As part of its community partnership in ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Fresno project, California State University, Fresno is offering to pay the fees for all members of the Riojas family to earn their college degrees.
Grants to Mary Ann Riojas and her four teen-aged children are intended to help them complete their higher education at Fresno State. The grants are provided through privately donated funds and are contingent on the students’ meeting university admissions and retention criteria.
The grants will provide an opportunity for Mary Ann Riojas to complete her higher education and for her children — Nicole, 18; Victoria, 17; Angel, 15; and Jessie, 14 — also to attend Fresno State.
University President Dr. John D. Welty said, “We were inspired by the Riojas family’s example of perseverance and commitment to others and we wanted to help them.”
“This is a great way for us to demonstrate our dedication to the importance of both education and community service,” Welty added. “We are confident our ‘investment’ in the Riojas family at Fresno State will benefit our entire community for many years to come.”
In announcing the grants at a post-build press conference on Friday, Jan. 16, Dr. Paul Oliaro, vice president for Student Affairs, said, “At Fresno State, education doesn’t end in our classrooms. We recognize our regional challenges are great, so we are committed to meeting them through community service.
“Our students, faculty and staff understand that service is one way of developing a lifelong habit of paying it forward,” Oliaro added.
Fresno State Associated Students Inc. President Graham Wahlberg, a construction management student who was among the dozens of students who volunteered to build the Riojas house, presented certificates to the family to mark the grants.
Fresno State volunteers – most of them students working during their winter break from classes – exemplified the university’s community-service commitment, Oliaro said.
Construction Management Program students from the Lyles College of Engineering got hands-on experience as the house took shape in just 106 hours. Sorority members from Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Gamma and members of Sigma Chi fraternity were part of the volunteer force, as were a team representing Associated Students Inc. and a group from the Lyles College’s other engineering disciplines.
Campus community individuals, some referred by the university’s Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, also joined the volunteer force. The Richter Center is the campus clearinghouse for community volunteer opportunities.
Welty has set a community-service goal of 1 million Fresno State volunteer hours annually by 2011, the university’s centennial. During 2007-08, campus faculty, staff and students contributed 667,836 hours of volunteer service valued at about $15.9 million.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which has won back-to-back Emmy awards as Best Reality Program (noncompetitive), is in its sixth season on ABC and also is aired in nearly 70 countries outside the United States. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Anthony Dominici is the executive producer and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
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