NORTHEAST – Bonding Against Adversity, the organization headed by Mariana Sanchez, held their Sixth Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony last Friday, June 24th at the meeting room of the East Aldine District.
The room was full, as the students and mentors were awarded a total of $3500 in scholarships. Sanchez said that since the group was founded, they have awarded about $30,000 in scholarships over the years.
Honored guests in addition to the students, were Congressman Gene Green, and Lone Star College- North Harris president Dr. Gerald Napoles.
To start the program, Joyce Wiley introduced and recognized several of the teachers of BAA. Wiley is a board member of both the BAA and the East Aldine District, which has supported the BAA organization since its inception.
East Aldine District believes that BAA is helpful and complementary with their own goals, of improving living conditions in the District by promoting social and educational skills to an underserved population.
The program continued with Student Special Remarks by one of the scholarship recipients, Kimberly Alvarez, and then Tutors Special Remarks by Manuela DeLeon.
The program was chaired by Tom Burdette, who with Mariana Sanchez has been responsible for the success of the Bonding Against Adversity program.
Patti Acosta, a board member of the East Aldine District, presented the Student Scholarship awards to Kimberly Alvarez and Miriam Cruz.
Tom Burdette presented Mentor Scholarships to Angelica Lopez, Alexis Robledo, Thalia Salinas, Crystal Alcazar, Oscar Aparicio, and Alma Zavala.
Mariana Sanchez presented Student Achievement Awards to Hendy Hernandez, Johnathan Hernandez, Gustavo Gomez, and Kenny Wong.
Mariana Sugg presented a Reading Achievement Award to Victor Benavidez.