The Bay Area Gardeners Scholarship Foundation

Educational leader Mary E. Streshly serves the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy as senior advisor and acting executive director and the San Mateo County Office of Education as executive director of educational services. An alumna of San Francisco State University, Mary Streshly keeps her connection with the university as a part-time lecturer in the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. Mary Streshly’s professional inclinations were influenced by her father Dr. William A. Streshly, who was himself a superintendent and professor.

Dr. Streshly passed away on January 26, 2021, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. In honor of his extraordinary life, a scholarship fund was established by the family and was named the William A. Streshly “Stretch” Scholarship. The donations gathered by the fund were for the benefit of the Bay Area Gardeners Scholarship Foundation (BAGSF).

BAGSF was established by Don Catalino Tapia in 2003. A gardener and landscaper by profession, Don Catalino noted that there were few Latino and Black graduates during his son’s graduation. This moved him to raise funds to aid low-income college students in the Bay Area. Since 2003, BAGSF has granted $648,000 in scholarships and 118 laptops to student grantees.

Scholarship grants are given to college students who meet BAGSF’s requirements. An applicant must have lived or attended school for a minimum of two years in San Francisco, Santa Clara, or San Mateo Counties in California, must have a GPA of 2.5, and must belong to a financially-struggling family as evidenced by his or her family’s tax returns. He or she also must have rendered 50 hours of community service for a non-profit organization or in any BAGSF event.