December 17, 2004

Abrazos and Books heading into 15th year of scholarships

Personal stories unveil courage, determination

By Stephanie Foo
Times Intern

Thousands of underprivileged students don’t go to college because they can’t afford it, but a deserving few are given chances by the Abrazos and Books scholarship program.

While covering the 1985 Mexico City earthquake disaster, then television reporter Rigo Chacon was deeply moved by the devastation there. With help from the Bay Area community, he raised $1.3 million to rebuild Mexico City elementary schools, and so, Abrazos and Books was born.

Grateful Abrazos and Books scholarship recipients surround their hero, Rigo Chacon.

Since then, the program has provided scholarships to about 200 children in Santa Clara County, including 28 high school seniors this year, 11 of them East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) students.

This year’s (2004) recipients are Hector Agredano, Maryann Amir-Ebrahimi and Jaime Arturo Uriarte from San Jose High; Sofia Ahmad and Deena Shakir from Leland High; Taryn Crenshaw, Oak Grove High; Alexander Nicholas D’Amour, Eric Deanda and Aaron Pinkston from Bellarmine Preparatory; Melanie S. De La Cruz, Notre Dame High; Vanessa Flores, James Lick High; Raquel Galindo, Archbishop Mitty High; Michael A. Groden, Gunderson High; Agustin Hernandez, Vivian Kim Tran and Elizabeth Nevarez from Mt. Pleasant High; Ana Hernandez, Gloria Valdovinos and Angela J. Neito, from Yerba Buena High; Harold Hsu, Monta Vista High; Tanya Ardel Shaw, Fremont High; Ariam Tsighe, Wilcox High; Mark Anthony Vasquez, Silver Creek High; Heather Whitney, Leigh High; and Magdalena Villalvazo, Downtown College Prep.

Recipients of the $2,000 scholarship had to show that they had been active in the community and had a willingness and determination to succeed.

Faces behind the names
Ana Hernandez was one such student. She tried her best to stay strong through the face of tragedy and to graduate from Yerba Buena High School, working to make her dreams come true.

“My mother died when I was 17 and my father’s an alcoholic,” she explained.

With her mother’s death, she was left alone to fend for herself. But she didn’t let that faze her. She worked two jobs and rented a room in a home, buying her own food and clothes, and still found time to volunteer at a food pantry.

“I was in L.A. with my uncle because I didn’t have any money to go to college, when Mr. Chacon called me and asked me if I wanted to continue my education,” she says. “I said yes, and he bought me a ticket and flew me here. He gave me a scholarship of $2,000, bought me a laptop, scanner and printer and gave me more money to buy electronic things.”

“We award scholarships to students bound only to four-year institutions,” notes Chacon. “In Ana’s case, I decided her incredible courage warranted an exception to the rules. We gave her a scholarship so she could attend community college in Los Angeles where she could be near relatives.”

At the Abrazos and Books award dinner, Ana delivered a moving tribute of her life and mesmerized the audience. “As a result, an anonymous individual offered her four-year housing and a $25,000 scholarship to San Jose State,” says Chacon.

Ana attends San Jose State University now, and remains thrilled at the opportunity she was given.

“I think [Abrazos and Books] is great for students who don’t have enough money to go to college. I’m the first one in my family. My mother only went to school up to the third grade and my father, the sixth grade. It is great to have people like him [Chacon] helping us … I’m studying to become a teacher now because I want kids to know there are a lot of people out there who want to help them.”

Jaime Uriarte
Jaime Uriarte attended San Jose High. No one in his family had ever attended a four-year institution, and he was determined to be the first, even though his family had been disadvantaged most of his life. For four years, he and his mother and sister were even homeless and had to live out of motels, shelters and their car.

Jaime was determined to make a difference, however, and spent his time tutoring children, supervising field trips and remodeling R.F. Kennedy Elementary School. Jaime couldn’t even attend the awards’ ceremony for Abrazos and Books because he was working at Target to buy himself a laptop.

When benefactors heard this, they were touched and gave Jaime the money for his laptop. Since then, Jaime has accomplished his goal of going to college and is attending San Diego State.

Vanessa Flores
“My mother was laid off after 25 years of service. She’s a single mom, and she was off of child support because I was 18 when I was accepted [to Santa Clara University], so it was hard for her to pay for such expensive tuition,” Vanessa Flores explains. So when she received the scholarship, she was ecstatic.

Vanessa was ASB President at James Lick High School and belonged to such organizations as the Kiwanis and the Latino Peace Officers Organization, so giving back to the community means a lot to her.

“Abrazos and Books doesn’t only base the scholarship on a financial basis but also community involvement and other important factors. It encourages students to really get involved in the community.”

She has dreams of someday becoming a television news reporter and traveling the world, working for different stations. Receiving the scholarship didn’t just help her financially, but gave her the courage to pursue her goals.

“Mr. Chacon is a remarkable person and to know that I have done something right or achieved some level of success that encouraged him to choose me for the scholarship is so inspiring,” she says. “It makes me feel like I have more strength than I give myself credit for.”

Angela Nieto
Gangs surrounded the ghetto in which Angela Nieto grew up. A Yerba Buena High student, she was raised solely by her mother, who enrolled her in sports programs to try to keep her away from the gangs and drugs.

It worked, as she excelled in volleyball, basketball and track and field and stayed away from the bad influences in her neighborhood. She is finally escaping that area now to become a doctor. She is attending San Jose State.

“It’s an awesome program,” she gushes. “It benefits students going to college so much. It’s helped me with books and paying for classes…I’m very happy and very honored.”

Hiep Nguyen
Even with government aid, Andrew Hill student Hiep Nguyen’s parents could barely afford to support his brothers, sisters and him in Vietnam. He saw what a burden all the children were and volunteered to come live here in San Jose with his aunt.

Never self-centered and always afraid to impose on anyone, he worked a part-time job and interned at Walgreen’s to partially support himself and help his aunt.

“I want to make it through college and medical school and become a doctor or a pharmacist,” Hiep says. “The scholarship helped me with that. I’m thankful.”

And maybe—just maybe—in the future, when Dr.Hiep Nguyen saves your life, you will be too.

And those are only a few of the lives Abrazos and Books has touched. There are 200 more … children who were given a chance, a choice between helplessness and a real future. The ability to let dreams become reality.

Applications for the 2005 Abrazos and Books scholarships are due May 1. Applicants must be students within Santa Clara County, 2005 graduating seniors with at least a 2.5 GPA, and accepted to a four-year college or university.

The fifteenth annual recognition dinner will be held on Saturday, July 30 at the Wyndham Hotel in San Jose. For more information, got to the Web site www.abrazosandbooks.org.