Governor Names CSU Student to Student Aid Commission

Governor Gray Davis has appointed Ayanna A. Bledsoe, a 21-year-old Spanish Language and Literature major at California State University, Dominguez Hills, to a two-year term on the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC).

“I am extremely interested in serving on the Student Aid Commission because financial aid has been part of my life since entering college. I know it is pivotal in the lives of many, many students. Every year since I began college I have had to sit down with my family to prepare a very detailed projection of our combined finances in order determine the amount of aid for which I could qualify that year. While planning and budgeting are excellent skills to acquire, it is very stressful not to know each year whether you will be able to continue your studies based upon your family’s collective earnings. I hope I can use my point of view as a recipient to help improve delivery of financial aid in California.”

The mission of the California Student Aid Commission is “to make education beyond high school financially accessible to all Californians.” Its vision is “toward a California that invests in educational opportunity, fosters an active, effective citizenry, and provides a higher quality of social and economic life for its citizens.” To these ends it administers an array of grants, loans, and scholarships, as well as a state work-study program. Its huge Cal Grants program has separate segments for undergraduate, vocational/occupational, and future K-12 teacher applicants.

California State Student Association (CSSA), the official voice of CSU students, conducted a search last spring for a student representative to the Commission. “CSSA appreciates the Governor’s prompt appointment of a student representative to this Commission, which plays a vitally important role in furthering the educational plans of so many CSU students,” said CSSA Chair, Artemio Pimentel. “Ayanna Bledsoe is an excellent choice because she knows firsthand the importance of financial aid in pursuing and achieving educational goals.”

For more information contact José Solache, asipresident@csudh.edu, or Joan Hemphill, 562/951-4026 or jhemphill@calstate.edu.