From our earliest beginnings, the Ed Fund has managed a college scholarship program benefiting low-income graduating seniors of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Since 2005, over $1.6 million in scholarships have been awarded to over 560 students.

In 2022, we awarded 17 different students with funds to help them continue their education — totaling $15,500.

Students were awarded scholarships from four different sources: The Freggarrio Family Scholarship, the Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship, the Contra Costa Chorale Vocal Music Studies Scholarship, and the African American Scholarship. 

Read more to meet this year’s scholars!

2022 Scholarship Winners

As an organization focused on bridging inequities within the public education system, we are so proud to announce that nearly all of our scholarship awardees come from marginalized communities, and the majority are first-generation students. We hope that these funds help them thrive in college, and in their futures!

African American Scholarship

  • Meshai Taylor, De Anza High School
  • Jacob Michel, Hercules High School
  • Eyimofe Lawal, Richmond High School
  • Starr Williams, Richmond High School
  • Jeremiah Alexander, El Cerrito High School
  • Jade Parker, El Cerrito High School

Freggarrio Family Scholarship

  • Karina Mascorro, Richmond High School
  • Jesus Mora, Richmond High School
  • Jordan Espinoza Ramirez, Richmond High School
  • Anna Embarcadero Arroyo, Richmond High School
  • Leah Saephan, Richmond High School
  • Melissa Estrada, Richmond High School
  • Ronishlla Maharaj, Richmond High School

Contra Costa Chorale Vocal Music Studies Scholarship

  • Justin Trujillo, Pinole Valley High School
  • Abraham Blanquel, Richmond High School

Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship

  • Kelly Ko, El Cerrito High School
  • Aayushma Bhandari, El Cerrito High School
Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship / El Cerrito High School
Kelly Ko
My name is Kelly Ko and in the fall I will be attending UC Berkeley to major in Media Studies and minoring in Environmental Economics and Policy. I am honored to be chosen as a recipient of the Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship! With this scholarship I’ll be able to support myself financially and navigate my college experience as a first generation student.
Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship / El Cerrito High School
Aayushma Bhandari
I plan to attend UC Berkeley Fall of 2022 majoring in Public Health with intention of attending Med School after. For my future career, I want to break down the systemic obstacles of healthcare and make changes in medical care by providing more opportunities to low-income, system-impacted people, or anyone in need of treatment. As a first-generation woman, I am very grateful for this scholarship.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Jordan Espinoza Ramirez
I'm an admitted student at UCLA as a Chicano/a Studies major. One of the things I'm most excited about in my upcoming future is the sheer amount of opportunity that can be found in a campus environment. Money has been always been a constant in my life, and to me this scholarship is $500 of weight off my shoulders, and $500 of better things to come.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Leah Saephan
My future plans are to go to college and study nursing. I would like to meet new people and enjoy the next steps of my life. This scholarship means so much to me! I will be able to focus on studying for my classes other than worrying on how to pay for them. It shows me I have support and will be able to achieve my goals.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Melissa Estrada
I, Melissa Estrada, am planning on attending San Francisco State University this upcoming fall. I am grateful for this scholarship opportunity because it will definitely help me pursue my academic career.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Karina Mascorro
Coming from a marginalized community, this scholarship holds a lot of meaning to me as I feared not being able to afford higher education. I’ve seen it happen with my peers and I worked hard to ensure I wouldn’t face the same issue.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Jesus Mora Lupian
This scholarship means a lot to me! It would help me with my financial situation and let me focus on my studies when I go to college during the fall.
Contra Costa Chorale Scholarship / Richmond High School
Abraham Blanquel
I plan on majoring in Music at UC San Diego in the fall in hopes of becoming a music producer. To me this scholarship means that I’m one step closer to becoming an impactful musician.
Contra Costa Chorale Scholarship / Pinole Valley High School
Justin Trujillo
Hello, my name is Justin Trujillo. I will be attending Sacramento State University majoring in Music Education in the fall of 2022. I plan on teaching music at the second level in the Bay Area and hopefully in WCCUSD.
African American Scholarship / Richmond High School
Starr Williams
​​Hey my name is Starr and I am a Senior at Richmond High School. This fall I will be attending UCLA. About me, I like to play Mario Kart and love to listen to Tyler The Creator. I want to thank the donors for donating. This gave me an opportunity to pay for college.
African American Scholarship / El Cerrito High School
Jeremiah Alexander
I intend to participate in leadership and business programs at BCC with the intention of attending a business school later on. As a low-income and a soon-to-be first generation college student, I am an agent of change in my underserved community by paving the way for my niece, nephews, little cousins, and others. As a future entrepreneur, I intend to make a famous business to take care of my family and give back to my community.
African American Scholarship / De Anza High School
Meshai Taylor
My name is Meshai Taylor. I'm currently a Senior at De Anza High School in Richmond, CA. I recently committed to attend UC Riverside in the fall of 2022. I'm excited to be the first person in my immediate family to attend college. I look forward to showing my siblings that all things are possible, when hard work meets dedication.
African American Scholarship / El Cerrito High School
Jade Parker
My name is Jade Parker and I plan on majoring in psychology at Cal State Northridge. Being awarded this scholarship means so much to me because now money is one less thing that me and my family need to worry about now.   
African American Scholarship / Hercules High
Jacob Michel
I’m 100% committed to Saint Mary’s University I will be playing football and majoring in Psychology. This scholarship means a lot to me because going to college means a lot to me and my family so being able to get this scholarship would help a lot since my family is low income  
African American Scholarship / Richmond High School
Eyimofe Lawal
This fall, I will be attending San Francisco State University where I will major in Political science. This scholarship is a donation to my college tuition which is also a donation to my first step towards achieving my goals and becoming a successful Black woman.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Anna Embarcadero Arroyo
This upcoming fall I plan to attend UC Davis where I will major in sociology. To me this scholarship means someone out there believes in me and is willing to support me in reaching my goal of higher education, so thank you Ed Fund for this great opportunity.
Freggarrio Family Scholarship / Richmond High School
Ronishlla Maharaj
My future plans for this fall include attending UC Irvine. I would be majoring Criminology, pursuing my Bachelor's Degree and more in the future. Being financially stable will be hard as I go to college, because of my low-income background, so this scholarship will be a huge contribution.