SUCCESS!!! Family Bowling Night 2014!

Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday, November 22nd for our annual Family Bowling night with your friends and family.   The event was a success and FUN, as expected.  We raised $170 from the actual event and $106 from a small raffle held at the end of the event. 

Special thank you to Evelyn Mosquea-Taveras for beautifully organizing and executing the event with her family and friends supporting her efforts.  Also, a big thank you to the board members who came out to the event with their friends and family.

SMBS Inc. Board members, from left to right, Evelyn Mosquea-Taveras, Diana Diaz-Torres, 

Fanny Mera, James Carroll and Jeanette Aquino-Reveron.

S.M.B.S. Inc. ANNUAL BOARD MEETING 2014

We truly had a very productive annual meeting on Friday, September 12, 2014.  Thank you to our board member Karen for lending us the space to meet and to the eight board members who were present.  We had four signed proxies, board members who entrusted their peers to make decisions for them regarding the organization on this day.

The board was able to develop a year's worth of planned fundraising activities, some old and some new. We are all looking forward to our Annual Dinner Dance (April 2015), which not only brings funds to the organization but show cases our scholars and recognizes as well as celebrates our board members and their year long efforts.  Other fundraising events coming back include Chillis night out (Feb. 2015), Yankee game (June 2015), Family Bowling (Nov. 2015) and our Annual Holiday Raffle (Dec. 2015).   New events added to our calendar include the Nets Basketball Game (Feb. 2015), which we have already successfully sold approximately 48 tickets up to date, and our Sight and Sound trip (March 2015) to Lancaster, PA.

Congratulations to our newly elected board member and former scholar, Areta Gjcali, for accepting and providing invaluable input from the view point of a scholarship recipient during the board meeting.  Welcome from all of us. We are proud and honor to have you as well as the other scholars, Richard Bohan and Christine Rivas, for their return and continued support.  We are happy to report we have a new secretary, James Carroll, and treasurer, Alexandria Agrinsoni, who have committed to lead our organization as officers for this upcoming year.

2014 is not over yet so look out for our Annual Holiday Raffle drawing in December 2014.  You can get your ticket from your favorite board member before the 23rd of December.   The price of a ticket if $1 each or $5 for a booklet of six tickets.   Prizes are a 40" flat screen television, DS handheld electronic game and a $100 gift card.   It is your our last fundraiser for this year.  Also, tickets for our March Sight and Sound trip are currently being sold please provide half of ticket price ($65) deposit before the end of 2014 to secure our date in 2015.

If you would like to make a donation before the end of 2014, you can make your tax deductible gift to:

The Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship, Inc.
P.O. Box 370153
Brooklyn, New York 11237

Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season!

2014 Scholar Update: Marianna Beaute

August 23rd, 2014

Dear SMBS Scholarship Committee/Board,

First and foremost, I would really like to thank the committee for everything they do for the organization. I was able to use the scholarship towards paying my tuition fees. Being a Stephanie Marie Burgos Inc. Scholarship Recipient means a great deal to me. It means that I have the responsibility to accomplish my goals and dreams, while giving back to my community. It also means that I should not take for granted the opportunities that I am afforded and that though there may be adversities, to always get back up. That sounds easy, but over the past year has been one of the toughest times for me and acknowledging my responsibilities has made it easier for me.

I remember the feeling of going to my school with my mom and her leaving that afternoon. I remember the hectic, but fun schedule of orientation. I had no idea of the journey I was getting ready to embark on. Although we try to prepare ourselves and people tell us what college is like, I truly believe that it is unique to everyone. This past fall I took four classes: Biology, English: Women and Culture, French, and Calculus I. The spring semester I took the next level of those courses. I will say that I am very disappointed on how I performed my freshmen year. I was in a school whose students were predominantly Caucasian. These students went to private schools and took some of the first level classes simply to get an easy A, classes that I struggled in. I felt like I didn’t belong there and that my high school did a terrible job at preparing me, especially when it came to analyzing and writing dissertations. All my life school was the only stable part. Things came easy to me, and I really did not have to study much for anything. I could always count on earning good grades and this time in my life, I couldn’t even count on that.  I dealt with guilt of leaving my family, and some friends and family feeling that I thought I was better than them because of the school I went to and the race of those around me. In addition, being that I was always on the go, whether it was to the library, dorm, classes, and club meetings, I didn’t say in contact with too many of my friends and I also didn’t create too many new friendships, leaving me to eat alone in the dining hall or attend events alone.

Though I experienced many difficulties and adjustments, I think they were crucial to helping me differentiate college from high school and learn more about myself. I had to learn exactly how I study best. One thing that I realized was that having study groups is beneficial, but I have to choose wisely who I study with. Through these obstacles I remembered where I wanted to go in life and kept reminding myself that “ Every fallback is a setback for a comeback” as someone once said to me. My transcript does not reflect what I've learned throughout this previous year. That being said, I am going into this sophomore year with a bright attitude and much wisdom from last year and I know I will do better. 

This past summer I completed an internship through the YouthMade Program at a technological company called Ombligo. At Ombligo, my role was that of a sales and marketing researcher and analyst. For two weeks, we received 60 hours of training with career and job development to prepare us to be matched to an internship. At Ombligo, my tasks included:attending weekly sales meeting, monitoring online listings on Ebay and Amazon and competitors’ listings and prices, refining Ombligo’s online listings as well as listing new products to increase sales, and contacting online customers and followers. Though initially Ombligo was not one of my choices to intern, I have learned a great deal and gained a lot of experience with marketing as well as working with Microsoft Excel. What I really enjoyed was understanding different purposes of technology that I take for granted and never understood, as well as being treated as part of a team and realizing how my work contributed to the success of the company.

As of right now I will be taking up five classes, which are Chemistry, Greek Art and Architecture, Comparative Literature, and French II, and Calculus III. I am excited for this upcoming semester and I look forward to learning a lot more.I would like to thank this wonderful Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship that allows me to have this family of people who I can look to for encouragement.

Sincerely,

Marianna Beaute

Sophomore at Barnard College
SMBS Scholar 2013

Marianna you are as brilliant as you are beautiful.  You are like the rest of the scholars an inspiration to many and we are proud to have you in our SMBS family.  Keep up the great work!!!

2014 Scholar Update: Alexander Martin

September 2014

Dear Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Board,

My years at St. Lawrence University have reached its halfway point. At this point, the opportunities that are apparent to me now are things I would have deemed impossible to attain 2 years ago. I can seriously think about graduate school, traveling doing research after college or my favorite, the unknown possibilities I have yet to come across. This past academic year has been a defining one. I pushed myself through an obstacle class that was holding me back from attaining my full pledged pursuit of my biology major. I petitioned my schools biology department to allow me to get into the second semester of class I failed my freshman year due to my success in another biology class. They agreed and watched me closely. The professors were patient and helpful, the studying hours grueling, but the reward… so sweet. I worked for the university as well this past year as what St. Lawrence calls Community Assistants (CAs for short) but what many other schools call RAs. That in itself was a challenging job that kept me on my toes but also forced me to do my best not only in academics but my presence on campus and community.

The money that I received last year from the scholarship foundation I used to get those big beginning of the year expenses such as school supplies, warm clothes for the harsh winters, and textbooks if the financial aid I receive from HEOP doesn’t cover the full expense. It looks like this school year with me taking two 400 level biology classes, a chemistry class, and a 200 level music class to finish off my music major it looks like I will be buying quite a bit of textbooks this year. In addition, I have been working for St. Lawrence this entire summer which is why I am never in the city. It does trouble me that the events put on by the scholarship foundation are events that are hard for me to reach and the time frame of which they are placed do not align with my schedule. I am not implying that they should be scheduled around me, I am not the center of the universe nor the president of the U.S. but it troubles me in the sense that because I go to a school so far away and that I work a lot I am missing out on the bonding opportunities presented at these events not to mention just seeing everyone again. 
I am proud to be a Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Recipient and I want to express that in an environment where everyone around me understands. I sincerely appreciate the help that you guys provide not only to me but to my other scholars.

Sincerely,

Alexander M. Martin ‘16

Community Assistant & Information Desk Assistant

St. Lawrence University

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

SMBS Scholar 2012

We are so proud of you Alex and eager to continue to hear where you are taking your future.  We are truly ready to take that ride with you.  Keep up the great work!!!

2014 Scholar Update: Areta Gjicali

September 2014

Dear Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Family,

This year has been the most challenging and best year of my life. I know that sentence sounds predictable but there is no other way to express it. In May, I graduated from City College with a degree in media communication. Before graduating, I received my acceptance letter to graduate school at one of the top universities in the nation, if not the world; Columbia University. Never in my dreams did I think I would get in. I started out college with a minor setback of being undocumented, where I felt I had to work twice as hard as the student next to me who was an American citizen. After receiving my papers, that was good enough for me. I was grateful to belong to the country that I have so much love for. As my senior year was quickly approaching, I realized all the opportunities I had, all the things that I could do, all the things I have yet to learn! When I received my acceptance letter, I knew it was something I had to pursue. Not only for myself, or for my family, but for every student that is incapable. For those that are undocumented, for all the children that lack a proper education in this world and for all the boys and girls whose lives were cut short, like Stephanie, who I never met, but continuously think about how proud she would be. Thank you to the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship for all your support. Thank you for investing in education and for believing in us.

"Let us pick up our books and pens, they are our most powerful weapons." Malala Yousafzai 

All the best,

Areta Gjicali 

SMBS Scholar 2010 

Congratulations to Areta on your graduation from City College and acceptance into graduate school at Columbia University.   WE are all very proud of you.   Best wishes on all your future endeavors. 

Also, Thank you for continuing to be part of our SMBS family and accepting to be our newest board member. 

2014 Annual Yankee Game Fundraiser

 A night for winners!

Great game for New York Yankees as they win against Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, July 19th.  Our fundraiser was also a funfilled success with twenty-seven tickets sold out of thirty and earnings of $210 plus $25 donation.

Thank you to all who supported the events.  Most importantly thank you to Fanny and James for gathering friends and family to support our cause.

Can't wait for another great game next year!

Unfortunately, our next fundraiser, Atlantic city bus trip has been indefinitely canceled and fully refunded as the company sold our contract and was unable to give us our contracted date on the 27th of September.

Next fundraiser will be our Annual Family Bowling on Saturday, November 22nd so keep an eye out for further details!

Lucky #7 -- 2014 Scholar Selection: Lisaul Diaz

Last month, our 7th Scholar was selected.  His name is Lisaul Diaz, from the Bronx Academy of Letters High School.

Lisaul was described by his math teacher as a student  with "great integrity, a deep thinker who cares passionately about learning, a true renanissance man who has only just begun to explore the possibilities that await him".

The board, including Alex Agrinsoni and Diana Diaz-Torres, reviewed his application and were  impressed with his ability to bring light and positivity to experiences most would just describe as difficult hardships.  He finds beauty in what some may describe as ugly from the area he grew up in the South Bronx.  His love for his culture was also evident.  The essay did not reflect a line by line descrpition of how challenges has impeded him instead described how his experiences has empowered him.  Something we did not find in any other essay.

We were honored to present Lisaul with the first installment of the scholarship and a certificate from our organization on Tuesday June 10th at an award ceremony at his high school, Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters.  Karen Texiera Hernandez, one of our board members, presented Lisaul after giving a beautiful speech about the organization and reason Lisaul was selected to be our seventh scholarship recepient.

Lisaul will be heading to SUNY Albany in the fall 2014.  We are excited for him to start this new chapter of his academic life and glad we can be a support to him.

His application was selected from a strong aspiring group of 22 applicants citywide from the many scholarship applications sent to all of the public schools in the five boroughs of New York City.  We wish the rest of the applicants the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.

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