Help a Deserving Student Finish his Ph.D.

In the fall of 2011, I kept a quiet, often somber tenth grader behind after English class because he’d talked back to me when I asked him to move seats. The student’s responses to my questions about his behavior floored me - not only did he have an extremely valid reason for not changing seats, but he had other obstacles that would have kept many young people away from school entirely.

Over the next three years that I had the privilege of teaching him, this young man slowly became a new kid. He went from a lackluster student who half-heartedly went through the motions at school to a motivated, curious young man who was passionate about education and concerned with the inequities in our country. I was not at all surprised when he earned a full ride to Wabash College, and I was exceptionally proud when he mustered up the courage to leave behind the family he helps support in order to acquire the knowledge and skills to change some of the injustices he witnessed in his community on the Texas-Mexico border.

Fast forward 10 years: this amazing young man and I have stayed in touch, and I’ve watched with pride as he completed his Bachelor Degree in Political Science at Wabash College, Master Degree in Political Science at UCLA and is now nearly finished with his Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA. Over the years, he has been the recipient of various fellowships, including UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Award, UCLA Fellowship in Political Psychology, American Political Science Association Fund for Latino Scholarship, UCLA Hoffernburg Fellowship, UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship Award, Wabash College F. Michael Cassel Political Science Award, UCLA Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, American Political Science Association Minority Fellowship, and Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Scholar. Clearly this kid is going places!

In a few weeks, he is set to head back to California to continue his crucial research and work; however, he needs approximately $2800 to pay for travel expenses and set up his living space for his final year. This amount of money should not prohibit anyone from reaching their goals, and certainly not after accomplishing so much. I’m certain that my caring network of family, friends, colleagues, and our network of good folks can raise this amount quickly to get him on the road to LA and settled in again once he's there.

Please consider a donation that will truly make a difference, not only to one young man from South Texas, but to anyone who cares about creating a better, more equitable future. I’m absolutely positive that this young person is creating change with his life - for himself, his family (he has seven siblings, and the youngest is just a toddler), for Latinos/as, and for our country - and I’m hoping we can all pitch in to help him get there.