One of the ministries of Our Lady’s Youth Center is to help students in Juarez, Mexico, achieve their education goals. We have a scholarship fund to use for tuition and school supplies for young people who otherwise would not be able to afford to go to school.
One of the students who has benefitted from this program is Jair Bosquez. Jair just graduated from university with a degree in computer systems engineering. We helped him through his high school years, and when he expressed interest in continuing on to university, we committed to helping him get the funds he needed to do that. Students, for their part, need to show that they are serious about studying and committed to keeping their grades up with the goal of graduating.
It’s a sacrifice for the whole family if a young person stays in school instead of joining the workforce early like so many are forced to do. But if the whole family supports the student in the short term to pursue a degree, it benefits everyone in the long run. However, not every family looks at it that way. That’s why it is a huge cause for celebration when one of our students graduates.
And as is often the case, Jair wants to give back to the community that helped him achieve his goal. “I am so grateful,” he told us. “If it weren’t for the help I received, I would not have been able to complete my education. Now I want to give back to my community in any way I can to express my gratitude.”
We will definitely take Jair up on his offer. Besides our Montessori school, we also have a computer lab classroom for older students, and he could help with tutoring. In any event, we wanted to share this beautiful success story with you.