Betty Himoto Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad is pleased to announce an annual scholarship for eligible students within Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. We have established the Betty Himoto Memorial Scholarship. An annual scholarship of $2500 will be awarded based on merit to a qualifying student pursuing a degree or technical training in the Industrial Arts.
Academic Year 2027-2028 Application:Download the application PDF here.
Amount of Scholarship Award:
$2,500
Application Deadline:
March 31, 2027
Eligibility:
An applicant must be enrolled (or accepted to attend) at the time of application as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited college or university, or a full-time industrial arts technical training student on the Central California Coast (San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara Counties). Applicants must be enrolled in courses in industrial arts, technical vocational training, or industrial engineering courses including industrial arts, industrial technology, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering and agricultural engineering. Preference to applicants preparing for a career in railroads. Eligible schools are: Hancock College, Cuesta College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of California Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara City College.
Application Process:
Applications for the 2027-2028 academic year will be accepted between October 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. All materials, including references letters and transcripts, must be postmarked via US Mail or submitted via email/on line by Mar 31, 2027 to be considered. The 2027-2028 scholarship application timeline is as follows:
1.) Application Window: October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
2.) Candidate Notification: by April 30, 2027.
3.) Awards Presentation: August 14, 2027
The application must consist of the following:
1.) The application downloaded above.
2.) An official transcript from high schools, vocational schools (as applicable), and colleges (as applicable) attended for all work through prior year (arrange to be sent directly to Friends-SMVRR via US Mail or email).
3.) Three letters of recommendation (arrange to be sent directly to Friends-SMVRR via US Mail or email).
4.) A narrative, not exceeding 1,000 words, on a separate page as detailed in the above application.
All materials should be submitted to the following US Mail address or email address:
FRIENDS OF THE SANTA MARIA VALLEY RAILROAD
P.O. BOX 1031
SANTA MARIA, CA 93456-1031
scholarship@friends-smvrr.org
If you have questions or problems, contact us via email at: scholarship@friends-smvrr.org