8 May 2015
After months of planning and hard work from the UCLA and UCSC chapters, the Project Team is excited and eager to get to Guatemala to finally meet the incredible people at Byoearth and Junkabal and get to work! We hope that this blog will allow us to share our experiences with you while highlighting the work that these organizations are doing. Before the project begins, we would like to introduce our team.
Hello, my name is Marvin Velasquez Jr. is a third year sociology major at UCSC. I am from Oakland, California, a predominantly low-income urbanized city, which has been my inspiration to give back to the community and become a social worker to create change that allows equity for all. Being first generation here in the US, I have found it necessary to not only help my community, but also to create change on a larger scale; and Nourish International is helping make this dream a possibility. I am extremely excited to create solidarity with the Guatemalan community in order to help me prosper as an individual and create a sustainable lifestyle for those affected by this project.
My name is Wendy Renteria and I am a first-generation Chicana student from Los Angeles. I am a third-year student double majoring in International Politics and World Literature and Cultural Studies. I am also pursuing a minor in Global Information and Social Enterprise Studies. These fields of study have expanded and reinforced my interest in cultural awareness and passion for social justice. In the future, I hope to have a career in the nonprofit sector and work alongside people around the world on sustainability, education, and economic empowerment. I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to take part in the amazing work that ByoEarth does and to share this experience with others who believe in, support, and work towards sustainable development.
Hello there! My name is Edgar Martinez and I am approaching my fourth and final year at UCSC, aiming for my Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology. I enjoy working with kids and hope to become a pediatrician in the future. I have spent most of my life living around the heart of Central Los Angeles, but have learned to love and appreciate my unique home here in Santa Cruz. I like to consider myself as adventurous and willing to try new things. My parents and I are part of a fundraising organization back home in Los Angeles that aims to help provide basic essential community services to my parents’ native village in Oaxaca. That being said, helping people help themselves is a very important concept that lies very close to my heart; this project encourages self-sustainability and empowerment through various forms of knowledge, I could not be any more excited to be a part of it.
My name is Raphael Mawrence and I grew up in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and have always been inspired by professors, friends and family to work closely with NGO’s and organizations alike that promote goodwill, conservation and sustainability. In 2013, I transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz from Santa Monica College to study Anthropology and Environmental Studies with the ambition to help bridge social and natural sciences. I have always loved photography, documentary film-making, mountain-bike riding, scuba diving and hanging out with friends, and I hope that my current work and future endeavors provide an everlasting impact in the communities that I am involved with, and inspire others to follow a similar path.
My name is Cintia Haide Chávez Rodriguez and I was born in Querátaro, México. I have lived in the Los Angeles county, California since the age of six. Currently, I am a proud, third-year banana slug at the University of California Santa Cruz majoring in Human Biology. After obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, I aspire to attend medical school to become an OB-GYN to aid and empower women in rural, impoverished communities abroad. I am very thrilled to be part of this project because of my personal convictions towards social change.
Hola, me llamo Reyna Marrufo y es mi primer año en la Universidad de Santa Cruz. Nací en la ciudad de Los Angeles. Estoy estudiando Economía y Estudios Comunitarios. Siempre me ha encantado ayudar a las personas. Se que eso es lo que me hace lo mas felíz. Soy una persona muy dedicada con mucho pasión en las cosas que hago. Estoy muy agrecida para tener la oportunidad de ayudar a la gente de Guatemala y conocer otra cultura diferente de la mia. Espero aprender mucho mas de ByoEarth y como trabaja la organización.