The Oregon Tech Foundation surpassed a historic milestone this year, awarding $1,030,000 in scholarships to Oregon Tech students. The new record was celebrated Oct. 29 as participants gathered at the Klamath Falls campus and live-streamed to a gathering at the Portland-Metro campus for the Annual Scholarship Awards Banquet. This special event honors the achievements of scholarship recipients and recognizes the philanthropic donors who make scholarships possible.
the Scholarship Awards Banquet.
“With the generous support and encouragement of community, corporate and family foundations, alumni, friends, faculty, and staff, the Foundation raises funds to advance the mission of Oregon Tech, helping to chart a reinvigorated trajectory in technology, health, innovation, and entrepreneurship that makes a difference in the world,” said Vice President for University Advancement, Dr. Ken Fincher. “The financial assistance and support offered by donors to Oregon Tech scholarships are making a substantial impact on the lives of our students.”
Funds raised through scholarships make a dramatic difference across Oregon Tech. For academic year 2022-23, the Foundation awarded 342 scholarships ranging from $300 to $16,000. These scholarships fill various needs for students including those pursuing excellence in academics, assisting those with demonstrated lesser financial resources, increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups, attracting and retaining students in certain fields of study, supporting scholarly athletes, and helping those close to graduation earn a diploma when they have limited to no financial resources left.
Scholarship Awards Banquet.
A first-generation student in Radiologic Science, Trinity Sanchez started her higher education journey in 2018 when her son was three months old. This year she received the King Family Endowed Scholarship and spoke at the banquet about how the scholarship impacted her life.
“I started out taking six credits a semester online at my local community college,” Sanchez said. “I gradually increased my course load until I was attending full-time and in person. Balancing motherhood with academia during this period presented unique challenges.”
Sanchez said that she balanced feeding her son in between going to class and remembers pushing him in a toy car while she recited her anatomy homework about the action, origin, and insertion of varied muscles.
The financial assistance provided by the King Family Endowed Scholarship is helping with her educational expenses and allowing her to spend more of her time on her studies. “The combination of exceptional education provided by my professors and monetary support from the King Family Endowed Scholarship will greatly improve my chances of success,” Sanchez said.
The past two years have seen annual donor funding average about $900,000, and last year’s donations helped the Foundation surpass $10 million in scholarships awarded over three decades. After reaching the $10 million milestone, the Foundation set a goal to award more than $1,000,000 in annual scholarships in honor of the University’s 75th anniversary, which is being celebrated this year. The 2022-23 million-dollar milestone is the largest single year in the university’s history, which would not be possible without the support of generous scholarship donors, Dr. Fincher said.
Recently established scholarships that provided momentum in reaching this goal include the John and Joan Staunton Health Professions Scholarship, Dr. Ted and Barbara Thom Scholarship, and the Young Family Scholarship. See a full listing of awarded scholarships here.
To read stories about gifts and beneficiaries or to learn more about establishing a scholarship and being part of Oregon Tech’s next scholarship milestone, visit the Oregon Tech Foundation at www.oit.edu/foundation. Photos from the 2022 banquet are available on Oregon Tech’s Flickr account.
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About the Oregon Tech Foundation
The Oregon Tech Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and funds the educational, cultural, charitable, and service functions of the Oregon Institute of Technology.
