Bob Keatinge Honored for 32 Years of Commitment to Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP - Noozhawk

Posted on December 4, 2016 | 7:44 p.m.

The Santa Barbara California Student Opportunities and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), a program that helps underserved and underrepresented students with accessing post-secondary education, honored Bob Keatinge on Friday for his 32 years of commitment to the Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP consortium.

Bob Keatinge (Jeanne Keatinge photo)

At the end of the 2015-16 school year, Keatinge announced he would be retiring and stepping down from the Cal-SOAP Governing Board.

The Cal-SOAP Consortium and Governing Board members recognized his many years of service and commitment to Cal-SOAP since its inception. Keatinge expressed that he is proud of the work Cal-SOAP has done to help students, many of whom otherwise would not think to attend college.

In 1984, Keatinge and several other administrators and educators from SBCC, SBUSD and CUSD saw the opportunity to bring Cal-SOAP to Santa Barbara. At the time, UCSB had been providing financial aid assistance and presentations to the schools, but its programs were very scattered.

“Bill Cordero thought it would be a good idea to bring Cal-SOAP in to help manage all the services pertaining to college access," Keatinge said. "He approached me because at the time I was the state and federal projects coordinator and could provide the data that was needed to ask for funding.”

The Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP consortium began reaching out to an increasing number of students, and provided information and academic support to underachieving students.

The consortium began with seven board members and gradually grew, with Keatinge maintaining a seat on the Governing Board. By providing academic support, financial aid support and other resources, Keatinge believes Cal-SOAP plays an important role in helping to increase the accessibility of college education opportunities for low-income and underserved students in the community. The Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP consortium is proud to have had such a dedicated member from the very start.

Cal-SOAP is a statewide program that began in 1976 under the administration of the California Student Aid Commission. The Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP consortium has been serving the Santa Barbara-Goleta-Carpinteria area since 1984. The consortium is funded by the California Student Aid Commission and administered by the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County.

The mission of the Santa Barbara Cal-SOAP consortium is to increase the accessibility of post-secondary educational opportunities for low-income, first-generation and/or underrepresented junior high and high school students. Cal-SOAP is committed to advising, informing and exposing students and their parents to post-secondary opportunities and resources.

Click here for more information about Cal-SOAP.

— Joanna Romo is a project director for Cal-SOAP.

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