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Alejandro Gonzalez SFS '12, Miami, FL
Born in the small town of Güira de Melena, Cuba, Alejandro came to the United States with his parents in 1997. Living in Miami allowed him to grow up enjoying the beauty of American culture while also developing a strong passion for his raices cubanas. This same passion has motivated Alejandro to be deeply involved in spreading awareness of Cuba to the outside world. Alejandro led the Cuban-American Student Association at Georgetown and organized a trip to the island with students and faculty. Alejandro is equally passionate about making quality education accessible to immigrant families. He has created and taught the Citizenship and Naturalization class for the DC Schools Project at Georgetown and is involved in spreading awareness about the DREAM Act on and off campus. Alejandro is currently a junior majoring in International Politics in the SFS and plans to work in Latin America upon graduation. His favorite thing about Georgetown is the strong bonds of friendship he has with people from all over the world. He loves to spend time with family and friends, try new kinds of food, and dance latin music.
Brenda GarciaSFS '11, McAllen, TX
Brenda Garcia is currently a Senior at Georgetown University and comes from McAllen, Texas. She is majoring in International Politics with a certificate in Women's and Gender Studies. While at Georgetown, Brenda has been thoroughly invested in the Latino community serving as the treasurer of M.E.Ch.A. and spearheading the 2009 East Coast Chicano Student Forum Conference: "Narcocultura: Drug-trafficking and its Effects on Latino Communities." She is a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow and recently interned with the Democratic consulting firm, Molly Allen Associates, working for multiple congressional campaigns. She recently got accepted into Teach For America and will be teaching secondary math in Philadelphia next year!
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Our selection process this cycle was, as expected, tough! The GCSA Selection Committee dedicated many hours to reviewing all 17 scholarship applications and had the difficult task of selecting two applicants from a stellar applicant pool. We appreciate all the hard work of Gloria Gasca ('03), Jose Barragan ('04), Berenice De La Parra ('97), Maria Moser ('04), Christina Estrada ('09) and Octavio Gonzalez ('06). Mil gracias!Coming up next - another round of scholarships for first year and upper class students to come for spring 2011. Keep a look out for application materials.
Another important update - fundraising! We are currently raising scholarship funds for 2011 and we need your help! Consider making a small donation to the GCSA to keep supporting students like Brenda and Alejandro. To donate online, click on the "Donate" PayPal button on the top right hand side of our blog, or mail a check made out to the Georgetown Comunidad Scholarship Association to P.O. Box 3531, Redwood City, CA 94064. We hope we can count on your support!
