New groups formed to fund students’ college costs

After celebrating their 20th high school reunion two years ago, members of the Barstow High School class of 1986 had about $1,000 left over from the party and decided to give it to college-bound Barstow graduates.

"Our hope is that they come back to Barstow and, if they go elsewhere that's OK too. But we want to be able to give a little bit back," said Linda Beam, president of the newly formed Barstow Scholarship Foundation.

Last year the organization gave out six $250 scholarships. Beam said she hopes to plan an annual fundraising drive each year to give out several thousand dollars in funds to students based on need and ability.

"We're looking for a breadth of students," she said. "Not just the valedictorians, but those who wouldn't otherwise get a scholarship."

Paying for the rising cost of college has been a goal for many local businesses and organizations. The average annual cost for tuition at a California state school is about $10,000, while a University of California school runs about $20,000, said Michelle Lopes-Dorn, guidance counselor at Barstow High School. Barstow High School students received over $70,000 in scholarships from more than 50 groups last year, an average award of several hundred for each student, she said.

The group Friends of the Barstow Branch Library also started a scholarship fund this year and gave out $500 to a Barstow student to pay for books.

"There aren't many organizations that cover textbooks," said Joyce Burk, the library's branch manager. "This is covering a niche that's badly needed."

The cost of higher education at a public or private school is rising every year, Lopez-Dorn said. She fears that state and federal budget cuts will reduce the amount of financial aid available to students, increasing the need for locally funded scholarship programs.

"I tell them (students) any little bit helps," she said. "If they're going to community college a few hundred dollars can pay for your tuition for a year."

Barstow High School senior Amal Museitef, 17, said that scholarships are a crucial part of any student's college admissions process. She hopes she'll be accepted into UCLA for the fall semester to study nursing, but isn't sure how she'll pay for the $16,836 cost of tuition each semester.

"I don't know where it will come from," she said. "Hopefully, scholarships, financial aid, probably loans. There's only so much you can do."

She said she's applied to all 20 of the local scholarships listed on the high school's Web site and several dozen other nationally funded awards.

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