September 30, 2003

Dear Members of the Association of Latino Alumni (ALA),

It is with great delight that I write this letter to express my extreme gratitude towards your efforts and generosity. When I was notified that I was the recipient of the Association of Latino Alumni Scholarship, I was thrilled about the honor and opportunity I was being given to continue to attend one of the most prestigious schools in the nation. I feel that you, as an organization, have truly accomplished one of your most important objectives.

The ALA Endowed Scholarship has allowed me to continue my third year of education here at the University of Pennsylvania. Before I came to Penn, I never really gave much thought about where I would go to college. I grew up in a predominately Mexican neighborhood known as La Villita, in the Southside of Chicago. In high school, I felt that my choices for college were limited to the ones that were close to home. The primary reasoning for this mentality was because the only two other members to go to college in my entire family were my brother and my sister, and they went to local universities Another main reason for not even considering to go away was because of a lack of financing. I didn't even know that Penn existed until I attended a college fair my senior year. After reading about Penn and talking to the recruiter, I began to wonder and the rest is history.

I am now a junior at Penn with a bright and promising future to look forward to, majoring in Economics with a minor in Actuarial Math. During my time at Penn, I feel that I have really developed as a student and as a person. I have come to realize that one of the most important things that can be done, regardless of what stage of life you are at is to give back to your community. That is why participating in organizations like El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan, Latino Coalition, and the Academic Coaching and Mentoring Program (ACAMP) in north Philadelphia elementary schools are so important to me. Your generous contribution has strengthened this belief even more. I hope to one day be a member of the ALA community so that I too can make someone's experience at Penn a possibility.

On behalf of myself and my family thank you once again for your kindness and support. My parents sacrificed everything to give my siblings and me a new life full of promise and hope, a life, which through your generosity, I now have the means and ability to achieve. Words can't express how appreciative I am. I look forward to meeting each and everyone one of you.

Sincerely,
Liliana Macias, C'05