Frances Magarian Scholarship

Established in 2013 from monies bequeathed to the Branch from Frances Magarian, the AAUW Long Beach Frances Magarian Scholarship awards scholarships of $2500 each to recipients from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and scholarships of $2000 awarded to recipients from Long Beach City College (LBCC). Frances Magarian was a long-time AAUW Long Beach Branch member and Past President.

The Long Beach Branch welcomes its members and members of the community to make a tax-deductible donation to either foundation managing the scholarship awards for us.  Contributions to our LBCC scholarship should be sent to Long Beach City College Foundation, 4901 E. Carson Street B12, Long Beach, CA 90808.  Please annotate that it is for the #4988 AAUW Long Beach Scholarship. Contributions to our CSULB scholarship should be sent to CSULB 49er Foundation, 6300 E. State University Drive, Suite 324, Long Beach, CA 90815.  Please annotate that it is for K0320-AAUW Long Beach Scholarship.

The applicants submit applications containing among other information, their G.P.A., honors and awards they’ve received, an essay describing their goals and studies, and two letters of recommendation.  The students are then interviewed by the committee. As always, the applicants this year were outstanding,  and it was difficult to make the selection.

Although the Scholarship Committee was unable to interview applicants fro Long Beach City College due to college restrictions, we were very impressed with the applicants and had difficulty making our selections.

Learn more about the Frances Magarian Scholarship HERE

2025 Scholarship Recipients

Long Beach City College Recipients
By Sharon Westafer

ROXANA AFSHAR is a 21 year old International student from Iran, where her parents and younger brother live. An engineering major with a 3.48 grade point average, Roxana plans to work on developing medical devices to improve people’s lives. Based on her experiences in Iran, Roxanna is drawn to AAUW’s emphasis on equity for women and girls. Roxanna is very appreciative of the AAUW scholarship as she struggles to support herself while going to school. While she misses her family, she is determined to complete her education and work to improve women’s lives.

ANG’ELLE ALLOWAY, 31, is majoring in Human Services. She has experienced homelessness and living in her car. Three years sober, Angelle supports and volunteers with various mental health services, working with older adults who need extra assistance with daily activities. She also enjoys working with rescue animals. With a 4.0 GPA, Ang’ Elle remains on the Dean’s list and focuses on psychology and social work. She plans to work in mental health services counseling.

LUNA NEWLYN, our third recipient, is a 29 year old majoring in Computer Science. She is on the Dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA. Luna was born in England and moved to the U.S. in 2004. She has struggled as an autistic, transgender woman. Luna is interested in helping other women who struggle with self-esteem and mental health issues.

2024 Scholarship Recipients

2024 LBCC Recipient

Violeta Lara is a full-time student at Long Beach City College majoring in sociology, and is also a full-time employee at Carbon Health Urgent Care. Violeta has five children; her oldest son is serving in the Army in Germany and her youngest child, David was born in May of this year. Violeta plans to transfer to CSULB to obtain a bachelor’s degree in social work. She has a 3.88 GPA and has been on the Dean’s List twice. She is also involved with the Justice Scholars Program. In October, she will celebrate four years of sobriety, and she plans to work with other women who are struggling with drug addiction and who have lost their children to Child Protective Services as a result.

2024 CSULB Recipients
Submitted by Mary Ann Takemoto

2023 Scholarship Recipients

AAUW Long Beach Awards
Five 2022 Frances Magarian Scholarships

Smiles shone all around at a recent AAUW Long Beach Branch meeting when three CSULB students attended and accepted Frances Magarian Scholarship awards of $2,500 each.  This program established in 2013 fulfills the bequest intent of its namesake by giving two CSULB and two LBCC students aid in their education.  This year an anonymous donor presented the branch with an additional scholarship for a third CSULB student.  Long Beach City College students, unable to attend, receiving $500  awards are: LaQuandra Harris, majoring in Sociology and Psychology, and Tanya Fuentez, majoring in Administration of Justice.

A tradition of the Frances Magarian Scholarship program is to ask the scholars to speak about their background, majors, and goals for the future. Chloee Gong a Computer Science major, Alexxandra Hurtado a Molecular Cell Biology major, and Diana Than a Psychology major all expressed their appreciation to AAUW Long Beach for helping them with their education goals. The scholarship committee for 2022-23 includes branch members:  Mary Ann Takemoto, Chair–JoAnn Kuroda, Judy Willis, Darlene Daclan, Linda Westman and Sharon Westafer.

David Roman, with the Division of Student Affairs at CSULB, said they had 258 applicants for the Frances Magarian Scholarship and added that, “Your generosity provides significant financial support to deserving students that are committed to pursuing their academic and life goals.”

The American Association of University Women has a long history of investing in higher education for women. AAUW nationally has one of the largest scholarship programs for women in the world giving $6M in fellowships and grants in this academic year of 2022-23.