Photo of the Week: Drawing from Life Visiting artist Winston Branch supervises students drawing a nude in his "Language of Drawing" class in Kroeber Hall. Peg Skorpinski photo.

Alberto Vasquez dreamed of going to Berkeley ever since he was six, when he visited campus on a school field trip.

"I was looking around and said, 'This is going to be my school.' My teacher said it would be hard," he recalled. "But now my dream has come true."

Vasquez will attend Berkeley this fall, thanks to the California Alumni Association's new Achievement Award.

CAA created the scholarship program in response to alumni concerns about the decline last year in underrepresented minority freshmen -- after Proposition 209 ended state affirmative action programs in enrollment and hiring.

The CAA program aims to enroll California students admitted to Berkeley despite adverse learning or living environments, and to offer financial and counseling assistance throughout their undergraduate careers in order to help them succeed in school. Eleven winners have been selected this year. Awardees will receive a scholarship worth a maximum of $5,700 per year depending on each student's level of need, for up to four years. (continues)