content is frequently delivered through the lens of social justice in an effort to build an understanding of how to create positive change for oneself, their family, the campus community, the communities in which they live, and ultimately, in a student’s chosen career. Empowering students is a transformational and positive experience. I am so proud of the students who have overcome many obstacles to succeed in life, college, and field of work. I am delighted that I get to be a part of the growth they experience!
Working in the SDCC Student Affairs Office
The Student Affairs/Scholarship Office is a main meeting hub for students and I also have the opportunity to promote the FOD scholarship to students who belong to Associated Students Government and clubs. I really enjoy making personal connections with our students and learning more about their academic journey and challenges (both on and off campus). I encourage all of them to apply for scholarships to help alleviate some of the financial stresses that go along with attending college. Throughout the month when the FOD application process is open, students stop in to ask for assistance with our online scholarship system, ask for feedback on scholarship essays, and inquire about the Friends of Downtown.
It brings me great joy to help support our students as they apply to and receive scholarships at San Diego City College