As part of its mission to support the intellectual, cultural and social advancement of American Samoa Community College (ASCC) students, each semester the College’s Alumni Association awards a scholarship of $500 to a young man or woman who does not have access to the same federal funding for education as most students in the Territory.

This semester’s recipient is Ms. Malelega Atau, 20, of Pavai’ai, who was born in the Independent State of Samoa but has spent most of her life in American Samoa.

The Alumni Association funds the scholarship through its membership drives and other fundraising activities. Applications are reviewed by a committee which includes the Dean of Student Services, Dean of Academic Affairs, and two Alumni Association representatives, one from the faculty and one from the community. To qualify, a student must be attending ASCC full time, must not be the recipient of financial aid nor any other scholarship, must not be working full time, and must have completed 24 credits and maintained a grade point average of 3.0 or better.

A Business major who hopes to further her education at UH Hilo, Ms. Atau expressed her gratitude when she and her parents joined Association members for an award presentation dinner earlier this month. “This scholarship will cover a fair amount of my tuition and allow me to continue at ASCC,” she said. “Because I was born in Samoa, my education comes at a high cost, and I don’t want to burden my family so I look for scholarships and other opportunities.”

Ms. Atau has also served her community through participating in the Make A Difference Club while a student at Nuuuli Voc. Tech. and the Youth Serving Samoa project organized by PICED. “I know that because of my citizenship, finishing my degree won’t be easy,” she reflected, “but I remind myself of the saying, ‘All great achievements require time.’”

The ASCC Alumni Association strives to foster a spirit of unity and networking among its members. Besides offering their scholarship twice a year, they support the College through activities such as organizing the awards given to the top graduating students every semester in the core subjects of English, Math, Science and Samoan Studies.

The Association’s officers include Ms. Amio Mavaega-Luvu (President), Mr. Evile Feleti (Vice President), Mrs. Tina Tapua’i (Treasurer), Ms. Mana’o Satele -Vaovasa (Secretary) and Ms. Matesina Aseta-Willis (Alumni Liaison).

The Association always seeks new members as well as input from the community on how to assist ASCC students. Anyone interested in contacting the ASCC Alumni Association can reach them via email at: asalumni@gmail.com. The Association also has a Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ASCC-Matai-Alumni-Association/.

For more information on scholarship opportunities at ASCC, visit the College’s web page at: www.amsamoa.edu