Most high school graduates born in American Samoa automatically qualify for the federal Pell Grant, which covers most if not all of the cost for them to earn a Bachelors degree in college.
However, for students born outside of the US and its territories, and therefore subject to “non-resident” tuition rates, the cost of attending college can prove prohibitive.
To assist students born outside of American Samoa, the American Samoa Community College makes available two in-house scholarships each semester, the Saili le Atamai and Presidential Merit scholarships, which students can apply for if they either do not qualify for the Pell Grant or otherwise find themselves in financial need.
The ASCC Division of Student Services has announced the recipients of the Fall 2019 Saili le Atamai Scholarship as Mr. Mark Espiritu and Ms. Jean Paula Eseo.
Born in the Philippines, Mr. Espiritu graduated from Faasao/Marist High School in 2017.
A Nursing major, he worked this past summer as part of the Public Health lymphatic filariasis assessment.
“Contributing to the effort to eliminate LP in American Samoa gave me added motivation to pursue my nursing studies,” he said.
Ms. Eseo, also born in the Philippines and also a Nursing major, is a 2017 graduate of South Pacific Academy.
To help finance her Nursing studies, she currently serves as a paid Aquaculture intern on campus, while also holding an off-campus job with the Department of Health as a Certified Nursing Assistant.
While in high school Ms. Eseo took part in community service projects through organizations such as the National Honor Society, the National Junior Honor Society, and the Junior Rotary Club.
The Presidential Merit Scholarship of $500 is open for application by all ASCC students regardless of their qualification for the Pell grant.
This semester, the Presidential Merit Scholarships will go to twin sisters Ms. Shiting Huang and Ms. Shiqi Huang, both Chinese citizens who intend to graduate this semester with degrees in Liberal Arts.
Shiting hopes to one day enter the teaching profession, and got a head start this past summer working on campus as a math tutor.
Her sister Shiqui has also served as a math tutor, in addition to her duties as a work-study student with the Business Office.
