Norma Jean Bodey Galiher

Norma Jean Bodey Galiher has had a life-long passion for learning and has never stopped enjoying the challenge of continued learning, both for professional reasons and personal enrichment (including having taken many adult education classes at Foothill College). She feels fortunate to have had a loving family who placed a high value on education and supported her aspiration to study to obtain her bachelors and masters degrees at UCLA, as well as the credential that would allow her to teach biology in community college. While life circumstances did not result in her teaching professionally, she has continued to enjoy other opportunities to teach while enjoying her career in the biomedical sciences. She is a long-time docent at Edgewood Natural Preserve and enjoys opportunities to apply her knowledge and teaching skills there and through other volunteer work. Having had friends who were not fortunate enough to be supported by their families through their college years, she has come to appreciate the challenges it can pose for students who need to carry a substantial work load while studying. She is especially inspired by the courage and determination of students who are first in their family to attend college, navigating their way through, perhaps working outside of school, and applying themselves with determination and perseverance. This scholarship is for those students who are serious and working hard to achieve their goals but need financial support.