Congratulations to two more BECA graduates

   We are pleased to announce that two more BECA students have successfully passed the final oral comprehensive exam required for graduation from the UTEPSA university in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  They are Cirila Sandoval Escalante with a degree in Financial Auditing and Lidia Figueroa Sejas with a degree also in Financial Auditing. 
   Congratulations to them both for completing all of the hard work and sacrifice required to achieve their university degrees, called a Licenciatura, roughly equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree in the U.S.  It is a 6-year process in the Bolivian university system.  We also congratulate their families whose support was equally important to their success.
   Their graduation brings to 7 the number of BECA students graduated from the university since 2007.  Another student, Gimena Loyaza, is scheduled to take the final oral exam in June. 

 BECA Founder Dr, Harold Koch with Lincenciada Lidia Figueroa, right, at a reception for BECA students and their families in November 2013. At left is Alejandra Jablonski, a BECA student in her third year of studies at the UTEPSA University. 

.Licenciada Cirila Sandoval with Lic. Eduardo Montalvo, Director of Student Services, UTEPSA University, Nov. 2012, at reception for BECA students and their families.

Ascend Alliance Supports BECA

     BECA is happy to report that Ascend Alliance, a sister humanitarian organization, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has made a very generous donation to BECA for 2013..  The donation indicates a high level of confidence in, and support for, BECA's mission.  The BECA board and scholarship students are deeply grateful for their support.
    In 2013 BECA and Ascend Alliance will be evaluating the potential for establishing a closer long-term association between the two organizations.

BECA gives scholarships to six new students

    All of these students come from backgrounds which would not have allowed them the resources to attend college without the benefit of the BECA scholarship.
       After interviewing over 15 potential candidates, BECA has given six new scholarships to attend the UTEPSA university in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to the following students:

     Jerelly Rivero Bustillos - General Administration.
     Mery Terceros Trujillo -  Law.
     Juan René Flores -  Systems Engineering
     Maria Nieves Mustacedo -  Law
     Cristián Maximiliano Calzadilla -  Telecommunications Network Engineering
     Laida G. Lopez Mansilla -  Industrial and Commercial Engineering

    The students were chosen on the basis of their scholastic record from high school (the average GPA for these six recipients was and A-); the support of their families (who were interviewed along with the student); recommendations by their high school; and the personal impressions they made during the interview; among other criteria.

         

BECA Celebrates ongoing support from the IMF and Liberty Gives

    BECA is pleased to report that the IMF (International Monetary Fund), through its matching grant program for employees, for the third year in a row has made a significant donation to BECA, sufficient to support two students´ tuition at UTEPSA for a full year!  Thank you to both the IMF employee and the IMF!
   In addition, Liberty Gives, the charitable arm of the Liberty company of Denver, Colorado, has also made its second matching contribution to BECA along with that of one of its employees.  Their donation once again supports one student's tuition at UTEPSA for a full year.  Thank you to Liberty and their employee!
   Many other wonderful contributions have been received from a number of individuals in support of the BECA program.  The BECA students and the BECA organization thanks all of its contributors for their great generosity and allowing the BECA program to continue to grow in 2013.  

BECA celebrates 2012 success of students and looks to 2013

Founders Barbara Pence and Harold Koch and Bolivian Vice President Monina Kellemberger met with current BECA students and recent graduates in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in November 2012

Left to right:  Jonathan Osinaga, Gimena Loyaza, Barbara Pence, Alejandra Jablonski, Franz Mustacedo, Harold Koch, Lidia Figueroa, Monina Kellemberger, Ita Suarez, Adelaida Cáceres and David Rojas.

BECA celebrated four graduates by the end of 2012:  Franz Mustacedo, Ita Suarez, Jonathan Osinaga and Alexander Mustacedo

Three more students are expected to graduate in early 2013: Lidia Figueroa and Cirila Sandoval, both in Financial Auditing, pictured below with BECA board Vice President, Monina Kellemberger; 

and Gimena Loyaza in Human Resources, pictured below with graduate Jonathan Osinaga (Financial Administration) and Harold Koch.

Other graduates expected in 2013 are Adelaida Cáceres (Financial Auditing), Marco Antonio Balderrama (International Relations), and Ricardo Mustacedo (Medicine).

In 2014, Alejandra Jablonski (Commercial Engineering) and David Rojas (Petrochemical Engineering) are expected to graduate.  

Barbara Pence and Harold Koch met with local Bolivian board members, Monina Kellemberger, Susana Moreno, Kelly Clark Boldt and Carmen Rosa Wichtendahl (above) in November to decide that a minimum of four new students will be given BECA scholarships in 2013.  The local board will identify several candidates in December and conduct interviews with the candidates and their families in early January.  UTEPSA will also assist with interviews and provide aptitude testing for prospective students.

Student candidates must have graduated from public high schools, come from a low-income family background ($300 or less income per month), received a established minimum average grade in high school, show significant desire for a college education, and demonstrate a strong commitment of support by his or her family while in school.  

The Rector of UTEPSA, Antonio Carvalho (pictured left, above) reaffirmed the university´s commitment to maintain a significant tuition discount for BECA students over the next several years, making it possible for BECA to offer scholarships to more students in 2013 and beyond.

Matt Casto (pictured above) , CEO of Ascend Alliance, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, also accompanied Pence/Koch on the November trip to Bolivia.  Ascend will make a significant donation to BECA in 2012 to support the addition of new students in 2013.  Ascend Alliance and BECA are exploring opportunities for a longer-term association beyond 2013.

  

2011 - A Successful Year!

    BECA was happy to announce that two more BECA students successfully achieved their university degrees in 2011:  Franz Mustacedo, who graduated in the field of Marketing, and Ita Suarez, also in Marketing.  BECA how has three graduates (in Bolivia, they're called "Licenciados", the equivalent of baccalaureate degrees in the U.S.).  They have achieved what most university students in Bolivia do not.  Most Bolivian university students complete the necessary coursework, but never get around to actually taking the final oral exam or thesis that would actually result in receiving their degree.  It is a final step that usually requires an extra year of preparation to take the exam and then the taking of the exam itself.  Most students, with their coursework completed, immediately enter the workforce and never complete the degree.  It is ultimately to their detriment because their earning power is virtually doubled once their receive their degree.  It has always been the stated objective of BECA to not only support students through their years of coursework study, but to see them all the way through to their degree.
     In addition to the two new graduates, six BECA students will have completed all their coursework by the end of 2011.  In 2012, five of the students, will undergo a preparatory course for taking the final exam in their field and then actually taking the exam and graduating  as "licenciados" by the end of 2012.  The sixth student who has been studying medicine to become a doctor, is expected to be assigned as an intern at a hospital somewhere in Bolivia, after which he will receive his degree, also. 
     Of the remaining three current BECA students, one was forced to briefly drop out in 2011 due to the unexpected death of his mother, the primary breadwinner of the family.  He had to take a job to help pay for her final medical expenses and help his father with other household expenses.  Nevertheless, he is prepared to return to the university in January with only two or three courses left before he, too, will have completed his coursework for his degree and can move to complete the preparatory course for the final exam.  He should receive his degree sometime in 2013.
      The other two current BECA students are in their 2nd and third years of study, respectively, and both are receiving excellent grades.
      By the end of 2013, BECA should have realized the graduation of 10 students with baccalaureate degrees or an M.D. 

      BECA's FUTURE
      Because so many of BECA´s current students are entered their 6th and final year in 2012, when expenses for the preparatory course and the taking of the final exam result in twice the expense of a normal year of coursework, BECA did not add any new students in 2012.  Additionally, due to the unusually long and deep economic recession being experienced in the U.S., contributions to BECA have declined. 
     During 2012-2013 the directors of BECA will be investigating potential alliances with other charitable organizations operating in Bolivia, with a goal of formalizing and defining an operating structure for the organization going forward.  It is our hope such a formalization would allow for BECA to continue for many years to come to provide the opportunity for low-income students in Bolivia to study at the university level and graduate, establishing a new legacy for their families of upward mobility and helping to narrow the extraordinarily wide economic and social gap between the upper and lower classes in the country. 
    As these efforts are made we will continue to keep our contributors and others informed of our progress.  In the meantime, BECA's students in Bolivia frequently express their extreme gratitude for the opportunity the BECA program has offered them.

U.S. Board Member, Harold Koch, Visits Bolivia

The 2010 visit to Bolivia celebrated our first graduates, planned for the new intakes in 2011, and allowed UTEPSA university to give each student a gift.  In spite of the recession, BECA reconfirmed our mission and commitment to Bolivia.  .