( Click here for information anbout the SHINE Scholarship)

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, who have completed at least one semester of ESL classes at the 120 level or above, and who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher can apply for Scholarships in the latter part of February of each year.

Applications are available here and from the ESL Department secretary, Batmale 616, and are due in April, 2012. 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.

2011 ESL Scholarship Winners

Left to right, top: Student Zilan Xia, instructor Tulin Good, students Jiamin Liang and Ma Wint Phyoo, instructor Rachel Cohen, instructor Erika Delacorte.
bottom: Instructors Burt Gabler, Joan Young, MaryAnn Cantrell and Kim Lee.

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.

2011 scholarship winner, Jiamin Liang (China) and instructor Tulin Good	2011 scholarship winner, Ma Wint Phyoo (Burma) and instructor Rachel Cohen
Instructor MaryAnn Cantrell and 2011 scholarship winner, Zilan Xia (China)	2011Alumni Book Award winner, Mengci Chen (China) & Dept. Chair, Greg Keech

Congratulations to the winners!

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. 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.

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 turn our barriers into positive challenges, we will triumph because of our determination. Reading books outside the academic curriculum is the best way for ESL students to conquer the cultural and linguistic barriers they face and achieve success.

ESL scholarships offer our students a unique opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the benefits that a college education in the United States can provide. In addition to assisting our deserving scholars with financial assistance, these awards offer our ESL students a glimpse of how the “American Dream” can be realized through hard work and diligence. In order to reward more students of such exceptional character and caliber, the ESL Scholarship Committee asks you to contribute to this year’s scholarship program. With your help, many more ESL students will be able to achieve their educational goals and begin to live the "American Dream."