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Yvette Mendoza and David Pittman are a match made at �鶹ӰԺ.

Mendoza is the administrative assistant in the �鶹ӰԺ Student Center. She met Pittman through student organizations, and the two got married on campus in September.

“We don’t really need anything,” Mendoza said. “At that point we decided to do a scholarship.”

Instead of wedding gifts, the couple asked for donations for the  they are starting for students who complete �鶹ӰԺ State’s Pre-College TRIO Upward Bound Programs, which seek to increase educational opportunities and diminish barriers for first-generation, low-income students and families.

As a GED Scholar, and now master’s student at �鶹ӰԺ State, Mendoza knows first-hand the importance of scholarship money.

“We talk all the time about the rising cost of an education, so let’s start doing something about it,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza is a shining example of the many ways �鶹ӰԺ State puts students first.

Gracious donors help with a variety of other scholarships and the building of high-tech facilities around campus. Through Flashanthropy, hardworking students raise donations for the . And the Annual Fund encourages alumni, faculty, staff and others to donate.

Mendoza and her husband have raised more than $3000, with the goal of reaching $25,000 through donations and upcoming fundraisers.

“Her passion for giving makes you want to give,” said student donor Keri Richmond. “It’s contagious and our office has that energy in it - help one another out, help the school out, help the students out. This is just another great way to make sure that happens.”

“I’m pretty much on scholarship here, and if it wasn’t for that I would not be at �鶹ӰԺ State right now,” said student donor Laura Lithgow. “So the fact that she’s fundraising so that other students can be here based on scholarship, that’s just great.”

Mendoza encourages everyone to make a difference in the lives of students through a donation, no matter how big or small it might be. 

“It could go toward someone else having the opportunity that maybe they never had before,” she said.