Linnea Hoffmann, a sophomore at California State University, Monterey Bay, has won a William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award is among the highest forms of recognition for students in the CSU.

The award provides $3,000 scholarships to students based on academic and personal achievement, financial need and community service. The winners will be honored Sept. 22 at the CSU Chancellor's Office in Long Beach.

A resident of Riverside, Hoffmann is majoring in liberal studies with a 4.00 grade-point average.

As the daughter and granddaughter of teachers, Hoffmann grew up with the expectation that she could attend college. But as one of five children, she knew the financial responsibility would be hers alone.

Her volunteer work through the campus-based Otter Christian Fellowship has taken her to soup kitchens and to the fields of the Salinas Valley, where she gathered produce for the local food bank. She has also helped run events for children at local churches and parks.

Hoffmann's volunteer work in an elementary school classroom and vacation Bible school programs spurred her passion to teach and work with special needs children. Following in her parents' footsteps, she plans to pursue an elementary teaching credential at CSU Monterey Bay and eventually go into special education.

More than 450,000 students attend the 23 campuses of the CSU system. This year, 23 of those students were honored with Hearst scholarships. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation established an endowed scholarship fund in 1984 to honor the founder of the Hearst newspaper chain. In 1999, the foundation partnered with the CSU Board of Trustees to supplement the endowment with contributions from CSU Trustees and private donors.