Volunteer Reflection: Taken Aback

Jackie traveled to Ecuador this year for a few weeks, and immediately immersed herself in the culture.  Her positive attitude and energy allowed her a special opportunity to get to know many of our students and families.  Today she reflects on a few of these special people in her life!

"Taken aback, I believe, is the most accurate way to describe how I’ve been feeling and how I’ve been processing all the different and beautiful people I have met here.

There are some people we encounter– and we all know who they are, in our own lives– that shine and live so ferociously that, even when we close our eyes, we see the bright outlines cast by their luminescent presence. These people, simply by their existence, encourage us to be better, kinder, gentler, and to live in a bold, brave, and intentional way. These kinds of people leave indelible marks on our spirits and minds. They are colorful and magnificent, radiating with determination, love, and hope. Even in seemingly hopeless and impossible situations, these people rise above the material world and overcome countless obstacles through inner strength- strength of the soul.

I have met such people here, people my own age whom I look up to as role models and hold as friends. Thinking of them and their goals and dedication inspires me to live in a radical and beautiful manera.

Melanie. Now in her final year of high school, she spends three hours total commuting to and from school each day, and on Mondays and Thursdays, she skips lunch so she can attend refuerzo and receive extra help with English and her other studies. She is a devoted student, a talented dancer, a caring daughter, a loving sister, and a loyal friend. She dreams of becoming a flight attendant: of learning languages, attending university, of traveling and seeing the world. And she will.

Joel. Currently a first year student at a top private university in Guayaquil. His high test scores, hard work, and determination led him to win a prestigious scholarship that covers 100% of his tuition. He, like Melanie, has a long commute to and from classes, and afterwards comes home to study and volunteer at Starfish, thus giving back to a foundation that gave him opportunities to grow, succeed, and continue the process of lifelong learning. He studies hard: he studies to maintain his scholarship, to learn about economics and business, and to secure a stable occupation for himself. He wholeheartedly dedicates himself to growing in knowledge to achieve his dreams. And he will.

Maria. Like Joel, she is also a first year university student. And, like Melanie and Joel, she travels several hours each day to attend classes. She studies medicine: biology, chemistry, anatomy. She has a beautiful smile, loves to dance and sing, and she, also, gives back to Starfish and works there as an educadora, providing help that she once received. She is an inspiration to the students at refuerzo, and an inspiration to me. She studies for countless hours, loves her family and friends, and dreams of becoming a pediatrician. And she will.

Melanie, Joel, Maria. They exemplify hard work, passion, creativity, love, and dedication. They constantly overcome obstacles, they leap over the many hurdles that stand in their paths, and they rise above unjust situations. I feel honored and grateful to know them, and I am proud and joyful to call them my friends.

~ We must allow the world to pierce our hearts. For if we are not passionate, sensitive, and courageous, we are nothing ~  "

~Jackie A., Starfish Volunteer.  Read more reflections from Jackie on her blog!

¡Felicidades Graduados!

¡Felicidades Graduados! - Congrats Grads!

Last week, 6 Starfish Scholars officially completed one of their goals - they are now high school graduates!! We are so proud of them; They've accomplished so much and have so much more to come.  

Graduates Pamela, Cristhian, Eddy & Lili with Co-Founder Jenn

Lili, Pamela & Cristhian are 3 of the inspirations for Starfish.  I first met them when I was a volunteer in 2010-2011 at Casa Don Bosco, a shelter for street kids that at that the time also ran an after-school program for neighborhood kids.  They were all in the equivalent of 8th grade, but already leaders.  Their perseverance in the face of challenges was part of my motivation for wanting to return to Ecuador and help educate more youth.  Eddy joined this group of inseparable friends 3 years ago when he met the others at school and then joined us at Starfish.  Watching all of them grow up over the years has been amazing.  Each one of them continues to inspire me and teach me new things every day.  

Graduates Joel, Pamela, Mirka, Lili, Cristhian & Eddy at our year-end celebration!

Now Lili is working as a seamstress and with hopes of completing a year of volunteer work in a different part of Ecuador through Casa Don Bosco.  Eddy dreams of studying communications and becoming a TV presenter.  Cristhian dreams of becoming a pilot, and Pamela a flight attendant.  Although they have graduated, Starfish continues to support all of them as they find out all of the options to achieve their dreams! Mirka is the last addition to the Flor de Bastión group of graduates.  Joining us just this past year, she quickly left a grand impression on all of us.  Her maturity is way beyond her years and for this reason our employees chose her to give the welcoming speech and reflection this year as a representation of the whole Flor de Bastión community in our closing ceremony.  Mirka will be continuing her studies this year at the state university where many of our employees study.

Joel and his mom with his acceptance letter to a prestigious college scholarship program!!

Last, but certainly not least, is our lone graduate from Guasmo this year - Joel.  Like some of the others, Joel has been a Starfish Scholar since our first days here in Guayaquil.  He has always shown us 100% effort to do his best in everything that is asked of him, and especially in his studies.  Joel is a natural leader, and a dedicated student.  We always knew Joel was special, and now someone else has recognized him too!  A few months ago we attended a talk about a scholarship open to any student achieving a 9 or higher average in school.  Joel sounded like a good fit and he applied.  After a rigorous application process complete with an interview, tutoring sessions, test and home visit, we found out that Joel was selected for a 100% scholarship!  He will be completing a business degree at the Tecnológico Espíritu Santo along with some of the country's best and brightest students.  Due to the high costs of the university, this privilege is usually reserved only for the country's wealthiest.  Thanks to his efforts, Joel now has an excellent opportunity to really break the cycle of poverty in his family and we are so excited to see where this journey will take him in the future!

Flor grads with special gifts from their educadores!!

All of our grads have been invited back to continue to help us as role models and volunteers in the next school year, so we look forward to keeping you updated on their continued accomplishments!!

A Reflection on Senior Year...by Starfish senior Joel

Today, senior Starfish student Joel shares with us a reflection on his last year in high school, and his motivation for the future.  Joel has been with us since the first days of Starfish and we are so proud of all that he has accomplished so far!!

"Hi, I'm Joel.  I'm in my last year of high school.  To be in the last year of high school....it's gratifying to know that you are about to graduate and meet one of your goals which is to finish high school.  Of course, the last year is not easy because your life is slowly taking an important turn towards responsibility.  One begins to become more independent, but it's always necessary to listen to others' advice for something that you don't understand.  It may be related to your studies, which are important.  Someday, thanks to your academic efforts, you can achieve diplomas or scholarships like what I had, and with these accomplishments, people will respect you as a person.  If everything goes well, in the future they will also respect you as a professional."


Also important to note, Joel has done an excellent job preparing for his graduation, participating in the equivalent of SAT-prep classes and earning an admirable score on the exam.  As such he is currently exploring 2 options, the public university to which he will automatically gain admittance with his outstanding test score, and a private university scholarship through another local organization which awards scholarships specifically based on merit.  Let's wish him the best of luck as he continues in the scholarship process!!  ¡Buena suerte Joel!

Spanish language - Joel's original post:

Hola, soy Joel.  Estoy en 3ro de bachillerato.  Estar en el último de colegio...es muy grato saber que estás a punto de graduarte y cumplir con una de tus metas que es finalizar el colegio.  Claro que el último año no es fácil porque tu vida poco a poco va tomando un giro importante que es el de la responsabilidad.  Uno se comienza a independizar, pero siempre hay que escuchar a los demás, sus consejos, en algo que no entiendes.  Puede ser referente a tus estudios, que son importante.  Algún día gracias a tu esfuerzo académico puedes obtener logros como diplomas o becas como los obtuve yo, y al obtener todos estos logros, las demás personas te van a respetar como persona.  Si todo va bien ya puede que más adelante de te respeten como un profesional.

Spotlight on Betsabeth's Nursing Career!

Hi, I'm Betsabeth.  I was a scholarship recipient and now I'm one of the workers.  Thanks to God and my mom's hard work along with my own, I was able to reach my goal of graduating and with the support from Starfish, I was able to realize my dream.

Now that I'm done with high school, I signed up for college and I am studying medicine so that I can be a licensed nurse.  I am learning a lot.  I learn all the different kinds of diseases and illnesses and they've taught me to take pulses, breathing, blood pressure and the pupillary reflex.  Now we are doing a internship with elderly people.  We are helping them to control their blood pressure on a daily basis, and at the same time I am doing an internship at a morgue where I am learning to do autopsies and analyze the body and all of its organisms, and the brain and how much skin we really have as human beings.

After all of the internships and practicals, at our final class we are given a test where we have to explain what we learned.  I really like my major because it's helping me get over my fears and at the same time preparing me to be a great professional.

Here I'll put a photo to show you what I am learning. Thank you!

Hola, Soy Betsabeth.  Fui becada en Estrellitas del Mar, ahora soy trabajadora.  Gracias a Dios y al esfuerzo de mi mamá y mío, logre llegar a mi meta que era graduarme y gracias al apoyo que me dio Starfish Foundation, pude cumplir mi sueño.

Ahora que salí del colegio, me inscribí en la universidad y estoy estudiando la carrera de medicina para llegar hacer licenciada de enfermería.  Estoy aprendiendo mucho.  Me enseña a conocer todas clases de enfermedades de las personas y me enseñaron a tomar el pulso, la respiración, la presión arterial y el reflejo pupilar y ahora mismo estamos haciendo practica con las personas adultos mayores.  Le estamos controlando su presión diariamente y a su vez estoy haciendo practica en un morgue donde estoy aprendiendo hacer la autopsia y analizar en el cadáver todos sus organismos y el cerebro y cuantas piel tenemos en realidad el ser humano.

Después de todas las practicas que tenemos en cada clases al finalizar de la clase nos toma un examen por lo cual nosotros tenemos explicar lo que aprendimos y me gusta mucho mi carrera porque me esta ayudando a superar mis miedos y a su vez a prepararme en mi carrera para ser una buena licenciada.

Aquí les pongo una fotito para enseñarles lo que estoy aprendiendo. ¡Gracias!

Felicidades to our FIRST EVER STARFISH GRADS!

This past month, I had the opportunity to attend two high school graduations.  What made these events even more special is that Betsabeth and Maria are our first ever Starfish graduates!  

Getting ready to enter the auditorium.

At Starfish, our mission is to be a premier means for at-risk Ecuadorian youth to achieve a post-secondary education.  

We are so proud of Betsabeth and Maria for completing the first big step towards achieving that.  With their high school graduation many doors will open to them.

Betsabeth with her proud parents on graduation day!  Check out that degree :)

While graduation is always a special day, I can say without a doubt that Maria and Betsabeth deserve an extra special round of applause for their efforts.  In Ecuador, only 60% of youth enter high school, and that number declines steadily throughout the 6 years that is secondary education.  Youth are forced to find a job and drop out of school, or they get married and have children at a young age.  These are just two examples of the reality of daily life in a developing countries, especially in the marginalized communities of Guasmo and Flor de Bastión.

Apart from overcoming those circumstances, Maria and Betsabeth have been a great example for the other Starfish Scholars.  Both were very responsible with their studies all year, always coming to study and to ask questions when need be.  They will continue to be great role models for our Scholars as they become our first Starfish grads to stay on as "Ayudantes" or employees in our Tutoring program!

Here Betsabeth and Maria receive a gift from Starfish for all of their hard work!

Aside from that, both young women plan to attend university.  Maria hopes to follow in her older sister's steps and attend the State University of Guayaquil.  There she hopes to study pediatrics.  Betsabeth hopes to be the first in her family to attend University.  She is looking to study nursing.  Both girls had to take the entrance exam this past Saturday for public universities.  This exam, while similar in content to the SAT, also determines which major you are allowed to choose in college. Mucha suerte to our Starfish grads as they await the results!

Maria with her mom and older sister, Jennifer.

Meet our Employees!

This school year we are blessed with the support of 6 part-time "ayudantes".   Our employees provide support to our tutoring program and monthly meetings as well as act as mentors for all of our Starfish Scholars.

Valeria, Marcos and Yuliana have joined the team in Guasmo.

While Jasmin, Tyrone and Maricruz form the team in Flor de Bastión.

Tyrone and Jasmin in their first group picture with the Flor de Bastión scholars.

Find out a little more about each one of our employees on our updated website!