Staffers’ Students Benefit From Giving Campaign

The cost of college is something that weighs heavily on the minds of many families. Nobody understands that better than the faculty and staff at UC Merced, where 89 percent of students receive some type of financial aid.

The University of California system doesn’t offer tuition assistance to the dependents of employees but at UC Merced, Staff Assembly has a scholarship earmarked for students whose parents work here. This year, the scholarship was awarded to Kaitlyn Cacabelos and Tyler Silveira.

Cacabelos, a third-year management and business economics major, is the daughter of Sara White, who works in Development and Alumni Relations. Silveira, a fourth-year computer science and engineering major, is the stepson of Lisa Silveira, who works for the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

The Staff Assembly Scholarship for Employees’ Dependent Children is a fund that is mainly supported by the donations of UC Merced employees. Last year, the fund was boosted by its inclusion in the campus’s Giving Tuesday UC Merced campaign, known as #GiveTueUCM.

The 24-hour drive for undergraduate scholarship donations is tied to the international day of giving, held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The campaign allows donors to earmark their donations for one or more individual funds and have those gifts quadrupled, thanks to a generous 3-to-1 match from Foster Poultry Farms and Wells Fargo.

The fact that her mother’s colleagues have invested in her academic success means a lot to Cacabelos.

“I think that it is amazing that fellow employees are willing to financially assist the children of other employees,” she said. “It shows that UC Merced is one community that works together and truly cares for one another.”

This year’s campaign marks the debut of the Will Shadish Memorial Graduate Student Fellowship. Shadish, who died earlier this year, was a founding faculty member and instrumental to the creation of UC Merced’s psychology major and Psychological Sciences Ph.D. program. The fund’s creation honors his scholarship, teaching, service, and his many contributions to the behavioral sciences.

Gifts to the Shadish fund will also be matched 3 to 1. The fellowship will recognize and provide critical financial support to one or more UC Merced graduate students who have been recognized for excellence in both research and teaching. 

Last year’s Giving Tuesday campaign raised more than $310,000 for undergraduate scholarships, with matching funds included. This year’s donations can be made starting as early as 9 p.m. PST on Nov. 28, and anytime until midnight on Nov. 29. The following scholarship and fellowship funds are eligible for matching:

• UC Merced Alumni Association Scholarship 
• UC Merced Student Alumni Association Scholarship 
• School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Scholarship 
• School of Natural Sciences Scholarship 
• School of Engineering Scholarship 
• Bobcat Athletics Scholarship
• Dream Act Scholarship 
• Guardian Scholars Scholarship 
• UC Merced Staff Assembly Scholarship for Employees’ Children
• San Joaquin Valley UC Alumni Scholarship Endowment
• University Friends Circle Scholarship Endowment
• Chancellor's Scholarship Endowment
• UC Oakland Promise Scholarship
• Will Shadish Memorial Graduate Student Fellowship 

During the campaign, there will be a giving headquarters known as “GIVE TUE HQ” on the first floor of the Lantern and — new this year — pop-up giving stations available at off-campus sites at Mondo, Promenade and Castle. A special website will be set up that automatically applies matching funds as donations come in. For information: giving@ucmerced.edu.