Humboldt State University press release:

The new Humboldt First Scholarship will help more North Coast students pursue a four-year degree while staying close to home. It will be offered automatically to all students who enroll as first-time freshmen at HSU after graduating from high school in Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino, or Trinity counties.

“This is an investment in the young people of the North Coast, and it’s also an investment in a strong future for this region,” said Humboldt President Tom Jackson, Jr. “I hope this helps students and their families see that college really is possible for them. We want our local students to consider Humboldt State as their first choice, and we want to help them afford it.”

The Humboldt First Scholarship is a guarantee to every new local freshmen of $1,000 annually to offset the cost of tuition, books, and other expenses. Because financial aid already covers full tuition for more than 60 percent of students, many will be able to use the funds to help with living expenses.

“We want our local students to thrive after high school, though to do that, some need financial assistance,” says Fred Van Vleck, Superintendent of Eureka City Schools. “This scholarship will provide students the support they may need to be successful at Humboldt State and achieve their dreams of graduating from college and hopefully stay here to contribute to our local community.”
The scholarship will automatically renew every year for up to four years as long as the student is making satisfactory academic progress.

“This investment reflects HSU’s commitment to increasing access and to sustaining a culture of college completion in the North Coast,” says Jason Meriwether, Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management at Humboldt State.

The Humboldt First Scholarship was created with $250,000 in donations from alumni and others, which was recently allocated by the HSU Foundation. The seed funding will allow the University to provide scholarships for local students who graduate over the next four years. The Foundation will be seeking additional donor support so the University can keep offering the scholarship beyond that time.

“We’re proud to be able to help get this started, and we’re grateful to all the donors who made it possible,” said Manolo Morales, the incoming HSU Foundation Board Chair, a local alumnus of Humboldt State, and a graduate of Arcata High School. “I hope that other donors will see how important this is and be inspired to help as well.”

To support the scholarship, you may give online to the Humboldt First Scholarship for local students. For more information, please contact the HSU Foundation at (707) 826-5200 or giving@humboldt.edu.