Fernando has graduated and is now a licensed accountant and couldn't be more proud. These are photos with his mom, who was able to attend his final graduation ceremony.  We are so proud of him!  Congratulations Fernando!!

Thanks to all of the generous sponsors who donated for Fernando to reach his dreams.

The Isla Mujeres Scholarship Program has four students who will be graduating in the next few months. The pandemic and having to take almost 2 years of courses online caused their graduation dates to move out a bit. We are so proud that these students represent the Isla Mujeres Scholarship Program.

🧑🏿‍🎓 Alexis will be receiving his masters degree in Hospitality Management. Alexis did his internship at Casa Sirena. He also worked at Casa Sirena to earn some income to help with his expenses.
👩🏽‍🎓 Tamara’s degree is Graphic Design and Digital Animation. She has already illustrated a children’s book. Tamara speaks and writes excellent English.
👩🏽‍🎓 Michelle’s degree will be Commerce and Business. Michelle just wrote that she was enjoying her vacation break with her family.
👩🏽‍🎓 Paloma is studying Accounting at University in Valladolid.  Her Father is a taxi driver on Isla and her Mother is living in Valladolid at this time, with Paloma, earning a living by making and selling desserts. Her grades are very high and Paloma has an attitude that can be described as happy and excited. 

We applaud these students. They’ve worked very hard to get to where they are today. ​

One of the Isla Mujeres Scholarship Program’s newest students is Juan nicknamed Kalvin. Kalvin is attending university in Cancun studying for a degree in business management. He had taken some pre-nursing courses but decided nursing was really not for him. We are in need of several sponsors to help Kalvin meet his financial commitments to attend university. 

One of the best things about becoming a sponsor in the program is that you not only help the student achieve their goals, you also make their dreams come true. For as little as $30 a month you you can change a young Isleaños life. A requirement for the students in the program is that at least once a month they need to write an email to their sponsors. You learn from these emails what’s going on in the students life and their university progression.​

I am told that Kalvin is a wonderful dancer. I asked him to send a photo and he sent the one below.

​Karen Rosenberg, the Captain of Team Geovanny shared this amazing news with the team.

“Felicidades to Geovanny for his diligence and dedication to his studies resulting in a cumulative GPA of 9.56! (out of 10!) My hunch is that he is first in his class but that has not been announced yet. He will graduate soon with a Degree in Psychology and pursuit his professional dream as a Licensed Psychologist !

Geovanny has also completed during the final months three specialty courses:. Crisis intervention and suicide program, behavior therapy (TCC)  and Clinical and educational  psychology.

Geovanny excels in everything he does. So it’s no surprise that he had these results. Congratulations Geovanny! You worked hard to accomplish this while continuing to support the Isla Mujeres Diabetes Clinic and everything else you do. We are all very proud of you! 👏 👨🏽‍🎓

 The 5th annual ‘Sirena Soirée’ Cocktail Party Fundraiser was a fabulous, grand success! Due to lingering Covid precautions, we hosted three smaller events instead of our usual one. The smaller groupings were extremely enjoyable and made for more intimate conversations and connections. The atmosphere of the rooftop bar of Casa Sirena is an ideal place to enjoy a cocktail and a beautiful Isla Mujeres sunset.

Our guest student for the Friday Happy Hour was Alexis and Tamara joined us on Saturday. Party guests loved meeting the students and hearing them speak a little about how the Scholarship Program has changed their lives. We are so proud of our students who have worked so hard to be awarded these scholarships and Alexis and Tamara represented them well.
 

Guests were invited to purchase tickets to bid on beautiful prize baskets which included locally purchased straw bags and hats, Isla restaurants, a snorkeling trip, colorful sarongs, handmade jewelry, liquor, and more.

Our live events this year raised $2448 US. These funds will go into our General Funds, which pay for new computers for our students, graduation expenses, semester registration fees, and unexpected expenses that pop up. Thank you again to everyone who participated. You are changing lives and making a difference! XOXO Jana
 

A huge and heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to everyone who helped, donated, participated and attended. Steve Broin, Maggie Washa, Jackie Conlon, Pam Baldwin, Kelley Glasner, Deb Landfear, Bev Willard, Robyn Krentz, Carl Krentz, Brent Kraushar, Steve Carlsen Photos, Pat Scully, Rinconcito Kahlo Restaurant, Laura Mapchick and Perry McFarlin, Hortensia and her daughters, Aqua Adventures, North Garden Restaurant, Javi’s Cantina, Sardinian Smile Ristorante, Guru Beach Club, Sonny’s Pizza, DeNuccio’s Restaurant, Olivia Restaurant.
 

Once a year our Students, Sponsors and Families gather for our Family Fiesta at Tom and Maggie Washa’s home. Although our group has grown each year, we were able to add extra seating in the yard to accommodate everyone comfortably.  Ask any sponsor who has attended one of these events and they will tell you that it was the highlight of their trip to Isla. I challenge anyone to attend and listen to the students speak without shedding at least one tear. It’s a very emotional and beautiful thing.

*I love seeing our alumni students, (some who I have known for 15 years and Maggie has known several since childhood!) and catch up with them.
 
*It’s a great opportunity to meet our new students, who I am always excited about.
 
 *It warms my heart to see sponsors connect with their students who are like family or the excitement of the sponsor and student meeting for the first time.  
 
*The Moms of the students cook all of the delicious food for us! These ladies can cook and a special homemade meal is so meaningful.
 
*I really enjoy watching the children running around playing. A plus at any party.
 
Sending out gratitude to Maggie and Tom Washa, our students incredible Moms, students who traveled to attend, and Jim Guy for his photography skills.

Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring a student!