2013 Scholar Annual Update: Jennifer Moran

Jennifer Moran

SMBS Inc. Scholarship Recipient  2011

Dear SMBS Scholarship Inc.,

​This past second year attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice has been a tough and great lesson for me. I enjoyed meeting more new people, more students in relevance to my major and excellent professors. I didn’t do as great as I did last year but I will do better this upcoming semester. I tried taking up five classes instead of my usual four, but as the year continued I ran into difficulties. I noticed that I am not used to five classes and it is more work. My advisor told me that there is no need to rush with anything in life because if you do you’ll only end up messing yourself up, which is true. I did take her advice into consideration and that is what I am doing this semester. I will be taking up four classes which are Psychology, History, Literature and Sociology. I am truly excited for this new upcoming semester and can’t wait to give it my all. I know that I will not graduate on time, but all that counts is that I will graduate in the end and have the career of my dreams even if it takes years.

​I wouldn’t be where I am at now with the help of this wonderful Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship. This has been a great help to me and has showed me different beautiful things. I am thankful for having this little family along with the other wonderful scholars. Every time we all hang out it’s a great time, I get to hear all their adventures, struggles, and academic achievements and as the years go by I get to meet a new scholar as well which is exciting.

​

       Through last year until now I have been growing wiser and wiser. Life is wonderful at its times but can be a struggle as well. I have kept this quote in my head and its inked on my arm “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have”, this is to remind me that I am doing all this hard work for a purpose and a better future and life for myself and my family. Thank you again to my little family and this wonderful scholarship in the name of Stephanie. SEE you all next year until my next update.

Jennifer Moran

Junior at John Jay College

2013 Scholar Annual Update: Areta Gjicali

Areta Gjicali

SMBS Inc. Scholarship Recipient 2010



Dear SMBS Inc.,

I spend thirty minutes looking at the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship blog and I realized I’ve come such a long way with academics, social encounters and life experiences in general. I finished my third year and after this summer, I’m going to wrap up my undergraduate experience. I cannot believe it’s been three years since I received my award from the Stephanie Maries Burgos Organization. This year, I learned so much- more than I can express on a blog that’s limited in word count.



This past year, I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain, where I met incredible people filled with joy, compassion and sincerity. I met students from Holland, Taiwan, Germany and various parts of Spain. Although my abroad experience was short, I was able to learn that Spanish airports are slow, basic resources don’t come easy and there are truly incredible people out there.



After my international journey, I got the incredible opportunity to intern at MTV Networks under their Advertising Sales division. This experience taught me about the sales industry, helped me uncover some new skills and reminded me that with hard work, motivation and a little bit of luck- people can achieve anything.



At last, after my internship at MTV, I received a summer internship at Seventeen magazine- in their Publishing department. This internship has been everything I hoped it would be. I manage blogs, run errands, assist with tabbing on various advertisements, sit in on meetings and sales calls and receive free stuff. This internship helped me discover where I want to establish myself after graduation; the print industry. Although I know you’re going to say “print is dying” (I get it all the time, I don’t think that will ever happen- or if it does, I’ll deal with it when I get there.

Thank you so much for everything.

I think Stephanie would be proud.


Best,

Areta Gjicali
Senior at City College of New York

Atlantic City Bus Trip Fundraiser 2013

Despite concerns with the weather, Saturday, August 10th was the perfect day for a bus ride to Atlantic City.  The trip, which included entertainment movies provided by our guests and light refreshments provided by our bus leader, Albert Gomez, was a comfortable and smooth ride without any traffic.  We did great time and were able to enjoy the full day.

Some of us enjoyed the board walk and beach, while others shopped until they dropped.  But, I think everyone took advantage of their $20 voucher to play at Trump Plaza.  Some were lucky not only to win a couple of bucks but most felt lucky to enjoy a great day out while supporting a great cause.  Besides we ended the day with being able to charge our phones, one of the super cool features of the bus, and some won some pretty cool raffle prizes.

With board members on board, Charmaine Mayers, Jessica Morales and Diana Diaz-Torres, the bus ride was a success raising a total of $1,190 in sold seats and $390 in direct donations to the organization to support the event. 

Thank you to everyone who attended and to those who contributed even though they were unable to attend.  Without your support we are nothing. 

God bless!

2013 Summer Peer-Mentoring Program: Lunar Park, Coney Island - Brooklyn, NY

A few weeks ago, I took a few of our wonderful scholars to Lunar Park in Coney Island. But that’s not all! Luna Park was kind enough to donate four FREE 4 hour unlimited ride vouchers to the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship. A big round of applause for them!

Together with Jennifer Moran and Marianne Beaute—who brought a long her friend, Jiamin Zena—Team SMBS sought out to conquer the extreme roller coasters of Lunar Park and the iconic Cyclone! Unfortunately, unlike our other brave scholars, I am a chicken. The idea of going on big scary roller coasters petrifies me.

But what I love about Lunar Park is that the rides are conveniently rated by intensity. The rides are organized into four categories, Extreme Thrill, High Thrill, Moderate Thrill, and Mild Thrill. This means that there’s rides in Lunar Park for everyone and for all ages. There are also a lot of games where you can win prizes, and of course concession stands that help you reload on energy after a day of extreme thrills!

Anyway, Team SMBS had a game plan, we were going to pace ourselves. After every super fast ride we went on, we took a breather and went on a slower one. Doing this made us really relish the rides and their different speeds and slopes. It also saved us from getting too sick by riding all the extreme rides at once. It’s for this reason that I highly recommend getting the 4 hour unlimited ride wristbands because it gives you access to the majority of the rides at the park. It also saves you the hassle of having to keep track of your tokens, and how many rides you can go on.

We all liked the wide variety of rides the park had to offer. For example, there’s the Brooklyn Flyer which sends you up one hundred feet over Coney Island giving you a nice view of the area. It was rated ‘High Thrills’, but I had an adrenaline rush just seeing all of the park from such a great height. If you also like to get wet, the scholars and I would recommend the Wild River and the Speed Boat. Perfect for a hot summer day in August!

Another thing that impressed me about Lunar Park was that the food was reasonably priced. In other amusement parks, you would end up spending a fortune on food. Here, you can get a five dollar burger, which is not only reasonable, but the burger was quite tasty. My compliments to the chef!

Overall, the scholars and I had a blast, and there’s something in Lunar Park for everyone—even scaredy cats like me! The scholars and I would like to once again thank Lunar Park for generously donating vouchers to such a fabulous organization as SMBS!

Written by: Richard Bohan
                  Former S.M.B.S. Scholar (2009) & Current Board Member (2013)

Spring 2013 Peer Mentorship Program

Movie Night with S.M.B.S. Inc. Scholars.

This spring 2013 peer mentor program event was extra special as we welcomed second year scholarship recipient Richard Bohan as a board member.  Richard just returned from graduating with his bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence College. 

Richard organized and facilitated a movie night event on Saturday, June 2013.

The scholars found this event one of the BEST outings thus far.  It was surprising and exciting for the scholars to see Richard heading this event.  It was exciting for the board to have such energetic and fresh ideas on board.

Welcome on the board Richard!  

Message from Richard Bohan:

​Greetings! My name is Richard Bohan, but  please call me Richie! I'm a former scholar and  current board member of the Stephanie Marie Burgos  Scholarship. A few weeks ago, I took the scholars  out for dinner and a movie. The result was  fantastic!

​This was the very first outing for our  newest scholar Marianna Beatu. The scholarship  hosts these trips and events every year known as a  Peer and Menter activity. I went on a couple of  Peer and Mentor activities myself when I was a  scholar, so I was very excited to finally be able  to host one!

​First, we met at Times Square and ate in a  restaurant called Bravo Pizza. It was quite cozy  inside, but the atmosphere was lovely, and you can  never go wrong with New York-style pizza! Since all  of us go to different schools (some as far as six  hours away!) it was nice to catch up and talk about  our experiences. As a recent graduate, I was able  to talk about my experiences job hunting and  preparing for the next step after college.  

​After we dined, we then walked to AMC  theater and decided to pick a movie. It was a tough  call, but everyone decided that After Earth looked  very interesting.

​The movie stared Will Smith as well as his  son Jaden Smith, who looks uncannily like his  father. It was a very interesting science fiction  film that was about the bonds between father and  son.

​The movie also had very scary aliens and  this was stressful for Richie, who hid behind his  sweater during the more suspensful parts. Luckily,  the other scholars were much braver than I was!

​Overall, the film was a lot of fun and  everyone really enjoyed the suspense of the plot.  It was really nice to see everyone, and I can't  wait to host another Peer and Mentor activity!

-Richard Bohan

Yankee Game Fundraiser 2013

Baseball FUN-raiser.

One of our new board members, James Carroll, organized and facilitated our very first baseball fundraiser at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, June 22, 2013.

Thank you James for selecting such great seats and carrying this event out to completion. And, thank you to everyone who joined in the fun and helped raise a total of $240 in ticket sales and $20 in donation to the event.

Board member James Carroll with his mom & one of our great 

supporters, Barbara Carroll.

Great view!!!

Board members Karen Texeira & Ashanti Rivera

2013 Sixth Scholarship Recipient: Marianna Beaute

Presenting our 6th scholarship recipient.


We were honored to present our sixth scholarship recipient on Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at Clara Barton High School Awards Night in Brooklyn, New York.

Marianna Beaute took home almost all the awards that evening but the highlight was the S.M.B.S. Inc. presentation by our executive director and board member Diana Diaz-Torres. Ms. Diaz-Torres presented Marianna with a certificate from the organization to recognize Marianna's efforts in achieving academic success despite advertise in her life. But, most importantly Marianna was welcomed to the S.M.B.S. family. The heartfelt speech was about Stephanie's legacy and the mission of the scholarship.

Marianna was one of over thirty applicants. Although there were multiple excellent applications, Marianna was a prime choice.

"The goal of our organization is to eventually select multiple students, not just one recipient a year", said Ms. Diaz-Torres. It sounds like the organization is well on its way with its wonderful supporters, including existing and new board members, as well as the generous donors and supporters, many of which are friends and family.

Welcome to the S.M.B.S. Inc. family Marianna Beaute. Congratulations on your graduation from Clara Barton High School.  Best wishes on your first year of college at Barnard College.