I hear about different groups sponsoring events to raise scholarship money for South Pasadena High School graduates all the time, and I’ve often wondered how long the glow of winning a scholarship lasts for the students who get one of those checks.
It’s not every day that you get a check for up to $10,000 from a local group to help finance your education.
South Pasadena has lots of families that can afford to send their children to the school of their choice, but even upper- and middle-class mothers and fathers wince at the high cost of college these days. I’m sure you’ve heard and read stories about students having to pay back student loans for years after they graduate.
This year, the Oneonta Club Foundation, a separate entity from the Oneonta Club, is giving out three $10,000 scholarships and two $1,000 stipends to the South Pasadena primary and secondary educators of the year.
The foundation, which has entered its 49th year, will be celebrating the club’s 101st birthday. The organization began giving scholarships in 1955 and has awarded more than $30,000 in recent years.
The foundation is funded by donations from local businesses, charities, Oneonta Club members and individuals from the community.
Groups like Vecinos de South Pasadena, the Woman’s Club of South Pasadena, Kiwanis Club of South Pasadena, and the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club also help to provide financial aid to students.
I rarely have heard gratitude expressed from winners of the Oneonta Foundation scholarships, especially in such personal ways.
Meet Alex Nakagawa, who graduated from SPHS in 2016 and graduated from UC Berkeley. He wanted to combine his love of sports and technology, and now he serves as a software developer for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team and develops websites which support both the coaching staff and the front office.
“My immediate goal was to graduate debt-free,” Nakagawa said. “The Oneonta scholarship was a huge reason I was able to achieve this goal. I also did a work-study program to achieve some of those costs, but it was the huge support from Oneonta that enabled me to develop my skills.”
All four of the former Oneonta Foundation winners that I talked with said that receiving the awards made them feel more embraced by the community.
“I’ve been able to show my hometown my potential,” said Laurian Lien, who graduated from SPHS in 2022 and is now at Purdue University, where her team recently received a second-place award for use of a soy-based carton that holds liquids.
“I feel like I have a big community back home that is rooting for me,” she added. “It has given me motivation to keep going and give back to the community through my work.”
Lien said that the scholarship really helped her cut down costs and helped her focus on school rather than financial issues.
“Oneonta was by far the biggest of any South Pasadena scholarship that I obtained,” Lien said. “That’s why it was such a big honor.”
Lien is majoring in bioengineering, food systems and sustaining agriculture, and she hopes to improve the environment through the use of plants.
“South Pasadena is such a tight-knit community where you are able to walk from one side of the city to the other,” she said. “Everyone is friendly and supportive of each other. I had a great high school experience which pushed me forward to thriving in one of the top universities in the country.”
Lien told me that she still keeps in contact with officials of the Oneonta Club Foundation.
“They’ve been great with their support and checking in to see how I am doing,” she said. “I really admire the ongoing relationship they cultivate, which is cool.”
Sara Patterson, who graduated from SPHS in 2012, credits the Oneonta scholarship with helping her attend AMDA College of the Performing Arts, a prestigious institution for performers, where she graduated in 2016.
Since then, she has worked both as an actress and as a stage manager. Patterson has also been in a number of short films, including “The Party,” which won several awards at SCREAMFEST, a horror film festival.
“I was able to go to a prestigious college and it wouldn’t have been possible without assistance of the Oneonta scholarship,” Patterson said. “Of all the scholarships I received, it was one of the largest. It was great not having to worry or carry any burden.”
Patterson was active in drama at SPHS, after transferring from Oklahoma. She made theater more of a priority and her time in the student bank gave her a chance to learn the financial aspects of putting on productions.
“What has been great is that sometimes art is not a sure-fire success story,” Patterson said. “Winning the scholarship proved to me that there was a community that believed in me and that I would be true to my goals and become an artist.”
Patterson also received an award from the Kiwanis Club, and she was also the recipient of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Arts Scholarship and the Maus Family Arts Scholarship.
Kate Ba grew up in South Pasadena and graduated from SPHS in 2018. She also graduated from UC Berkeley with a dual degree in business and psychology, and is now working for Bain & Company, which explores strategies for large companies.
“To me, winning the scholarship was validation that I was on the right path and that they believed in me,” Ba said. “It added to my motivation to do well and to pay them back.”
Ba said that the scholarship helped her fund her education and succeed in college.
“It also gave me a lifelong connection to the club, which checks in to offer mentorship and advice,” said Ba, adding that she receives emails from the foundation on a yearly basis, reaching out to see how she is doing.
Ba described South Pasadena as special, because of the number of organizations that support promising students and invest in their future.
Nakagawa was in the midst of helping the Clippers by preparing websites for their NBA playoff opponents when we talked on the phone. He still could recall the others who won the Oneonta scholarships the year he graduated, and how much they had achieved.
“It’s one of the most prestigious scholarships you can earn,” he said. “The way they select, it’s a very all-encompassing and holistic process. As a high school student, I had to answer the questions with some amount of confidence, and I had to show them I was a dreamer, and I had a plan to reach my goals.”
These former SPHS graduates prove that whatever city organization you give to, or participate in, that scholarship money they collect pays big dividends over the years for the students around our town.
The foundation will present its awards at the club’s meeting on May 13. The money awarded will be sent as a direct payment to the school of higher learning, and not to the student.
Vecinos de South Pasadena is set to give up to $6,000 in scholarships this year, according to President Janna Philpot. Community college students are encouraged to apply for a maximum award of $500. The scholarships will be presented at the group’s general meeting on June 2.
The Chinese-American Club will present three $3,000 scholarships, which are given to recipients at the high school’s senior awards night.
Meanwhile, the Woman’s Club will be awarding multiple $3,000 scholarships.
Editor’s note: The Review will be showcasing more scholarship efforts from other local organizations throughout May.
First published in the May 3 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
