click here for Scholarship application form The ESL Department sponsors a scholarship program that provides financial awards to deserving students currently enrolled in ESL classes at CCSF. Students who are carrying 12 or more units and who have completed at least one semester of ESL classes at the 120 level or above can apply for Scholarships in the latter part of February of each year. 
The Scolarship Committee: Kim Lee, Burt Gabler (Chair), John Ventura and Bill Shoaf Applications are available from the ESL Department secretary, Batmale 616, and are usually due before Spring break. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic achievement, academic improvement, and financial need. While GPA alone does not determine if a student qualifies for consideration for a scholarship, students should remember that the selection committee does scrutinize each student's academic record as part of the selection process.
ESL Scholarships are funded primarily through department and college-wide donations. In addition, periodic book sales, organized by ESL department faculty, help to increase the number of scholarships available. Donations are gladly accepted at any time of the year. Checks should be made out to ESL Scholarship Fund and mailed to Burt Gabler, ESL Scholarship Chair, box L176, Ocean Campus.
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Alumni Book Award Cason Tang is an ESL graduate of CCSF who went on to UC Davis to get both a bachelor's and a master's degree in economics. Right now he is working in the Philippines for a company based in San Francisco. In 2003 he initiated the "Alumni Book Award" which he has given to an ESL student every year since then. 
Cason Tang Besides wanting to encourage other CCSF alumni to give something back to CCSF, he had an excellent rationale for establishing this award for ESL students. Paraphrasing his words from an e-mail he sent in March 2006, he said:
My intention of setting up the book award scholarship, which does not provide a monetary award but a book coupon, is
that I hope to see more
ESL students read books other than textbooks. As an ESL student, I experienced a lot of ups and downs in an
English-speaking environment. During my
college years, I did not spend much time reading anything but textbooks. Consequently, I found myself being excluded
in the workplace and being unable to
participate in conversations with my colleagues. From my work experience I found out that work life is not just about
academic knowledge but about
practical and applicable knowledge. I realized that the only way for me to improve and blend in with my coworkers was
to read books about real-life experience.
Instructor Victor Turks and Ya Na Wu, this year's winner of the Cason Tang Book Award
I hope to use the Alumni Book Award as an opportunity to encourage ESL students first, not to give up
because of the language barrier.
Second, through this award, I want to see more ESL students succeed in the U.S. where they face a lot of cultural
challenges, not just a language barrier.
If we ESL students turn our barriers into positive challenges, we will triumph because of our determination.
Reading books outside the academic
curriculum is the surest and best way for ESL students to conquer the cultural and linguistic barriers they face and
achieve success in the workplace.
As an instructor, I would like to emphasize Cason's message: In order for ESL students to be successful in the workplace, they have to read novels, magazines and newspapers, so they have a cultural reference which is a fundamental part of communication. On behalf of the ESL Department, I want to thank Cason for being such a noble example of action, thoughtfulness, and generosity. May his example of establishing the Alumni Book Award inspire us all faculty, students and administration alike. William Shoaf Acting Chair, ESL Scholarship Fund Spring 2006 | ||||||||||||||
