Isla Scholarship Program Update - Part One

Hello from the Isla Scholarship Program,
All is well as we transition, graduating two more students and taking on two new ones. It is always a busy time for us administrators of the Scholarship Program. We are very proud to have graduated Miguel with a law degree from the university in Merida. Paola will be finishing her dental internships next month, when she will be called Dr. Paola and be able to practice dentistry. We are so proud of both these young adults and all that they have worked so hard to accomplish!
Now we have chosen two new students who are beginning their scholarships with us. Both started their studies without financial help and soon realized they would have to drop out unless help came from someplace. (In Mexico, once a student starts out in an academic program, they must finish it without taking a break. If they suspend their studies for whatever reason, they lose all earned credits and must start completely over again. This makes it impossible to take a break to earn enough to finish their university education.) And this is where our Scholarship Program can come in and help.

I would like to present these two students, with the hope that you might be interested in helping sponsor them. We form a 'team' for each student and the monthly support from these teams keeps the student in school. Sponsors commit to as little as $30/month up to $100/mo or more to help their student. In return the students keep a good GPA and write a letter to their team of sponsors every month. If/when you are on Isla, you will get to meet with your student and get to know them personally! It is a wonderful intercultural exchange as families meet families and a young adult gets an education they could only dream about. We hope you keep reading and choose a student!
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👩🏻‍💻Tamara came to us in October of last year asking for financial help. She lives here on Isla Mujeres and goes to school in Cancun, studying graphic design. When the pandemic hit, her family became unable to continue supporting her because both parents lost their employment. She was able to find a very part time job but it wasn't enough to pay her expenses. She continued going to school even as she began going into debt, to get all the education she could and she hoped for a miracle so she could continue somehow. But she was facing the possibility of having to give up her dream when the University would not let her register for fall classes unless she began payments on past tuition due. She started a go-fund-me type page as she desperately looked for any way to stay in school. And she found us. We liked her strength, perseverance and big dreams. When asked what her dream for her future is, she said: "I want to be able to finish my University studies, to be able to travel to foreign places and explore new ideas and to be able to create and learn more about design. I want to have my own brand and my own business and create and sell my professional services as a graphic designer."
She has a GPA of 8.5 and is fluent in English! (This is a sign she is not afraid to fearlessly take chances, make mistakes and persevere when she has a goal.) We are proud to add Tamara to our scholarship program and hope to add a handful of new sponsors to her team. You will be well rewarded!