Meet Aya and Jesus, the Fall 2010 Comunidad Scholars...

Aya Waller-Bey
Detroit, Michigan
Aya Waller-Bey is a first-year student at Georgetown University. Aya hails from Detroit, Michigan where she attended Renaissance High School and was heavily involved in various leadership-formation activities, including the LEDA Scholars program at Princeton University and the New Detroit Camp Enterprise. Aya is a proud Detroiter and is passionate about returning to her home community: “The images of Detroit portrayed in the media have only served as fuel for me. While the world sees a light bulb whose light is beginning to dim… I see a light radiating now more than ever... I feel that I not only have a responsibility to bring about awareness to the issues troubling the cities, but also to be fully committed to… a community that others have written off as a failure.” With the unconditional support of her family, Aya became the first person in her family to pursue higher education and plans to pursue a major in sociology in Georgetown College.

Jesus Burboa

San Diego, California

Jesus Burboa is the first in his family to go to college and comes to Georgetown from San Diego, California. As a high school student, Jesus co-founded a nonprofit organization by the name of The Common Thread and hosted a conference for first-generation college goers on the campus of University of California, San Diego. At Georgetown, Jesus is a freshman representative to GU Financial Literacy, which helps inform students on issues of money management, dances in Ritmo y Sabor, the GU Latin dance ensemble, and is a GU Peer Counselor. Jesus believes “community is familia. It is the thread that ties in hundreds of people that have endured the same experiences, sacrifices; but most of all, a group of people who love each other.” Jesus credits his success to the work ethic he learned from his father, who took on two jobs to support Jesus and his family: “As a teenager, I worked alongside my dad, cleaning the mirrors in bathrooms as he mopped the floor… [His] love has inspired me to reach my greatest achievements and to never give up.”

Fall 2010 Recipients Selected!

A big congratulations to Jesus Burboa and Aya Waller-Bey, our fall 2010 scholarship recipients! Photos and biographies of Jesus and Aya are coming soon.

Selecting two recipients was a tall order for the members of the Selection Committee. An impressive group of applicants submitted materials. Our Selection Committee spent hours thoughtfully reviewing the applications and selecting our two recipients. A big gracias to: Gloria Gasca ('03), Octavio Gonzalez ('06), Berenice De La Parra ('97), Christina Estrada ('09), Maria Moser ('04), and Jose Barragan ('04). I'm thankful to them for donating their time and expertise to the Selection Committee.

Thanks to our generous donors, we've opened up our scholarship opportunities to upper class students. Applications will be released shortly.

First year students also have another opportunity this year for scholarships - be on the look out for the spring 2011 scholarship application!

Applications are in!

Fresh off of our scholarship deadline, we're proud to share that we received 19 applications for the fall scholarship cycle! This is an increase in applications from the same time last year.

Our Selection Committee is hard at work reviewing the talents and accomplishments of the first-year students who applied. It's going to be tough selecting two recipients from such a polished group of students, but our Selection Committee is up for the challenge. Be on the look out for updates soon!

Hoya Saxa!