The Andrés Determination and Resilience Scholarship

The Andrés Determination and Resilience Scholarship is an annual scholarship that focuses on rewarding language learners in the English Language Center at Michigan State University who share a story and a photo about someone who embodies determination and resilience in their life. Applicants to this scholarship must be enrolled directly in the English Language Center and submit the following information:

  1. Contact Information
  2. Your photo
  3. Short paragraph describing the influential person in your life and what that person means to you (in English or other languages spoken with a preference for bilingual or multilingual submission)
  4. Permission to share your name, photo, and other information related to the scholarship

Scholarship available annually. Submissions due on or before October 1st each fall semester. Award amount: $500

Application for the Andrés Determination and Resilience Scholarship. 

Please note you must log into your MSU Google Apps account to access the application.

In the early 2000s, I began my first teaching job in the States at a community center in the Logan Square area of Chicago. This community center was in a shabby, rundown strip mall that was clearly not meant to be a school. It was extremely hot in the summer and punishingly cold in the winter. There was very little technology and even the chairs and tables had seen better days. However, I was new, excited, and ready to learn. Over the years I spent at El Centro de Educacion y Cultura, I learned a lot about teaching, about immigrants in Chicago, and about amazing students. One such amazing student was Andrés. He would show up without fail every morning for our 8am class. It didn’t matter how cold it was, or how much snow there was on the ground, he was there. His determination to learn English was that strong. He worked in a factory on second shift, so English wasn’t just important, it was a necessity. He wasn’t the best student by his own admission, and he often talked about the regrets he had because he left Mexico at a very young age. Not only did he leave his home country, but he left schooling behind right around the third grade.

One particular day, I was floored by his resilience in the face of multiple hardships. All of us noticed his arm was swollen and he was having trouble moving his hand. It turned out he hurt himself on a side-job he took over the weekend. Unfortunately, he didn’t have insurance, so he couldn’t seek out medical care. A number of his classmates put together their resources and helped him the best they could. With his make-shift sling, he still came to class each day and tried to learn as much English as he could even though he was clearly in pain.

I wish I knew what happened to Andrés and so many of my students from that community center. Unfortunately, the center lost much of its funding back in 2003 and closed permanently in 2005. While I don’t know what happened to him, he is always present in my teaching. I always look for ways to help my students learn to the best of their abilities and I make sure to pay attention to their lives. As Andrés showed me, his life was full of hardship and challenges, but his resiliency and determination were admirable.

Awardee List