AMAZON SMILE: Please Select Our Organization

 

Imagine every purchase you make on AMAZON SMILE a portion goes to our organization with no additional charge or fee to you.   Please join us in supporting our organization.  

Every little bit counts.

Thank you for selecting The Stephanie Burgos Scholarship Inc. as your charity of choice.

Happy Holidays!!! 

Scholars Update 2021

For many, these past two years have been one of many trials and turbulences but our scholars have managed to rise above in their struggles to achieve their academic and career pursuits and live out their dreams of service to others despite what was going on around them.

   Here are the updates of these amazing young ladies: 

Lewinski Lopez

     "I graduated this past July with a double major in English, Performance & Communications from St. Lawrence University. I was not able to go to my graduation but I was lucky enough to have gotten a job straight after graduation. 

    I moved to Brooklyn and got a job as a teacher resident at a charter school. I worked there for 3 months and then decided to change career paths because I did not think I could go through grad school for teaching while I worked full time. I pressed pause on grad school and teaching so I could switched over to real estate. 

    Now, I work as an Administrative Assistant to a small real estate company in Manhattan. My new goal is to learn as much as I can at this new job and see how I like real estate. If I do like real estate, I plan on getting my masters in Business. I was lucky to be hired by a small company that wants me to grow with them. If I learned anything from changing professions and goals it’s that it’s okay to change your mind as long as you’re pursuing something you like. Change your mind a million times but make sure you’re doing what you love. 

    I am so grateful to my family, friends, mentors and scholarship people who stood by me throughout my college journey. It can be difficult to figure out what you are going to do for the rest of your life but I was lucky enough to be surrounded by great people who supported me. Thank you to everyone who checked up on me and who supported me along the way, this is only the beginning and to anyone wondering if it’s worth it, it is. You have to push through and keep going until you finish your goals even if you change your mind." 

CONGRATULATIONS LEWINSKI ON YOUR GRADUATION

We are proud to see you grow over the years and can't wait to see what wonderful things you will continue to do from here on.  Much luck and success in all you do! 

 Darcelis Gutierrez

"This past year I made Dean's list and was promoted from being an assistant teaching artist to working as a Junior Faculty member for the School of Interactive Arts! In this program, I teach high school students how to code and design their own games. However, with the pandemic underway, both teaching and attending school had become a difficult feat for many. Not only was I attending college, thanks to SMBS, but I was also teaching simultaneously in a remote setting. As a student and educator, I had to learn how to adapt quickly. Not only did I have to find the best methods to teach my students but how to learn for my academic classes as well. Nonetheless, because I was given the opportunity to continue my education I was able to learn from my own classes and apply what worked into the ones I lead. Thank you to SMBS, because without them, I wouldn't even have the chance to have the opportunity to learn what I love while teaching others."

Faria Islam

"I am currently a senior at Columbia University, majoring in psychology with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies. This past year has been a meaningful experience. I did research in a psychology lab and studied the difference between religion versus science. I also participated in a club called Globe med that provides healthcare necessities to women in Uganda. I am excited to be a senior, and I am planning to enjoy my last year in college. I would like to thank you SMBS for supporting my journey!" 

Congratulations to ALL our scholars 

for their hard work and perseverance during such difficult times. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How can you help our efforts? 

You are welcome to donate directly to the organization at: 

The Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Inc.

 P.O. Box 370153

 Brooklyn, New York 11237

Or, 

consider donating online on Facebook/Meta on Tuesday, Nov. 30th for "Giving Tuesday", 

where 100% of your donation is given to us via Network for Good.  

AND,

ADD our organization to your AMAZON SMILE account as charity of choice.  There is NO additional charge or cost to you but every time you purchase something this season a portion goes to the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship. 

Thank you again for your support! 

Welcome Our 2021 Scholar!

 

Congratulations to Elizabeth Katayev!!!

    In the late spring 2021, our organization did everything possible to make sure we had a scholarship recipient this year.   We were all at a loss unable to select a 2020 scholar due to the pending pandemic but we made it happen.    Elizabeth Katayev was an easy pick.  An honor student and graduate of Tottenville High School with a diverse and complementary background of leadership and academic excellence.   She is now a freshman at Hofstra University majoring in Psychology with great aspirations.   We are proud to welcome Elizabeth to our family.   

Here is a message of gratitude from Elizabeth: 

"All of my experiences have helped me solidify my career path and course of study. I want to help children and make sure they have coping skills to overcome the challenges in their lives. Also, I want to make sure their parents are equipped emotionally to help their children, so they don’t isolate, detach and avoid life. I will accomplish these goals by first attending Hofstra University to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, then I will pursue a Master’s degree in Childhood Adolescent Psychology. This academic foundation will allow me to open my own private practice, which would afford me the opportunity to work with families regardless of their incomes due to my ability to set a pay scale. Families with lower income should be able to afford proper mental health care. Clearly, I am excited for my future and thankful for all the lessons my past has taught me. I would like to thank the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Inc. for the help, support, and funds provided in order to help me succeed. I am extremely grateful and can’t wait to interact more with all of the members. Thank you!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note due to the pandemic, fundraising has been minimal but we welcome tax deductible donations throughout the year.  You are welcome to donate directly to the organization at: 

The Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship, PO Box 370153, Brooklyn, New York 11237

Or, consider donating online on Facebook/Meta on Tuesday, Nov. 30th for "Giving Tuesday", where 100% of your donation is given to us via Network for Good.  

Thank you again for your support! 

Extension

 

2020 Scholar Updates

"Thank you to SMBS Inc. for providing me with the love and support to get me through 4 years of undergraduate college.  I could not have reached this point without them.  Special thank you to Diana and my mentor, Fanny, for constantly checking in and pushing me to do better.  On to the next chapter of my life!"

~Jennifer Van, Stonybrook Class of 2020 -- Scholar #9  2016

Congratulations Jennifer Van!!! 

____________________________________________________________________

    I am currently still an Admissions Ambassador and a Community Assistant at my school which has helped me develop my professional and leadership skills but I am now remotely doing this.  I was lucky enough to be picked to come back to my campus because otherwise, I would have lost the income I receive from working my two jobs on campus.   As an Admissions Ambassador, I would usually have the opportunity to give tours but now I do remote work where I just write contact letters to incoming students.  My job as a Community Assistant has also changed because I have had the interesting challenge of figuring out how to build connections with those on my floor through zoom. Everyone has zoom fatigue so it can be difficult to get community members to want to come to my meetings. 

    

This scholarship helps me cover the cost of books and this year I will hopefully be able to save it for a rainy day during COVID times.  I hope to continue to further develop my leadership skills going into my last year of college by hosting more creative community-building activities through zoom and getting people to interact with one another as safely as possible.  I am also in the process of job hunting which is definitely interesting but I am hopeful I will find something online.  

~Lewinski Lopez Junior at St. Lawrence University Class of 2021, Scholar #10  2017

____________________________________________________________________

This year is an unprecedented time for everyone. With the spread of the pandemic, many people lost their job, including my father. It was hard for my family to provide financial support for my education. Luckily, I had the S.M.B. scholarship to support me. This scholarship helped me buy books for my classes and buy school supplies such as lab materials. I am learning to spend my money wisely to pay for all my bills and budget to save money for the future. Additionally,  due to the quarantine, I also dealt with poor mental health. My mood was constantly unbalanced, I was not feeling good all the time and I was very stressed. I had support from my family and S.M.B.S Inc. which helped me overcome the difficult time. Inspired by my hardship this year. I decided to join Active Minds, an organization at my school that focuses on raising awareness of mental health and teaching student to take care of their mental health. I also declared my major in psychology which is an interesting field to me because it focuses on human thought processes and behavior and I am continuing my journey in the premed field. Overall, this year tested many people including me. However, I was able to overcome it with the help of my family and the S.M.B. scholarship and although it may sounds cliche, this year taught me to be resilient and never give up. Thank you  S.M.B. scholarship for the support.

~Faria Islam, Columbia University Class of 2022 -- Scholar #11 2018

________________________________________________________________

My first year of college was a complete whirlwind. I was both teaching and learning Game Design at the same time. I was and am currently working at the School of interactive Arts, which is a high school program that teaches college level game design and programming. I was able to use what I learned in class to further help educate my students about Game Design theory and principles. Every time I'd come back to them with a new piece of information or a deeper analysis of a game we were studying, I loved seeing their faces light up. With that said, my education at NYU wouldn't be possible without SMBS, which perfectly helped complete my tuition. Thank you so much, without this I wouldn't have been able to learn so many amazing things that I could apply into my work. As a result, I was promoted twice in the same month from being an Assistant Teaching Artist, to a Teaching Artist, and now a Program Manager! I will always be eternally grateful for SMBS and how much I've been able to progress with your amazing help. 

Thank you, 

~Darcelis Gutierrez, New York University Class of 2023 -- Scholar #12  2019

AMAZON SMILE US!!!

We are sincerely limited in fundraising activities due to the current global health crisis but there is still one that continues to help us...  AMAZON SMILE!!!

Everytime you shop, Amazon gives to your selected charity. There is no extra fee or additional charges on your purchase.   Amazon donates .5% of purchase total.   It may not seem like a lot but you will be surprised!

Simply google "Amazon Smile" or type in "Smile.Amazon.com" and sign in with your Amazon account.  It will then ask you which charity you would like to connect to your account.   Please select the Stephanie Marie Burgos Scholarship Inc  or any other charity of your choice and make a difference without doing anything more than what you already do normally.   You may have to sign in via Amazon Smile every time unless you have the App on your phone it will already be saved. 

Remember every little bit counts.  

Thank you for you ongoing support to our organization. 

Cancellation of 2020 Application Process

On March 15, 2020, N.Y.C. Mayor Deblasio closed all public schools leaving all our potential applicants without the ability to obtain and submit completed applications to our organization for this academic year. The application requires many components, including recommendations from staff and official transcripts which is currently not easily accessible yet a vital part of our application review. Any missing components to the application would void them.

In addition, the current public health crisis has not only closed schools and non-essential businesses but has significantly impacted our organization's ability to proceed with our regular fundraisers and activities.

Due to the above, it is with great regret to inform everyone that our 2020 scholarship selection process, for our 13th scholarship recipient, has been cancelled due to the current public health crisis, COVID-19. Unfortunately, we did not get a sufficient number of completed applications to proceed with a proper selection process for this academic year up to date.

During our semi-annual zoom meeting held on Monday, April 27th, with seven of our eleven board members present, the issues outlined above were discussed and decided to be the best for the overall organization at this time.

Our organization will be reconvening in the near future on strategizing on how to legally proceed with future applications and obtaining proper documentations via a more electronic friendly manner. This unfortunate situation has helped us access our organizations limitations and forced us to look at much needed changes to help us grow with the challenges faced today.

We wish the entire 2020 graduation class, who met the most adversity than any other group of potential applicants in our history, much success. As a class, you embody what our scholarship's mission is to rise up in the face of challenges. You are powerful, you are resilient and you will succeed. Keep focused!