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President's Message |
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For Wong Lee, education was a dream. As a child in Laos and, later, living in a refugee camp in Thailand, Lee dreamed of living in America and attending high school. When his family immigrated to the United States six years ago, his dream was dashed. He was 19, too old to attend high school. A year in adult school led to his diploma, but “the barrier I had was really the language.” To improve his English and further his education, Lee attended Butte College, where he maintained a 3.9 GPA.
While in the refugee camp, Lee discovered he was good at mathematics and decided he would like to be a high school mathematics teacher. When he received a letter inviting him to apply for the Stamper scholarship for mathematics students, he did so. He explains that in the Hmong community, scholarships are highly valued because they are an indicator of how good a student the recipient is. When Lee received the letter granting him the first Alva W. and Aimee R. Stamper Scholarship, he initially didn’t believe it. “I read the paper many times, then I thought, “This must be true,’” he says. Ruth Barta, who endowed the scholarship, says, “If I had known that giving was this much fun, I’d have given it years ago.” She wanted to do something in honor of her parents, the Stampers.
Alva W. Stamper, the youngest child of a large family, was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from UC Berkeley and moved to Chico to work at the Normal School for teacher training, where he met his wife. Aimee R. Stamper had grown up in Quincy and attended Chico Normal School. She became the dean of girls at Chico High School. “Education was in our bones,” observes Barta. As a child, Barta attended Chico Normal School, where many of the teachers were well acquainted with her father. Stamper was the head of the mathematics department at Chico Normal. Many of the teachers had been there when she was a child, and they made Barta feel quite welcome. “It was small; you knew everybody,” recalls Barta. Barta left Chico to study languages at UC Berkeley. Moving to a city after a lifetime in a small town was quite a change, “having so many large classes, having such a big campus.” She liked it, though. “I have always enjoyed learning and still do.” After graduating from UC Berkeley, Barta did some practice teaching, but it was difficult to get a teaching job during the Great Depression. Schools were cutting back to basics. Languages were not considered basic; home economics was. Barta went to work for the California State Board of Equalization. Barta was in Chico last October to visit the town, the university, and the first recipient of the scholarship. She toured the town, recalling that the Stamper family home on the Esplanade across the street from where Chico High School is today was considered to be a little bit out of town when she was a child. By the time she attended high school, the town had grown enough that the new high school was built, and she could easily walk across the street for classes. She always liked living in Chico, and although she hadn’t been back for many years, she still considers it her hometown. Looking at the changes in the town, Barta commented on how much it has grown. She didn’t recognize Main Street or Broadway, and “they practically did away with First Street,” she says. Still, she thinks Chico has retained its small town feel, and the campus its beauty. Barta enjoyed the presentations and meeting Lee. He says of her, “How generous she is to give money to go to college. It’s really a great honor to meet her.” Lee, the first in his family to attend college, encourages his siblings to attend. “I try my best to be a role model, not just for my family, but for the community,” he adds. The Stamper scholarship helps him to do just that. The Alva W. and Aimee R. Stamper Scholarship is awarded to a mathematics student with at least a 3.0 GPA and financial need. One scholarship was awarded this year. As the endowment grows, the number of scholarships awarded will also grow. If you are interested in establishing or contributing to a scholarship fund, contact Diana Walker at 530-898-5297.
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