BEE 2021 Scholarship Recipients Announced!: Four Laptop Scholarships, and Three College Scholarships Awarded

BEE high school, and Se Vale Soñar laptop scholarships awarded to talented youth of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM August 23, 2021: For the sixth consecutive year, Burqueños for Education and Empowerment is honored to be awarding its college scholarship, and for the third consecutive year its “Se Vale Soñar” laptop scholarship. 

“Despite the challenges that 2020, and Spring 2021 presented us with limited in-person fundraisers, we feel extremely fortunate that past contributions from our donors afforded us the opportunity to continue our tradition of helping support the youth of New Mexico,” says BEE Vice President, Jorge Hernández. 

As the new school year kicks off, we send the following students our best wishes as they take the biggest steps in their academic careers. “We are so excited to see this year's recipients do great things! They have persevered and deserve recognition,” says BEE President, Matthew Salas Get to know a little more about them below:

BEE College Scholarship Recipients

Katrina Rose Lingnau

South Valley Academy- $1,000

Katrina, a recent graduate of South Valley Academy, says that she learned the valuable lesson of perseverance in high school, and that it is okay to ask for help. She knows that her journey in higher education will allow her to serve her community, whether she is teaching or working as a criminal attorney.

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Emily Martinez

New America School - $1,000

Emily, a recent graduate of The New America School, will finish getting her CDC for Early Childhood Education and then continue on to study Criminology at Central New Mexico Community College starting this fall.

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Brenda Reyes

Mark Armijo Academy- $500

Brenda showed an extreme amount of gratitude to BEE Scholarships for supporting students that overcome adversity in the early part of their high school careers. 

Brenda plans on studying psychology at CNM and will continue on to pursue a sociology degree. She wants to mentor others and hopes her story inspires others to understand the importance and value of their education. 

Se Vale Soñar Scholarship (Laptop Recipients)

Hector Castillo

South Valley Academy

Hector, a graduate of South Valley Academy, is interested in studying mechanical engineering at New Mexico State University this coming fall semester. 

After college he is hoping to work outside of the country in either Central or South America to help communities in need.

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Yesica Chavez

South Valley Academy

Yesica plans to study Rheumatology and help those who suffer disorders from the musculoskeletal system. She will be attending the University of New Mexico in the fall of 2021. 

After college she wants to focus on her career as a rheumatology nurse or doctor depending on the cost and travel around the world trying different foods and learning about different cultures. 

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Mirella Chavez

South Valley Academy

Mirella told us being awarded a laptop will make schoolwork ten times easier. She plans to attend Central New Mexico Community College where she will study Sonographics.

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Diana De Leon

West Mesa High School

Diana, a recent graduate of West Mesa High School, will study journalism at the University of New Mexico. 

After college, she would love to be involved in sports journalism and then move on to be part of one of the national media outlets that cover sports.

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Please join us in congratulating each of our scholarship recipients and wishing them happiness and success as they enter new journeys in their lives! 

Lastly, we are continuing to monitor CDC and state guidelines but do hope to have in-person fundraisers this year. As soon as we have additional details we will make sure to share via a newsletter and our social platforms.

We thank everyone that has supported us in what is now our sixth year as a non-profit serving the youth of New Mexico. We are so very thankful and appreciative of each of you. 

Please continue to follow BEE for updates about the scholarships and other news! 

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Burqueños for Education and Empowerment Announces 2020 BEE Scholarship, and Se Vale Soñar Recipients

A total of 10 high school, and laptop scholarships have been awarded

Albuquerque, NM July 6th, 2020: This is our third year offering both scholarships and although these are uncertain and difficult times, graduations are still occurring and futures continue to be planned. We received a large amount of scholarship applications and could not be more impressed with the quality of applicants this year, making the decision process difficult for the BEE Scholarship Committee.

“This is a great core of scholarship recipients and the selection process was difficult,” said Diana Garcia, Director of the BEE Scholarship Committee. “We saw inspirational qualities within all of our applicants.”

It is therefore with great excitement that BEE announces its 2020 recipients for our high school and laptop scholarships! Recipients of this year are:

Alexis Gonzales from Atrisco Heritage Academy

Alexis wants to act as a role model for her younger siblings and inspire them to go to college like her. “I was so happy jumping up and down and I ran to my little brother’s room to tell him the news!” she told us about when she found out that she was a recipient. Alexis will be attending UNM with plans to study biology and eventually become a physical therapist so she can, “help people to work back on getting to their everyday lives. This is something I have always wanted to do with my future,” said Alexis.

Emmilee Newkirk from Mark Armijo Academy

Emmilee was very excited when she received notification that she was a scholarship recipient. “My initial reaction included me jumping up and down, my mouth open,” she said. Emmilee will be attending CNM for a year before transferring to UNM to continue her education. Emmilee has a desire to break the cycle of poverty and use her education to become an immigration lawyer and help others.

Norma Rodriguez from South Valley Academy

Norma was surprised to discover she had won a scholarship “because there were so many more candidates that could have [received] it.” She will be attending NMSU in the fall to study international business which will eventually lead her to her dream job “[where] I will actually enjoy and just work,” she said.

Itzel Luna Perea from South Valley Academy

Itzel was “very grateful to get this scholarship” and has a unique story of her overcoming great struggles early in high school which caused her GPA to drop. She became inspired by her single mother and wants to use her education to enter the medical field and eventually uplift her South Valley community which she says is lacking medical professionals.

And Eric Enriquez from South Valley Academy

Recipients of the Se Vale Soñar Scholarship, inspired by inaugural BEE Scholarships recipient Daisy Astorga Gonzalez, were the following five incredible students:

Andres Estrada from Albuquerque High School

Andres was surprised to find out he was a Se Vale Soñar Scholarship recipient but said he was, “proud of myself to have won the scholarship.” Andres will be attending CNM in the fall to study nursing but eventually wants to focus on pediatric nursing where in the future he wants to work at a children’s clinic.

 
Guadalupe Zarate from West Mesa High School

Guadalupe, or “Lupe”, was also very surprised when she found out that she was a laptop scholarship recipient, while also being happy and excited. She will be attending UNM in the fall and pursue nursing and Spanish to become a bilingual registered nurse.

Ashley Marquez from Atrisco Heritage Academy

Ashley was immediately honored and thankful upon hearing she was a scholarship recipient. “I don’t think I would be able to start college on my own. When I first received the scholarship, I couldn’t believe it because I never win anything. So I was really excited when I received [the] email,” she said. Ashley wants to study animal medicine while attending CNM in the fall. Later, she wants to move to Colorado to attend the best veterinarian school and continue her pursuit to help animals and hopefully open her own animal clinic. “Muchas gracias por esta oportunidad y estoy muy orgullosa,” she said.

Maria Fernanda Aguilar Gallegos from Tierra Encantada Charter School

And Mariana Arana Palacios from South Valley Academy

Please join us in congratulating each of our scholarship recipients and wishing them happiness and success as they enter new journeys in their lives!

Lastly, we have been asked about our annual bowling tournament which usually happens in May. Our bowling tournament in not cancelled, but is delayed. As soon as restrictions are lifted and it has been cleared to be safe for everyone to attend, the bowling tournament will be rescheduled at that time.

We thank everyone that has supported us in what is now our sixth year as a non-profit serving the youth of Albuquerque. We are extremely thankful and appreciative of each of you.

Please continue to follow BEE Scholarships for updates about the scholarships and other news! We wish you and your families good health.

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