A Trustee’s View: Why Our Scholarship Program Matters

As a Trustee, I am invited to attend many events and celebrations on both campuses. At the top of my “favorites” are the Scholarship Celebrations that match our amazing donors with excited scholarship recipients. These gatherings are a unique opportunity for our donors to meet the students they are generously supporting.

Our donors open their hearts and their wallets to students striving to achieve the goals they have set for themselves and their families. At these celebrations, small group discussions between donors and their scholarship recipients offer opportunities to exchange information in a meaningful setting.

Students hear firsthand why donors are motivated to give, and donors hear from recipients how the financial assistance makes such a big difference in their lives. The conversations are truly heartwarming. I’ve personally witnessed exchanges of contact information as deserving students express their gratitude and our donors revel in the satisfaction of having contributed to the future success of the next generation. 

When you hear about these events happening next May, I highly recommend you add the events to your calendar and attend. These events introduce kindness and generosity to hope and excitement about students’ futures. 

Beyond the Applause: The Numbers Behind Our Scholarships

Behind these meaningful moments is a scholarship program that has grown dramatically because of your sustained support. In May 2026, the West Valley-Mission Foundation awarded $1.34 million in scholarships, a 40% increase in scholarship support in just the past three years. That growth translates into more students able to afford tuition, books, transportation, and other essentials that keep them enrolled and on track to complete their certificates and degrees.

This momentum is being powered by new and renewing donors. In 2026 alone, eight families established new scholarship endowments with the West Valley-Mission Foundation, making a deep and enduring commitment to our students. And for the past three years, our annual scholarship renewal rate is 98% or higher, creating the kind of consistent, dedicated support that students rely on and that makes this program so special.

100% of your gift goes to students

One detail I want every reader to know: 100% of every dollar donated to scholarships goes directly to students. We take no cut of donations to cover overhead. Our advancement staff are employees of the district and the department’s budget is covered by our General Fund. This ensures that ALL donations flow directly to students and the college programs donors wish to support. When you give to a scholarship fund, your entire gift becomes financial aid for a West Valley or Mission student.

Beyond the Scholarship Check

For many of our students, this support is the difference between dropping out and staying enrolled, between working extra shifts and focusing on coursework, between postponing a degree and graduating on time. It also sends a powerful message: our community believes in their potential and is investing in their future.

To our donors: thank you for opening your hearts and wallets, for showing up at our celebrations, and for building a culture of generosity that our students carry forward into their careers and families. And to our broader community: if you’ve ever wondered how your gift can make an immediate, measurable difference, the West Valley-Mission Foundation scholarship program is that place where 100% of your donation becomes opportunity for a student in our district.

About Susan Oster Fish:
Trustee Susan Oster Fish is an attorney and a registered nurse. She established her own law firm in 2020, working exclusively in many medical-related areas.

Trustee Fish has served on the Town of Los Gatos Planning Commission, the Town of Los Gatos Rent Advisory Commission, and on the Board of Trustees for Lincoln Law School of San Jose. She currently serves on the Mission-West Valley Land Corporation Investment Committee and chairs the Audit and Budget Oversight Committee.

She has lived in the Santa Clara Valley for most of her life, is a graduate from West Valley College, a parent of two West Valley College graduates, and a faculty spouse for 26 years. Her ties to the District are long and strong.

Oster Elementary School, located in the Union School District, San Jose, is named for her father Edwin A. Oster, the first family physician in the Cambrian Park neighborhood. His mantra to his seven children and patients was, “Education is everything.”

Trustee Fish was instrumental in bringing The College of Adaptive Arts, offering education opportunities for special needs adults, to the West Valley campus. CAA is the first such program in the nation and offers WVC students the opportunity to earn college credits mentoring special needs students.