The UP Alumni Association of Wisconsin (UPAAW) has donated P120,000 to the university’s Adopt-a-Student Program, giving P8,000 each to 15 students enrolled at UP Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda for the remaining four months of the semester.
The remittance of the amount was announced on February 18, 2015 by Prof. Niel Kenneth Jamandre, officer in charge of the UP Diliman Office of Scholarships and Student Services (OSSS), in a communication with the UP System Information Office. OSSS is the administrator of the program.
In an earlier email to the OSSS, Atty. Joselito Conti, chair of the UPAA Wisconsin Committee on Scholarships, said graduating students are to be given priority.
Conti also announced another donation of P10,000 per student to be made to 13 students for the next semester (first semester of Academic Year 2015-2016) .
UPAAW is currently headed by its president, Ike Pahm.
The UPAA chapter is the donor of the UPAAW Scholarship, given to a financially challenged but good-standing UP student yearly. It entitles the beneficiary P39,000 per semester to help him/her to complete the last two semesters of studies.
According to the OSSS website (http://osss.up.edu.ph/content/adopt/), the Adopt-a-Student Program is a University program that provides “supplementary support to students with urgent financial needs. It acts as a safety net where students are given allowances to keep them studying in the University [while working] on their requirements to qualify in more comprehensive financial assistance programs.”
The financial assistance comes from institutional and individual donors. “For financial assistance in the form of monthly allowance, donors can give at least P10,000 to cover one semester, or P4,000 [for the summer term or P2,000 per month].”
The Diliman Committee for Scholarships and Financial Assistance selects the grantees, giving priority to those in the lower Socialized Tuition System brackets. The grant is good for a semester but is renewable.
Inquiries about the program can be made at telephone numbers (+632) 928-7228 (telefax) and (+632) 981-8500 (UP Diliman trunk line) local 4504; emailed to adopt@up.edu.ph ; or mailed to Room 305, 3rd Floor, Vinzons Hall, Roxas cor. Shuster Avenue, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila 1101, Philippines.
Article by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc