Mann Packing Introduces New Scholarship Program for California State University Monterey Bay
SALINAS, CA – New opportunities are on the horizon for produce industry families in Monterey. The California State University Monterey Bay has finalized an agreement with Mann Packing to establish the Mann Packing Scholarship for the school’s College of Business. Mann's will be committing $10,000 per year for the next five years to students with parents or guardians who work in agricultural or farming sectors.
“At CSUMB, over 50 percent of students are first-generation undergraduates. We are pleased and proud to provide this assistance to local students who have contributed positively to this community and intend to stay here and contribute more in the future,” said Lorri Koster, Mann's Chairman & CEO, according to a press release.
Koster is a member of CSUMB’s College of Business Advisory Council, where she learned about the need for scholarships. She continued, “We are blessed to have a California State University in our backyard, yet financially a college degree can still be out of reach for many. It is our hope this scholarship will make a difference in the lives of many students in the College of Business.”
Students must meet the following criteria to be considered for the scholarship:
- Financial need
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- One page essay submission
- Major in any College of Business program
- A student from Monterey County
- A student with a parent or guardian who worked or works in the farming or agricultural sectors
- A student who plans to work in Monterey County upon graduating from CSUMB
Shyam Kamath, Dean of the CSUMB College of Business, thanked Lorri Koster and Mann Packing for its support. He commented, “This significant scholarship gift enables our most needy students from the Salinas Valley and other farming sector related communities to get a huge leg-up in pursuing the American Dream and contributing to our community and the larger society we live in.”
The Mann Packing Scholarship promotion and selection will be handled by a CSUMB selection committee, and will start being awarded in Fall of 2017.
