Caltrans District 5 and the California Transportation Foundation are offering two $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors within the five-county district that includes San Benito County.
Employees of Caltrans District 5—Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties—19 years ago initiated this scholarship program, which is entirely employee-funded through proceeds from coffee and baked goods sales in the district cafeteria. The scholarship program is designed for college-bound high school seniors who are planning to pursue a career in transportation.
These programs are common in most of the 12 Caltrans districts and have the encouragement and support of the California Transportation Foundation, which donates 25 percent of the funding with the coffee and food sales providing the rest. Â
This scholarship program continues to flourish. When the program began in 2002, $500 was raised and one scholarship was awarded. In 2007, $3,500 was raised and seven $500 scholarships were awarded.The fund-raising efforts have grown since then, and $4,750 in student scholarships have been awarded since 2017.
Applications must be submitted by April 30. The 2019 scholarships will be awarded this summer. For a link to the application, visit http://www.dot.ca.gov/d5/scholarship.htm. For more information, contact La**********@do*.gov or 805-549-3353.
