News Release| CSULA; 2009 CSU Razi Scholar Award

September 21, 2009

Note to editors and news directors: 

Ms. Juarez is available for interviews in English or Spanish. To arrange an interview, contact Cal State L.A.’s Public Affairs office at (323) 343-3050. Additional resources are listed below.

For more about the Hearst Scholars or the Trustees’ ceremony (4 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 22), contact Clara Potes-Fellow or Erik Fallis at the California State University Chancellor’s Office Public Affairs, (562) 951-4800.

PACOIMA  WOMAN  ON  PEDIATRIC-NURSE  TRACK

RECEIVES  $10,000  BOOST  AS  ALI  RAZI  SCHOLAR

Inspired by her dad and daughter, supported by CSU Trustees, Cal State L.A.’s Araciel Juarez looks to help and heal children

Los Angeles, CASomeday I will be a pediatric nurse practitioner,” said Araciel Juarez. “Getting there will be difficult, but I will make it.”

Believing in Juarez, a Cal State L.A. nursing major from Pacoima, the California State University Board of Trustees has honored her as one of two 2009 Trustee Ali C. Razi Scholars. The award, which includes a $10,000 scholarship, will be formally presented at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Long Beach.  (The Razi award is the top honor given by the CSU Trustees to an already select group of CSU William Randolph Hearst Scholars, which includes one honoree from each of the 23 CSU campuses cited for academic excellence and commitment to education.)

For Juarez, the Razi Scholarship is a high mark along a trail that has had its share of twists and turns. As a young girl growing up in the San Fernando Valley, she took school very seriously, earned major academic honors, and was intent on becoming a doctor; and—who knows?—she still may someday.

“When I was 11,” she said, “my father suffered from critical liver damage caused by alcoholism; and his successful treatment by a caring doctor showed me how one person, with education and love, can make such a positive difference in the lives of many others. My father’s recovery has been like a miracle.”

“When I was 15, I became pregnant. Instead of becoming just another teen-mother ‘statistic,’ I dedicated myself to caring for my daughter and continuing my education.”

Then, two years ago, her husband, a non-U.S. citizen, was denied re-entry to the U.S. after visiting his family in Mexico while seeking an immigration interview to obtain a visa. Again, Juarez adjusted.

“I have learned that amid adversity you can often find the inspiration to persevere,” she said. “Today when people ask who inspires me, I tell them: My dad and my daughter.  My dad directed me, encouraged me, helped and supported me. My daughter, Jiselle, who is now 4 years old, makes me realize how important it is to focus on the future.”

In the past she has focused on learning by helping others—volunteering, for example, with The Fred Jordan Mission Foundation, which helps to feed and clothe the homeless in Los Angeles and organizes toy drives for Christmas.

“By volunteering at Olive View Hospital,” Juarez said, “I learned that I really do want to work in a hospital. But nothing exposed me to poverty more than volunteering to help manage the clothes section at MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), a non-profit that serves people in need in the San Fernando Valley. It was an eye-opener, seeing how some people do not have enough food or clothes. I remember thinking to myself: ‘You get to pick out the shoes you want to wear each morning, while others are fighting over a pile of used shoes.’”

After graduating from high school with honors at 16 and excelling at Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, she entered the Cal State L.A. nursing program in fall 2008. After earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing, she said, she plans to work at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and ultimately become a nurse practitioner with a specialty in pediatrics. She also plans to help organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club and El Nido Family Centers.

In nominating Juarez for the CSU Trustees’ honor, Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser wrote, “As you review Ms. Juarez’s background, a portrait emerges of a young woman intently focused on serving the health-care needs of others, particularly those of children whose lives are traumatized by poverty. To this steadfast commitment is coupled a clearly demonstrated aptitude for excellent academic achievement.

“Her ability to maintain this high level of earnestness and educational excellence is even more remarkable when consideration is given to the intense family challenges she has faced, including becoming a mother at 15,” wrote Rosser. “I am confident that her continuing academic success will lead her to help positively redirect the lives of many others and, in so doing, help transform her community.”

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ADDITIONAL GENERAL CONTACTS AND RESOURCES:

William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement

http://www.calstate.edu/foundation/hearst/

Other recent Hearst Scholars at Cal State L.A.:

2008 – Kimberely Suarez

            /univ/ppa/newsrel/hearst-suarez08.htm

2007 - Lesley Anne Asistio

            /univ/ppa/newsrel/hearstcsu2007.htm

2006 – Ana Diaz

/univ/ppa/newsrel/hearstcsu2006.htm

CSU news release: CSU Scholars to be Honored by Trustees for Achievement and Perseverance

http://www.calstate.edu/PA/News/2009/hearst-scholars-story.shtml

William Randolph Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement (Cal State L.A. Financial Aid Office fact sheet):

/sites/default/files/univ/finaid/pdf/Hearst%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Dr. Ali C. Razi, former CSU Trustee

http://www.calstate.edu/foundation/hearst/recipient/2006_razi.html

 

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