Brainstorming the mission...

The GCSA Board of Directors is having its first Annual Meeting of the Board to layout the mission, goals and objectives of the GCSA for the coming years! We'll be hosting an alumni-student mixer on the campus of Georgetown University as well as a scholarship application workshop for undergraduate students. More updates to come!

GCSA Holiday Potluck in Los Angeles

Between Christmas and the New Year, a group of the Georgetown Comunidad got together in Los Angeles, California for a holiday potluck and board game night. It was an awesome gathering of undergrads and alumni from the Southern California area. The event was a great way to gather la comunidad in L.A. and close out 2010 with a spirit of community and family. The highlight of the night was playing charades by the backyard fire pit. A special word of thanks goes to Joe Saucedo for organizing the event and Carlos Avila for hosting the potluck at his home in Montebello. Look out for more GCSA gatherings in 2011!

Felicidades and Thank You!

The GCSA is proud to announce our first ever upper class scholarship recipients: Brenda Garcia and Alejandro Gonzalez. Both Brenda and Alejandro play pivotal roles in the comunidad at Georgetown.

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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 Garcia
SFS '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!

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!

Reunión y Despedida 2010... ¡Gracias!

A great big thank you to the parents, undergrads, incoming students who came out to Reunión y Despedida 2010! The event was a huge success and a lot of fun. It was great seeing old friends and meeting the incoming students. In a particularly special way, it was great to see parents (including my own!) who came out to support the students getting ready to start the fall semester on the Hilltop. Check out pictures of the event on Facebook and look out for a recap of the event on this blog pretty soon.