It’s a common sight across the country. Cars line up with their trunks open, as gloved and masked volunteers stand at the ready. But it wasn’t food being distributed at Southwestern College on Saturday. It was computers.
More than 200 computers were handed out to students, including desktops and laptops with another 230 on the way in the coming weeks.
“A lot of our students are low-income. They don’t have Internet. So we are just filling in the need for these students and making them our priority, so they can continue their education,” said Sofia Salgado Robitaille. She’s the executive director of the Southwestern College Foundation, which provided the computers, along with the organization Computers2Kids San Diego.
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The college also handed out over $143,000 in scholarship money to students on Saturday to help them pay tuition during the pandemic.
“We had people here at five in the morning, lining up. They’re very eager and want to make sure they get their computers. And they’re so appreciative. It’s such a wonderful feeling,” Robitaille said.
The computers came with wifi hotspots as well, as students face academic life without either school or public libraries.
