Posted in the San Francisco Chronicle
Meredith May
Friday, May 9, 2003

Later this month, seven high school seniors from Oakland will each meet their guardian angel — a stranger who has decided to give them $16,000 apiece for college.

In the inaugural year of the East Bay College Fund, founder Andy Fremder of Piedmont has collected a group of folks who have money to spare and want to give it to smart youngsters who struggle against the pressures of poverty to maintain a B average in class.

The donors are matched with a student, and agree to give that student $4,000 a year for expenses at a four-year university. The students promise to check in twice a year with their donors to let them know how they are doing in college.

“This money can help pay for books, or tuition, or maybe free up a student from having to work so they have more time to study,” Fremder said. He got the idea after serving as a donor in a similar scholarship program in San Francisco, the Meritus College Fund, which has provided more than $1 million to 100 high school seniors in the last seven years. The experience was so rewarding, he decided to start a similar group in the East Bay.

He pitched his offer this year at Castlemont High, Life Academy, Far West Alternative school and McClymonds High. Forty-one students applied, and seven were chosen for maintaining high grade-point averages despite significant hardships. One winner moved 32 times throughout the school years, others were expected to care for siblings as well as study.

The recipients of the Great Expectations Awards are:
– Thelma Woods of Castlemont High, who is going to UC Berkeley.
– Beatriz Torres of Life Academy, who is going to Loyola Marymount in Southern California.
– Yao Poo Saeterun of Life Academy, who is going to San Francisco State University.
– Katie Jay of Castlemont High, who is going to San Jose State University.
– Jessica Flores of Life Academy, who is going to UC Davis.
– Tsering Dorjee of Far West Alternative school, who is going to Monterey Bay State University.
– Johanna Bonilla of Life Academy, who is going to UC Davis.

The students will meet their donors at an awards ceremony later this month at Mills College.

Any person or group interested in volunteering or donating to the East Bay College Fund can call Fremder at (510) 658-7877.