Students endowed with college scholarships

Glendale Unified School District board of education member Chuck Sambar credits the education he received in Glendale after he immigrated as a boy to America from Lebanon with giving him the tools he needed to be successful.

To help the next generation of students realize the benefits of education that he experienced, Sambar established a fund called the Glendale Scholarship Endowment in 2001.

“It’s really my payback, and my wife’s payback, to the community,” he said.

On Tuesday night, close to 50 high school students in the district received college scholarships from that endowment, which has grown from $2,000 to more than $100,000 with the help of community contributions.

The endowments were just some of the scholarships presented to local high school students at a ceremony at the Glendale Civic Auditorium.

The other awards came from seven additional scholarship funds managed by the Glendale Community Foundation

The endowments ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 per student, amounts that the students said would help put a dent into their total college expenses.

“It’s great because the cost is now very high,” said Hoover High School student Sioneh Kovaian. “It’s great to not have to be in debt, not have to take out student loans,” she said.

Mike Seaton, president of the Glendale Community Foundation, joked that the gifts would hopefully give students occasional relief from dinners of instant noodles and peanut butter sandwiches.

Clark Magnet High School student Bella Arutyunyan, who is bound for UCLA in the fall, said she felt lucky and proud to be a scholarship winner.

“Definitely, it’s an honor to have people that believe in you,” she said.

This year, the Glendale Scholarship Endowment awards came from interest earned by the fund as well as from a $185,000 grant the endowment received from the College Access Foundation of California, Sambar said.

That grant allowed the endowment to give a second round of scholarships to close to 100 college students who last year received scholarships from the endowment.

Many of the educators and community members present at the award ceremony encouraged students to emulate Sambar’s actions and give back to the community once they established themselves.

“You too can give back, not only to Glendale, to this country,” said former Glendale mayor Larry Zarian, who served as the master of ceremonies.

 ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.