Fund: Patricia R. Nelson Endowed Scholarship in the Natural and Agricultural Sciences Fund Department: SAAIP Administration Unit D02136 Purpose: Undergraduate Student Support Background: Patricia "Pat" Nelson grew up in San Bernardino and first attended San Bernardino Valley College. She graduated from UC Riverside with BA in Biology in 1971. After graduating from UCR, she moved to San Diego to train as a Medical Technologist at Scripps Memorial Hospital. Over the course of her career, Pat worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital, Rady Children's Hospital, and Genprobe but spent most of her career working at the UCSD Medical Center in Microbiology before retiring in 2011. Pat is very active in the San Diego community, including her church and choir. She is passionate about encouraging women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields and is grateful for her own opportunites as a woman with a career in the sciences. Pat is also passionate about helping local refugee families and feels that mentoring refugee families since 1999 has changed her life. She feels privileged to have had a great education at a low cost and is concerned about the high cost of tuition that students currently face. She has established this scholarship as a way of paying forward the opportunities that she had in her own education and professional career. Fund Purpose: This fund shall be used to provide student support for undergraduate students in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS). Eff: 12/31/2021 - True endowment converted from endowment intent #6I0111. Criteria and Selection Process: The awardee will be selected by the CNAS Scholarship Committee annually. The scholarship shall be used to provide support for students meeting the following criteria: Requirements: 1. A declared CNAS major. 2. Identify as a first-generation college student. 3. GPA of 3.0 or higher. Preferences: 4. Is a member of the Association for Women in Mathematics, the Association for Women in Sciences, Queens of STEAM, or other similarly officially recognized student organizations. In years when there are no candidates who meet the criteria, awards may be held until the following year when there is an eligible candidate. In years when there is more than one deserving student, more than one award may be given provided there is sufficient funding.