BRITTANY YEAROUT
Assistant News Editor
It takes many people to make Pepperdine a top-notch institution. The plumber who keeps the heating and cooling running, the custodian who cleans to create a comfortable environment for learning and the landscaper who beautifies the campus with flowers and well-manicured open spaces, all do their part for the campus.
Therefore, the university rewards these workers and all other staff members with tuition discounts, aiding their family members with the cost of a Pepperdine education.
“We like to have people whose parents or family members work for Pepperdine because it creates a legacy and a unique culture,” said Lauren Cosentino, assistant vice president of Human Resources. “Also, we need to give our employees incentives and we are a nonprofit so we can’t pay like other larger companies can.”
Born in Mexico, Lino Ortiz works as a plumber for Pepperdine. Since 1988, Ortiz has worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day with two jobs, one outside of Pepperdine. Although he is tired, what moves Ortiz is the warmth of his children and their advantage to attend college.
“We live very moderately, we have a house and we don’t make much money, but we are fine,” Ortiz said. “But, to make an expense such as this college is impossible. I am here and working at this place so that I can help my kids get an education.”
When sharing the stories of his children, Ortiz has tears full of gratitude and pride. His 10 years of work at Pepperdine have allowed his son to receive free tuition and his daughter to receive as much as a 70 percent discount for tuition at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education.
Ortiz’s son, Jr. Lino Ortiz, is a sophomore majoring in business at Pepperdine. His daughter, Julia Ortiz, graduated in 2007 with a master’s degree in education.
“I am a plumber by trade. I love what I do, and I have done my best on top of the criticism of people saying I can make more money outside of Pepperdine,” Ortiz said. “I said no, I have a thing in my mind; I want to help my children go to college.”
Although many know that faculty members get benefits, not many know that staff members do.
Like faculty members, eligible staff members get a 50 percent tuition reduction for undergraduate courses, with an additional 5 percent remission per year of employment, making it a 100 percent tuition remission after 10 years of employment. They are granted these benefits for themselves and members of their immediate family.
Also, the same tuition benefit is given to staff members and their family members for the Pepperdine graduate program but the tuition reduction starts at 25 percent, with an additional 5 percent added to each employment year to a maximum of 75 percent tuition reduction.
However, a person still has to apply and go through a selective admission process.
“The Admission Office tracks a student application whose parent (or family member) work at the university,” said Michael Truschke, associate dean of enrollment and director of admission. “We certainly consider the Pepperdine connection when an applicant has a parent working at Pepperdine but it does not automatically guarantee that they will be admitted.”
Ortiz II said he spent close to five years in a community college until he was finally accepted into Pepperdine.
“It all started in high school -— it was my main goal to attend Pepperdine,” Ortiz said. “So just because Pepperdine implements such a program for employees, it doesn’t mean anything. You have to earn it and work hard.”
Born in El Salvador, Josefa Qintanilla is another employee that uses the tuition remission for her daughter. She has been cleaning dorm rooms, classrooms, bathrooms and offices for Pepperdine for 17 years.
Being a single parent with three daughters and a grandchild, she needs as much aid as she can get. Quintanilla’s daughter, Nancy Alvarado, is graduating this year without ever having to pay for tuition.
“I feel so grateful to Pepperdine because tuition is really expensive. I love Pepperdine,” Quintanilla said. “It gives you a great opportunity for work and also an opportunity for your kids. My daughter is a great student, she just needed some money.”
Although Alvarado receives free tuition, she said being at Pepperdine is still a challenge because of the cost of books, housing and food. She also said she loves being at Pepperdine because she gets to see her mom almost every day.
“I see my mom every other day on campus and I always go up to her and hug her,” Alvarado said. “A lot of people ask me if I get embarrassed that she just does custodial work and is not a faculty member, but I am not. A lot of people are shocked, but I am not embarrassed she is my mom and I am proud of her, she has worked so hard.”
For some students, attending Pepperdine means having to get a job, and Alvarado has been working at the School of Public Policy since high school. This is Alvarado’s first semester without having to work and she said working and going to school has made her even more proud of herself.
“I value it a lot more because it has been such a rough road, and I have made a lot of sacrifices to get here,” Alvarado said. “I am excited that I am almost done and that I was actually able to get a degree because I will be the first one to graduate in my family from a four-year university.”
02-21-2008
