For Minneapolis native and recent grad Evelyn Vazquez Urzua ’22, receiving the Harold and Edythe Toso Endowed Scholarship not only opened doors to a college degree but launched a deeply personal mission.
“As a first-generation college student, I owe it all to my community,” she says.
Her experience at Santa Clara University instilled the academic knowledge necessary for success and also sparked a passion to serve the Latino community, “especially those with lower incomes, in any capacity that I can,” Evelyn says.
In addition to double-majoring in political science and ethnic studies and minoring in women and gender studies, Evelyn dedicated herself to a number of worthy causes and professional development activities despite a challenging academic course load.
“I think about the communities I was involved in, from the LEAD Scholars Program for first-generation college students to Hermanas Unidas, Feminists for Justice, the Ethnic Studies Club, and the Multicultural Center,” she explains. “These experiences helped shape me—they allowed me to find power in my agency and advocacy.”
She also cites internships with organizations like Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, which she feels enabled her to grow as a leader and team player, and her on-campus positions with the Ethnic Studies Department, SCU’s Credit Counseling Office, and the Multicultural Center for helping her gain valuable work experience while strengthening her abilities and confidence.
Since graduating this spring, the future looks very bright for Evelyn. She is presently seeking work as a nonprofit program director where she hopes to gain greater hands-on experience working with marginalized communities. She also plans to pursue a graduate degree in education in the near future.
When she thinks back on her Santa Clara experience, she feels especially grateful for the scholarship support she received each year as she worked to complete her degree.
“I can’t imagine accomplishing any of this without the Harold and Edythe Toso Endowed Scholarship—I could fulfill the dream of being the first in my family to graduate from college. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she says.
Support from loyal friends like you helps SCU advance our distinctive Jesuit education by investing in student scholarships and access, faculty and teaching, and the state-of-the-art Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation—all made possible by Innovating with a Mission, the Campaign for SCU. To learn how you can use your estate plan to help SCU forge the next generation of ethical leaders like Evelyn, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 408-554-2108 or giftplanning@scu.edu today.