Loyola High School of Los Angeles, the oldest secondary school in Southern California, announced on Tuesday that it is launching the Asian Pacific Alumni Society’s scholarship fund at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on Wednesday, June 6, at 6 p.m.
Special guest State Controller John Chiang will speak on “Becoming Visible: Creating Future Leaders from the Asian Pacific Community.” Councilmember Jan Perry and LAPD Deputy Chief Terry Hara will be among the notable attendees at the groundbreaking event.
The proceeds of the evening will benefit students of East Asian, Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island descent. Underwritten by Westin Bonaventure Hotel owner Peter Zen and his wife Belinda, the evening will also highlight three existing Loyola scholarships for the Asian Pacific community — the Crescencia Rumjahn Memorial Scholarship, the Crescencia and Howard Rumjahn’64 Scholarship Fund and the Bob and Yoshiye Yoshida Scholarship fund.
“Economic, racial and social diversity are integral to our Jesuit educational mission,” said Rev. Gregory Goethals, S.J., president of Loyola High School. “Loyola’s Asian Pacific students contribute greatly to our school in the sciences, the arts, athletics and the humanities. They are among the standouts of this year’s graduating class as well as the many classes preceding them.
“Loyola works to make its first-class education affordable to all, subsidizing one-quarter of it through donations. But that is not enough for many of our students. This is one of the many reasons we are thankful to the Asian Pacific Alumni Society for establishing this new scholarship as well as to the Rumjahn family and the Yoshida family for their existing scholarships. Their generosity will help make a Loyola education available to our next generation of leaders.”
The son of Taiwanese immigrants and a Georgetown Law graduate, Chiang was elected in 2006 as California’s independent fiscal watchdog. He has used his independent auditing powers to expose over $3 billion in government waste, including funds related to the City of Bell scandal.
Goethals added, “Both Peter Zen, a graduate of Bellarmine Prep, and John Chiang, a Georgetown Law School graduate, have roots in Jesuit education and recognize its educational and moral value. They believe in our mission of being men for others.”
The Asian Pacific Alumni Society Scholarship is open to all donors. Eligible recipients will be of Asian Pacific heritage and chosen by the Financial Aid Committee and the president of Loyola High School.
“The Asian American community is one of the most touted U.S. success stories, but there are many young students whose parents struggle economically,” said Alan Kumamoto, chair of the Asian Pacific Alumni Society. “We established this scholarship so that deserving students have access to the stellar education Loyola offers, regardless of means, and raise awareness of the benefits of a Jesuit education within our community. Asian American students have been integral members of Loyola’s community. We want to continue that tradition and help it grow.”
Loyola High School is an academically rigorous Jesuit college preparatory located just west of downtown Los Angeles. Ninety-nine percent of Loyola graduates go on to college or university; 96 percent enroll in a four-year college.
Loyola’s student body of 1,245 young men represents a remarkable geographic diversity, drawing on 220 zip codes from throughout and beyond Los Angeles County. The school is also ethnically diverse with 49 percent of the student body of Asian, Latino or African American descent.
To enable students to achieve the goal of being “men for others,” Loyola students must complete at least 150 hours of community service work before graduation. Over the past two decades, Loyola students have donated more than 1.2 million hours of community service, primarily to inner-city schools, neighborhoods and agencies.