The 2021 scholarship winners were announced at the club’s general meeting on April 24th. Every year the Coronado Democratic Club awards John F. Kennedy Scholarships to students at Southwestern College. This year $500 scholarships were awarded to Yahir Ibarra and Elizabeth de la Torre. These students exemplify our country’s democratic values.
Yahir Ibarra was born in San Diego, grew up in Mexico, and moved to San Ysidro where he learned English as a Second Language while attending high school. His single mother motivated him go to college. Since middle school he’s had the goal of a career in computer engineering. He is on his way with a GPA of 4.0 to date in his rigorous coursework. He’s involved in the Math and Science Club as well as a reporter for the award-winning Southwestern College newspaper, The Sun. Working on the newspaper is extremely time consuming, yet the faculty advisor to the paper praises Yahir’s work ethic as well as the values and assistance he brings to his peers.
His work on the newspaper demonstrates his commitment to unbiased reporting in our democracy. As a citizen he takes his responsibility to vote seriously by researching candidates, issues, and legislation. The issues most important to him include women’s rights and a strong concern for our country’s role as a global super power. Yahir sees that we need to participate by supporting human rights and working with other countries to identify solutions for global needs.
Elizabeth De La Torre is the daughter of immigrants who had less than an elementary school education. She grew up in South East San Diego and was taught that nothing was impossible. She is the single mother of middle school twins. She worked 15 years in the hospitality industry until she was laid off due to the pandemic. She was motivated by her children to return to college in 2018. In fall 2019 she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and had a bilateral mastectomy, chemo, and radiation treatment. Elizabeth says, “As I continue through the journey, I understand it has its positives and negatives, but I don’t ever give up.”
She was able to enroll back at Southwestern College in fall 2020. She’s used multiple food banks as she works to make ends meet. While she attends college, she is also working hard to be a teacher and role model for her children.
Elizabeth is politically active at her union, Local 30. She is supporting AB 1074 which will protect those laid off in the hospitality industry during the pandemic in a priority rehiring process. She fights for the rights of hospitality workers. The two political issues most important to her are stricter regulation in gun laws as well as environmental conservation. Currently she is forming a group for beach cleanup from members of her Local 30 and college clubs at Southwestern College.
Elizabeth and Yahir epitomize our American democratic values and the American dream. We are proud of their hard work. They are “winners” in every respect and give us hope for the future.
