American Samoa Community College

Caption: ASCC Acting Dean of Student Services Dr. Emilia Le'i (far right) congratulates some of this semester's In-House Scholarship recipients. (L-R) Alex Skelton, Lanuola Peters-Tema, Jonathan Crichton, Tammy Emmsley, Dr. Le'i. (Photo: J. Kneubuhl)	ASCC Announces Fall 2006 In-House Scholarships
	November 15 , 2006 James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer


	A group of American Samoa Community College (ASCC) students without access to the financial aid available to most of their peers received a welcome break recently in the form of the College’s In-House Scholarships. This week, the ASCC In-House Scholarship Committee announced its recipients for the fall 2006 semester. “Most scholarships get awarded to students at the end of one semester for use at the beginning of the next,” explained the College’s Acting Dean of Student Services Dr. Emilia Le’i, “but we award the In-House Scholarships during the course of the semester to help students not eligible for the Pell Grant meet their existing financial obligations.”
Most students born in American Samoa qualify for the Pell Grant, a federal source of funding that covers tuition, books, fees, and supplies, and even a portion of the student’s living expenses. However, young men and women born outside the US and its territories sometimes cannot meet the strict requirements for Pell awards, and the ASCC In-House Scholarships help the best of these students meet the costs of their attendance at the College. Three of the In-House Scholarships come from monies raised or appropriated from within ASCC, while the Korean Chamber of Commerce and NAPA donate the funds for the fourth. As recipients of this year’s Korean Chamber of Commerce/NAPA Award, Ms. Ke Ying and Ms. Toga Leota will both receive $250 each. The Student Government Association sets aside a portion of the student activity fee to fund the Saili le Atamai Award of $250 per recipient, which will go to Mr. Mark Villajuan, Ms. Anamalia Roach and Mrs. Lanuola Peters-Tema. The Foundation Scholarship comes courtesy of the College Research Foundation, an organization responsible for arranging private donations to ASCC. Ms. Aileen Fa’afili and Mr. Alex Skelton will receive this semester’s Foundation Scholarship Award of $500 each. The Office of the President provides funding for the remaining award, the Presidential Merit Scholarship, which goes this semester to Mr. Jonathan Crichton and Mrs. Tammy Emmsley in the amount of $500 apiece. While expressing her congratulations to the scholarship winners, ASCC President Dr. Adele Satele-Galea’i encouraged more students who do not receive the Pell Grant to apply for the In-House Scholarships. “We recognize that restrictions on the Pell funding make it hard for some in our community to attend the College,” she said. “These In-House Scholarships can help at least some of these students meet the necessary costs. I would also urge any private organizations, businesses or individuals who might have an interest in establishing a scholarship at ASCC to discuss this possibility with us.” <<< Back to Other News & Events