FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Schools Get $400,000 Scholarship Donation

In the largest single scholarship donation in the history of Huntington Beach Union High School District, a Fountain Valley company has given $400,000 for college-bound students from low-income homes.

“It’s obviously the largest donation this school district has ever received,” said Supt. David J. Hagen. “We’re just very thankful for the opportunity provided for the students and their families.”

The donation was made by Kingston Technology Corp., a designer and manufacturer of memory modules for computers. Company spokeswoman Peggy Kelly said the founders, John Tu and David Sun, wanted to give something back to their community.

“It will allow talented students who normally wouldn’t have the chance to get the education that they need to utilize those talents,” Kelly said. She added that the company, in Fountain Valley since 1987, anticipates $1.3 billion in sales this year.

Twenty scholarships valued at $20,000 each will be given to students who will graduate in June, 1996. Each student will receive $5,000 yearly for four years. If some students attend two-year programs, lesser scholarship amounts will be awarded.

Students at Fountain Valley High School and Valley Vista High School, an alternative education program, will receive first priority for scholarship money, Hagen said. Five scholarships will be awarded to students who live in Santa Ana and attend Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley, part of Garden Grove Unified School District.

Fountain Valley Mayor Guy Carrozzo, a retired school principal, presented the money to the school board at Tuesday’s meeting. The company’s founders had asked him to help establish the scholarship fund.

Carrozzo said he was “thrilled and honored to be able to play a small part in helping channel this generous donation to students who probably would never have dreamed of getting a college degree.”