Give the Gift of Education to Children in Poverty

If At First You Don’t Succeed…..

Elena  is an amazing young woman in CAA’s Beca (scholarship) Program and I have been following her progress for almost 10 years,  first as a member of the Education Committee and then as a close friend.    She has always been interested in studying  English, Math and Sciences and never lost her focus on these subjects during her years in Colegio.    Her desire was to become a medical doctor or researcher in biomedicine.  She attended the Palmares Bilingual Colegio, graduating in 2022  and despite her excellent grades in the International Baccalaureate Program at  Colegio, she  failed to make  high enough scores on the entrance exam to attend the University of Technology in Cartago to study biomedicine.  Instead of giving up,  she devised a different route to achieve her goal and one very unusual for Costa Rican students.  

Upon realizing that she would be unable to attend the University of Technology, Elena decided to take a job with the Cleveland Clinic Call Center.  They gave her own computer, installed very fast WiFi in her apartment in San Ramon, and then with a bit of training, she was off!  Within 9 months, she was training other Ticos new to the call center as well as taking 3 classes in the sciences and pre-medicine at the Universidad Americana in Heredia.   In Costa Rica, it is very unusual for college students to work even part-time while attending classes, but Elena manages to work a 40- hour week AND also pursue her  academic dreams.   UAM is a private university where many students interested in medical and health careers  study even though it is expensive to attend - certainly by  Costa Rican standards!   But, she is managing to both work and make A’s and I certainly expect her to ultimately reach her goals.  She is an excellent example of the kind of students we see in our Beca Program every year who are learning how to set goals, work towards achieving them, and when meeting roadblocks like Elena did, find a different route towards success.  What a privilege it has been to witness this and to help these students achieve their goals through donations from organizations such as GlobalGiving.   The Community Action Alliance appreciates all the help you give to our students!!