The Fernando Barrios Memorial 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 was influential in their life. Applicants to this scholarship must be enrolled directly in the English Language Center and submit the following information:
- Contact Information
- Your photo
- 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)
- Permission to share your name, photo, and other information related to the scholarship
Scholarship available annually. Submissions due on or before April 1st each spring semester. Award amount: $500
Application for the Fernando Barrios Memorial Scholarship. Please note you must log into your MSU Google Apps account to access the application.
It’s hard to know where to start talking about such a kind, caring, and entrepreneurial guy like Fernando. He and his family have played such a monumental role in my language journey and in my own life. He was one of the first people I met outside of the language school where I studied Spanish in Cuernavaca in 2000. He was the general manager for a wonderful restaurant/dance club called El Caminitos. The restaurant was only a short walk from the school, so I spent hours there with the rest of my classmates, and the language school faculty and staff. I used to spend lots of time at the bar drinking any kind of juice they had. I don’t drink and it caught Fernando’s attention. He was fluent in English, but knew I wanted to learn Spanish. We carried on so many conversations at that bar in Spanish mostly, but he was always willing to break into English when I would get stuck. He offered me so much of his time and energy and I quickly grew a friendship with him that lead to me moving into his family’s home for the rest of the year.
In that house, I would spend hours with him, his parents, his siblings, and his family. I really wanted to learn Spanish and being around such a large, friendly family was pure joy and an adventure. Fernando always looked out for me and helped me find work at various language schools in the area. After I returned to Chicago, we would keep in contact by email and he often had ideas to run by me. His entrepreneurial spirit is something I have always tried to emulate in my own life. He had a way of looking for and finding opportunities that was so impressive. I was very saddened to learn of his passing recently at a young age. He wasn’t much older than I am, but I always thought he had an amazing life story that took him around the world from the U.S. to Russia to back home in Cuernavaca. I miss him and I know his family misses him, but I hope they know how much he meant to so many people including me.
