Year: Junior
Major: Sports management
Scholarships: FGCU Foundation Board Pandemic Scholarship and Donald and Elizabeth Manchester Scholarship
As the fall 2020 semester approached, Erick Sandoval worried that he might not be
able to start his junior year at FGCU.
His father lost his job as a finish carpenter in March when businesses shut down because
of the pandemic and, although both Erick and his mother were still working, money
was tight.
“I was thinking I might have to take a break from school to work more hours to help
my family pay rent and other expenses,” said the Naples resident who is already working
30 hours a week at a Naples condo complex.
But Erick was lucky. Just in the nick of time, he received two scholarships – the
Donald and Elizabeth Manchester Scholarship and an FGCU Foundation Board Pandemic
Scholarship. Together, they enabled him to take full course loads in both the fall
and spring semesters.
“I feel so blessed,” he said. “I’m the first person in my entire family to graduate
high school and the first to go to college. I am super thankful for this.”
Erick is one of thousands of students for whom scholarships and grants make a college
education possible. The FGCU Foundation Board hopes others will follow their lead and invest in students’
futures with contributions to scholarships.
