Students win college scholarships for community service work

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The University of California's Office of the President is partnering up with the city of Oakland to help a group of students pay for college, UC officials announced Wednesday.

Six Oakland students who will enter a UC school in the fall have each won a $5,000 scholarship as part of an initiative that aims to build a stronger partnership between the UC's Office of the President and the Oakland community.

In its second year of operation, the UC Oakland Partnership Initiative gives scholarships to Oakland high school graduates who have qualified for the university's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which helps cover most educational costs for students whose total annual family income is $80,000 or less.

A scholarship review committee chose the six recipients from a pool of 70 applicants. The committee looked for students who were active in Oakland community service, with the six chosen having performed hundreds of hours of service in a broad range of activities.

"We are proud of these six young scholars who have already done so much for their local communities in Oakland," UC president Janet Napolitano said in a statement. "Supporting them helps us to do our part as members of the Oakland community and as a public research institution that serves California and its students."

Oakland High School graduates Fatima Andrade, Lyna Pham and Briana Sidney all won scholarships. Andrade will be attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall, while Pham will attend UC Berkeley and Sidney will be going to UC Santa Cruz.

Scholarship winners also include Anibal Pablo, an Oakland Charter High School graduate who will attend UC Irvine, Katebah Al-Olefi, a Life Academy graduate who will attend UC Berkeley, and Stella Lee, an American Indian Public High School graduate who be going to UCLA in the fall.