Manny Medrano

North County Times

Late last month, the Escondido-based Beca Foundation awarded scholarships to the county's top Latino students. The organization, founded in 1984, provides thousands in scholarship dollars each year to deserving Latino students.

There was a special guest at this year's ceremony, Chula Vista resident Alejandro Sanchez.

Sanchez received a Beca scholarship nine years ago and came back to show others what can be accomplished.

After high school, he went to UC San Diego, where he studied microbiology. He later gained admission to the USC School of Medicine. He is a first-year medical resident at Los Angeles County's University of Southern California Medical Center.

The past three years, he served on the admissions committee for the medical school. He knows firsthand the difficult task of being accepted at the undergraduate and professional levels. The challenge is even greater for Latinos. The numbers speak for themselves. Minority enrollment has dropped at major universities.

Sanchez said the lack of Latino enrollment exists because many of them don't have the resources to pay for tutors or course review. Latinos compete blindfolded. Latinos have persevered over huge obstacles.

With the help of organizations like Beca, the gap is narrowing.

Sanchez believes in a key ideal shared by BECA: giving back to the community. He believes it's now his turn to shoulder the load.

Sanchez said his success was made possible because of the people who influenced and supported him on a difficult journey. He says he had the shoulders of a community carrying him above failure.

As college students embark on amazing adventures, they need to make the most of the infinite number of opportunities that are available.

Sanchez says new college students need to make the most of the resources available to them. There's many individuals like him ready to provide a helping hand. Look to countless organizations anxious to make a positive difference. Be aggressive about your education; it's an investment.

Talk to your professors during office hours, go to your college's free tutoring services, sit in the front row of lectures, volunteer within your field of interest, ask upper classmen for advice on surviving.

And most important, study hard. Skip watching the premiere of "Planet of the Apes" and study an extra couple of hours. And for those about to start medical school, buy a lot of coffee. Sanchez says he would be proud if, in nine years, he could see new Latino physicians standing with the Beca Foundation with dreams fulfilled, encouraging the next group of recipients.

Manny Medrano is executive director of the Barrios Unidos Center for Community Leadership. He can be reached at MedranoManny@yahoo.com.

8/6/01