When Cliches Ring True: A Scholarship Story

Bette O'Sullivan's family is no stranger to both generosity and the power of education: the sister of long-time Congressman Jim Costa '70, they know all too well the power of giving others a voice. That's exactly what O'Sullivan, SJM class of 1955, had in mind when she established the Lena Costa Scholar Grant in 2008. The Scholar Grant benefits a female student entering her freshman year at Memorial and pays for four years, contingent on the student maintaining academic eligibility.

The scholarship honors Lena Costa, Bette O'Sullivan's mother. Lena Costa had a passion for education, perhaps because she was not able to continue in school after the eighth grade. She received her high school diploma at the age of 70, going back to school to earn her GED.

"Her vision of education involved intellectual doors opening to a world of opportunity, transcending social class or income," said O'Sullivan of her mother. "It is appropriate to honor her commitment to education by offering a superior high school education to an intelligent, ambitious young woman who believes her own future can be almost anything to which she aspires."

O'Sullivan sees the scholarship as a way to continue her mother's legacy of believing education is the great equalizer. She said her mother and father sacrificed to send herself and her brother to San Joaquin Memorial, seeing it as a way to pave a path to a brighter future.

"The expectation that we would attend and graduate from college was a given, and San Joaquin Memorial was the path to this bright future," she said.

More than anything, O'Sullivan believes the scholarship creates that same path for future generations to succeed when perhaps they might have otherwise had the opportunity to do so. Beyond that, she feels it is incredibly rewarding to the donor themselves. She encourages anyone considering starting a scholarship at Memorial to do so.

"It is inspiring and rewarding to see someone achieve something that perhaps they would not have been able to achieve without this instrument in place," she said. "It’s hard not to speak in cliches when you talk about it but cliches are cliches because they have some resonance, because they happen more than once. The feeling of having done something that lasts beyond even your own inner family circle, that makes you feel good about yourself and your life is wonderful. I’d recommend it to anyone who would like to feel that good."

Learn more about supporting SJM and our students at  https://www.sjmhs.org/ways-to-give