13 Pierce Students Get Book Scholarships

Thirteen students at Los Angeles Pierce College received textbook scholarships of up to $150 Monday for maintaining perfect grades while taking six or more classes per semester.

The scholarships are given each semester by the Associated Students Organization to outstanding students who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average and carried a minimum course load of 18 units during the previous semester. Most classes at the community college are equal to three units.

Many of the recipients worked full- or part-time jobs while attending school and maintaining their perfect grades.

“There are people for whom education is so important, they are willing to dedicate their whole lives to it,” said Carmelita Thomas, vice president of academic affairs.

Timothy Sherman, 28, of West Hills, was the top honoree with a 4.0 GPA and 30 units for the 1996 spring semester. Sherman also worked a full-time job.

“I just try to keep busy . . . and not make excuses not to keep busy,” Sherman said. “I challenge myself to the fullest. You need to spend a lot of time studying to [earn] all of these A’s. It takes a lot of perseverance.”

Also awarded scholarships were: Andrey Prigogin of Encino; Ramona Doucet of Simi Valley; Erjun Wang, Gennady Shtern and Yanghee Yun of Reseda; Daniele Dellagala, Susan McManus and Alyssa Lobit of Northridge; Shana Goffman of Tarzana; Attila Revesz and Bichtram Conghuyen of Winnetka, and Julie Goldberg of Chatsworth.

This year the scholarships ranged from $70 to $150, depending on the number of units a student took. Sherman received $150.

Shelli Dimarco, president of the students’ organization, said although the scholarship is technically set aside for textbooks, the students can use it for anything. “They can buy dinner for all we know,” she said.

The scholarships have been awarded annually for at least five years to reward students who go above and beyond what is expected, Dimarco said.

“We want to encourage academic excellence,” she said. “. . . When a student gets a 4.0, that student has really worked hard to achieve that.”