Senior awarded Gilman scholarship to study abroad in Mexico

A few short weeks after being named the League of United Latin American Citizens’ (LULAC) National Woman of the Year, another of rising senior Jasmin Chavez’s dreams came true. She received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study Spanish literature at the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca in Mexico.

“My decision to study abroad comes from my desire to learn more about the literary and cultural studies of Mexico and understand how I can be a change maker in my community and in the world,” she says. “I’m thrilled to be studying abroad in Mexico, a country that I find rich and fascinating.”

The same night Chavez was named Woman of the Year, she also accepted LULAC’s Community Service Project of the Year Award for McDaniel’s first LULAC student organization, which she founded two years ago.

“Receiving these awards was incredibly humbling. I dedicate these awards to my two hardworking parents, immigrants from El Salvador, who have worked their entire lives so that I could reach this point in my life,” Chavez says. “I stood on the LULAC stage holding two awards because of a community that believes in me, and the support of my parents. I am inspired more than ever to continue advocating for a community that has helped me become the woman that I am today.”

Honors, awards and accomplishments are nothing new for the Spanish and Political Science major from Falls Church, Va. Selected during high school for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s R2L NextGen Program, Chavez realized that her voice mattered and could make a difference.

Her conviction crystallized at McDaniel, and she knew that she too could be a leader like her hero, Mexican-American labor leader Dolores Huerta. Chavez stormed full steam ahead even as a freshman. She won a $1,500 Griswold-Zepp grant from McDaniel to establish a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program at the Willston Multicultural Center in Falls Church. That summer she saw 50 elementary and middle school students building volcanos, rockets and robots at the center in the predominantly Latin American neighborhood.

“I will never forget the excitement and the curiosity in the eyes of the children. It was empowering to see the impact the program was having on the lives of the children from my community,” Chavez says. “It has only strengthened my resolve to make my STEM program into a non-profit in a couple of years.”

Chavez is also vice president of the Student Government Association, a Global Fellow and is currently serving as an advisory board member for the College’s Global Bridge program for U.S.-based students who were born or grew up abroad or are bicultural or binational. She is an admissions ambassador, the student assistant in the Political Science department and the founder and president of McDaniel LULAC.

In addition, she is one of only 50 students from across the country selected as a 2017 National Fellow for the Young People For (YP4), a leadership development program for the newest generation of progressive leaders. Also during her freshman year, Chavez was one of only four students from across the country selected to intern at the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics.

Although she has her eye on becoming an immigration and civil rights attorney, and then a member of Congress, she never wants to let go of her mission to inspire Hispanic youth and motivate them to stay in school, go to college and make a difference in their communities. She has embraced every opportunity to perfect her skills at leadership, advocacy and activism for the Latino community and she’s even opening those same doors for others.

As a sophomore, Chavez invited five classmates to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Emerge Latino Conference in Washington, D.C., to help them grow as leaders and acquire the tools they need for strong advocacy for the Latino community. Only Chavez had ever before attended a leadership conference but all were members of the LULAC chapter Chavez founded and together they held fundraisers to finance the three-day stay in D.C. This year, Chavez served on the planning committee for the conference and was able to bring 10 classmates to the conference this year.

Earlier in the summer of 2018, she was among 60 students nationwide admitted to the prestigious Donald J. Weidner Summer for Undergraduates program. Established in 1992 by Donald J. Weidner, dean emeritus of Florida State University College of Law, students selected into this tuition-free, four-week program get a head start on preparing for law school while gaining insight into the law school admission and application process.

“The Summer For Undergraduates Program was an amazing introduction to law school, complete with class sessions, law school mentors, networking with alumni, and interactive field trips to the Florida Supreme Court and House of Representatives. I left the program inspired and ready to tackle anything,” says Chavez, who was honored with the Professionalism award at the end of the program. “I know that no matter where I end up deciding to go to law school, the program’s strong focus on preparing for law school and a legal career will help me be more prepared than others for law school.”

After the program she came back to Washington, D.C. to start her internship at the Environmental Defense Fund. She describes the experience as life-changing, as she does research, attends conferences and lobbies for the environment on Capitol Hill while engaging with the Latino community on the importance of climate work and how they can advocate for our environment.

“For now, I am excited to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, in a country where my passion lies,” she says, adding a quote from Carlos Santana: “There is no greater reward than working from your heart, and making a difference in the world.”

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, provides grants to U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to enable them to study abroad. The program aims to diversify the group of students who study abroad and their destinations, and prepares students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and independent world.

Other students who received Gilman Scholarship as juniors at the College include: Rhaelynn Givens ’12, who studied in Budapest, Hungary; Izabella Baer-Benchoff ’12, who traveled to Amman, Jordan; Hayoung Kim ’13, studied in Beijing; and Serra Berry ’15, traveled to Costa Rica; and Jocelyn Diaz ’18, who studied at the International Center for French Studies (CIEF) at the University of Burgundy in France, and Grace Hounsou ’18, who studied at McDaniel Europe in Budapest, Hungary.