Building My Future As an Engineer

It's official I am completely enrolled, all cost

it was pay off! Thanks again to all.

I’m going to NOTRE DAME!! Thank you again to everyone who contributed. The goal was reached in LESS THAN A WEEK. I can’t express my excitement and my happiness to know that people will support me in my academic career no matter if they know me or don’t know me personally. It is amazing to know that all of you are important in this goal. I will not let any of you down! Thank you so much for your support in the last few days.

UPDATE : the fee for acceptance the program and the enrollment $300 is already paid (thank you so much) and I received the confirmation and several forms for fill out and a new due date for the final tuition payment wich is June 2. thanks to God I have a little more time.

My name is Sara Carmona Melendez, and I am a sophomore at Bloomington High School South. I am immigrant from Venezuela and I am in the political asylum process for refugees. I aspire to become an Environmental and Ecological Engineer in the future, and I am trying to prepare myself as much as I can.

I have recently been accepted into a Notre Dame University summer program called Fighting for the Future of Our Planet. However, I was not able to receive financial aid or any scholarships for this program because my current status and without this aid I won’t be able to attend. This is an incredibly exclusive opportunity for me to expand my knowledge of environmental sciences and engineering.

I’d like to mention that there are several things I do that prove my dedication for fighting for the planet we live in. I am part of the SPROUTS program at South, where I go to a local elementary school to talk to 4th and 5th graders about the importance of taking care of our environment. I believe that teaching others about the negative impacts of daily human behaviors is crucial to understanding and addressing the global climate crisis.

My dream and passion has always been focused on the STEM field. I’m part of the Robotics team at my high school, and I am proud to represent the Hispanic and Latino community in these competitive intellectual environments. I am president of the AMIGOS club, a club focused in making students from Hispanic backgrounds feel welcomed in a predominantly white high school. Being involved in my school and community is really important to me. This is why I often attend meetings from the Board and Commissions in Bloomington, to give adults the perspective of a high school student and to adress issues around town.

I am incredibly happy to have been accepted in this Notre Dame summer program. The field of STEM is a highly competitive field that doesn’t get a lot of representation for young women and even the Latino community. The ND Summer Scholars program is among the top 20 most prestigious summer programs, and I am extremely proud to take part in it as an immigrant student myself. However, I don’t want to put my family through the financial struggle of sending me to South Bend to complete my education on Environmental and Ecological studies.

I have been given until May 15th to confirm my attendance to this program.

I hope I can count on you for your support.

- Sara Carmona

The SPROUTS program allows children ages 8-10 to learn about the importance of making a change in our daily lives to improve the state of our planet.

I am a proud Latina, making a change in my school by representing the Latino community from events like Diversity Day, during Hispanic Heritage month, and at the Commission of Hispanic and Latino Affairs.

I pursue my love for engineering and math in and out of school. With a 4.25 GPA and several extracurriculars including robotics, I am able to share my intellectual skills with the world.