Applications for becas (scholarships) are delivered in January to the  Secondaria and Preparatoria schools in the East Cape.  The students submit the completed application along with a letter they compose in English and Spanish stating why they want a scholarship.  A verification of  school attendance and grades, a copy of their birth certificate and letters of recommendation must also be submitted.  The applications are reviewed by the scholarship committee members and a number score is assigned to each student.  After a careful review of the potential recipients, the scholarships are decided based on need and scholastic achievements.

In May the proud students and their families gather at La Concha in Los Barriles to receive their awards.  Local government officials and professors help hand out the certificates and offer their congratulations.

            


Folk dances performed by the students add to the festivities



Here are the stories of some of the students who received scholarships
2009/2010

       
          ZAYDA NALLEY ACEVEDO COTA

 Zayda has one sister and lives in El Campamento.  She has just completed her fourth semester with a 10.0 average and is taking computer programing.  This remarkable young woman has found time among her studies to participate in a national essay competition, a photography contest and  to participate as a public speaker for the school and community.  She also worked on a reforestration project.  Zayda says she is grateful for the help she receives from the scholarship.       
 

               
          MARIO ALBERTO DOMINGUEZ RUIZ

Sixteen year old Mario is from Miraflores and is studing technical tourism at CECYT in Santiago.  His father is a bricklayer and his mother is a house wife.  He wants to make them proud of him by continuing his education.  There is not enough income in his home to support the studies for him and his three brothers.  Mario is a good student and maintains a 9.19 grade point average.  He says the scholarship is a great opportunity for him to contiune his schooling.

                                                                   

             
             CARLOS AUGUSTO MARTINEZ LUCERO

Carlos requested the help of a scholarship because the income in his household is not sufficient to cover the costs for him to remain in school.  He has a steady job at a local resturant and works hard help with his school expenses.  He says that working benefits him in some ways but it takes time away from his studies, however, he maintains an 8.6 average.  He lives in Los Barriles and has five sibblings.  His father is a teacher at a secondario school.  He hopes to continue his education at the college level with the goal of having a career in business management.

                
               LUIS ANGEL VERDUZCO GALVAN

Angel's large family, consisting of his mother,father and six brothers, lives in Miraflores.  He wants to be someone in his life, to have a job and be able to help his parents.  He studies hard and maintains a grade point average of 9.3.  Angel says he wanted, and very much needed, the scholarship and the help it would provide to allow him to continue his studies

              
               DANIA BERNICE MENDEZ AMAO

Dania lives with her single mother, her twin Veronica and two other sisters in San Antonio.  They live with her grandparents since her mother does not have stable work.  She is a student at Alejandro Meza Leon's secondary and her grades are excellent with a 9.9 grade point average.  She hopes to become a teacher and loves mathmatics, but in order to contiune towards her goal, she needs the financial help the scholarship provides.

                 
                  VERONICA ESMERALDA MENDEZ AMAO

Like her twin Dania, Veronica is a student ar Alejandro Meza Leon's and maintains a 9.9 grade point average.  She says her families economy is difficult and without the help of the scholarship, she would not be able to continue her education.  With her grandparents help, they have survived.  Veronica hopes to continue her education and have a degree in buisness administration because that career has a relationship with mathmatics, her favorite subject.