Rita Bower and Ray Friend

Rita Bower and Ray Friend are alumni of San Francisco State University. Rita and Ray worked and supported each other as they completed their degrees at SF State, and then both pursued careers in education.

Rita worked in the Richmond and Los Angeles School Districts for her entire career. She worked with students as an elementary and middle school special education teacher, and as a middle and high school counselor providing educational counseling to underserved students, ending her career at Venice High School. Ray worked throughout his career at Windward School in West Los Angeles as a math teacher and administrator.

Through this scholarship, Rita and Ray wish to support the education of prospective teachers for whom the financial burden of going to school and gaining an education may present an unbearable obstacle.