A $50,000 scholarship fund has been established by the Ocella Riley Memorial Fund for Teacher Training for students from San Joaquin County pursuing a teaching credential at Stanislaus State.
The fund will provide 40 scholarships of $1,250 each to credential candidates who are enrolled full or part-time and maintaining a minimum grade-point average of 3.0.
Established by the estate of a longtime Stockton teacher who died in 1966 at the age of 90, the Ocella Riley Memorial Fund for Teacher Training has been making low-interest loans to education students for nearly 50 years. With the addition of this scholarship program, the fund is striving to do more to lift the financial burden carried by many credential students.
“Earning a teaching credential is challenging, both academically and financially,” said Kim Hanker, trustee of the memorial fund and a fifth-grade teacher in Stockton. “Our hope is that with the continuation of the loan program and this new scholarship fund, we will be able to help even more people on their journey to becoming dynamic teachers.”