The Anna Marie Fobes Scholarship opens doors for aspiring SDSU artists

When David Fobes, a lecturer emeritus at San Diego State University, discovered that one of his most talented students was struggling to afford the financial costs of the art and design program, he knew he had to do something about it.

David taught art and design classes at SDSU for 27 years before retiring in 2020. His inspiration to start the Anna Marie Fobes Scholarship, named after his mother, came from one of his students.

“I could see early on, she was incredibly talented,” David said. “She’s one of those kids that didn’t know how talented she was.”

Fobes recalled that one day, the student came to class crying, worried she would have to drop out if her parents couldn’t afford her tuition. The student’s family was stuck in the middle with an income just high enough to disqualify them from federal aid, but too low to afford college without the help.

“There’s a lot of kids that kind of fall between the cracks,” David said.

From that point on, David wanted to do his part to help art students pursue their passions, the same way his mother encouraged him to pursue his.

The Anna Marie Fobes Scholarship, endowed by David and his twin brother Clark—also an artist and musician—supports dedicated studio art and art history majors, regardless of financial need, who demonstrate passion and excellence in their field.

Anna Marie, affectionately known as Ann, was born in 1926 in Iowa and passed in 2023 at the age of 97 in Carlsbad, California.

Ann earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1949—an exceptional achievement for a young woman at that time.

“I remember as a little kid looking through her drawing books, and man, she could draw like nobody’s business,” said David.

David said his mother had to compete with the men coming back from World War II during her college years and struggled to get her foot in the door as a female artist.

In one of her classes, Ann’s teacher wanted to give her an A, but could only give out so many, and had to give them to the men returning from war so they could find jobs. The teacher mistakenly assumed Ann would not be looking for a job.

Even with the obstacles she faced as a woman, Ann persevered to earn her degree and served as a source of inspiration for her son, David, throughout his life, wholeheartedly supporting his pursuit of a career in art and design.

“My mom gave me positive reinforcement,” David said. “She encouraged me.”

Even after her children had grown up and left the nest, Ann continued to pursue jewelry making, ceramics, and painting.

“Right up into her 90s, she was painting,” David said.

“I always found that inspiring – that she wanted to do that and continue to do that,” he continued.

David was adamant about making the scholarship as broad as possible and not income-based so that students like the one who inspired him to start it could be considered. He wanted artists to be able to apply without facing the obstacles that can often occur when applying for federal student aid.

To qualify for the scholarship, students must be a third or fourth-year declared art history or studio major with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

David hopes that the endowment will make the art and design program more accessible to students, recognizing the arts as an important but often underrepresented career path.

The legacy of his mother Ann lives on through the scholarship, helping student artists take some of the weight off their shoulders and focus on their artistic passions without the burden of financial barriers.