Derek Buescher and Christina Saenz, Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) students, will receive a full two-year tuition waiver to any of Arizona's three state universities (ASU, UA, NAU) as a result of a rigorous application process with USA Today, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. The organizations band together to honor 60 students as representatives of all outstanding community college students, and Buescher and Saenz are two of the 60. The criteria for the scholarship is designed to find students who excel academically, show intellectual rigor in their course of study, demonstrate academic/leadership/civic growth, and extend their community college education to better themselves, the schools and their communities.
Buescher and Saenz were chosen to represent EMCC at the All-USA Academic Team Competition in April, where if chosen as one of the top 20 applicants nationwide, they can receive additional scholarship dollars. Because the All-USA Academic Team is a merit award based on students' community college accomplishments, each student was asked to write a 500-word essay about his/her most outstanding intellectual community college endeavor as part of the application process.
Buescher, who aspires to be an architect, wrote about his volunteerism with the Thomas J. Pappas School for Homeless Children. "Volunteerism has become a significant endeavor in my life in learning to give of myself while balancing school, family and work. Their [Pappas students'] hugs let me know I am making a difference and make every visit worthwhile," he said.
Saenz has served the community in a number of capacities through the college's service learning projects and personal volunteerism. As part of an EMCC service learning project, Saenz worked with the Refugee Resettlement Program of Catholic Charities Community Services in Phoenix by collecting hygiene products and teaching refugees English. As an aspiring social worker, Saenz improved her skills by working with those families and other community organizations. "All they [the families] needed was a special spark to get started," she said quoting Kenny Ausubel, 'Each of us has a spark of life inside of us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.' "I was privileged to have put that spark into someone else's life and I know I couldn't have done it without Estrella Mountain's help and support," she said.
Both students will be honored at the All-Arizona Team banquet along with other Maricopa Community College students in February.