Scholarship Junkies has grown tremendously in 2020 and will continue to expand our work in three areas: education access, relief funds, and community development. As part of our community development efforts, we believe that as our local community becomes more diverse, it is essential for youth and young adults in our community to become more culturally responsive.
Scholarship Junkies is proud to announce our Cultural Justice Fellowship! This program is uniquely designed to support upcoming youth and young leaders through the emergence of new and different perspectives, by investigating different communities across the world, as well as learning to collaborate with diverse groups of people across multiple spaces.
The inaugural program through Scholarship Junkies will offer three trips to countries in North America, Central America, and South America to a total of 24 youth and young adults from the state of Washington.
Participating youth and young adults will be immersed in a comprehensive language and culturally responsive four-week summer program organized by Scholarship Junkies, in partnership with local culturally sustaining educators from Washington State and country-based universities and/or community-based organizations.
MEXICO - July 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021
Fellowship Lead: Yuriana Garcia Tellez
GUATEMALA - July 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021
Fellowship Lead: Maria Alejandra Perez Guzman
PERU - September 1, 2021 - October 1, 2021
Fellowship Lead: Julie Feng
The Cultural Justice Fellowship is rooted in the work of “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies: Teaching and Learning for Justice in a Changing World” by Django Paris and H. Samy Alim, focusing on how these learnings apply in different cultural spaces and through different cultures across these countries. A week prior to the trip, the students will participate in a virtual week-long intensive-course on Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy.
During the program, the youth and young adults will participate in a project-based learning model of cultural and academic classes on Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and how it shifts through space and throughout the world; language courses; lectures on the economic, political, and educational system at each perspective county; and visit various archeological sites and education-based institutions to learn how culture has sustained across centuries in these spaces.
Upon return of the four-week program from each country, the participants will participate in a collective three-day virtual seminar focused on each of their learnings, connected to culture, space, and the current political, educational, and economic climate in each country. The youth and young adults will then complete a report, research paper, or video essay tying their learnings in connection to Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy. Scholarship Junkies will host a community-facing webinar series in the Winter of 2022 to present the youth and young adult’s projects.
To be eligible for consideration to our program, applicants must meet the following requirements:
*Scholarships not available at this time
David hails from the Central District of Seattle, where his passion for access to opportunity was formed. Growing up, he set his sights on breaking the chains of poverty, which led him to study mechanical engineering at the University of Washington. During his undergrad, he worked at the National Science Foundation, Boeing, Tesla, and helped create the Hyperloop for SpaceX’s competition. It was through these dream jobs that he realized his calling: helping others pay for college through Scholarship Junkies, a non-profit he founded. He believes not worrying about money will free students to experience the magic of higher education. David is now expanding the vision of Scholarship Junkies, to three areas: education access, relief funds, and community development.
Email: david@scholarshipjunkies.org
Yuriana Garcia Tellez is a first-generation, Latina from Michoacan, Mexico. She grew up in the State of Washington in a small, agricultural town and later attended the University of Washington where she earned her degree in Human-Centered Design and Engineering. Yuriana worked in higher education to increase access and success of immigrant and first-generation students by creating access programs and training. She founded the Beyond HB 1079 conference for immigrant students in Washington state, providing access to resources and community space. Before Scholarship Junkies, Yuriana has served as the Diversity Outreach and Engagement Administrator at the City of Bellevue, where her goal was to engage diverse communities within Bellevue to be civically engaged and to be at the forefront of equity initiatives.
Email: yuriana@scholarshipjunkies.org
Maria Alejandra Perez Guzman’s (goes by Alejandra) passion for educational equity comes from her advocacy with and for immigrant students and their families in Washington State. Alejandra has an extensive background in organizing for social justice, running large-scale events and conferences, and providing professional development to educators. She served as Co-Director for the Beyond HB 1079 Conference, was a member of the Dream Educational Empowerment Program National Advisory Council, and was a community organizer with the Washington Dream Coalition. She graduated from Cleveland High School in Seattle and went on to earn her Bachelors of Arts and Master of Education from the University of Washington Bothell.
Email: alejandra@scholarshipjunkies.org
Julie Feng is an educator, researcher, and communications strategist working towards narrative shifts in the education system. Her experience running youth development programs and supporting South Seattle classrooms fostered her commitment to social justice. Julie has studied English, Creative Writing, and Cultural Studies at the University of Washington, where she has conducted research on freedom of movement, organized story circles for students of color, and was named a 2020 Imagining America Publicly Active Graduate Education fellow. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Powerful Voices, an organization creating activist spaces for girls of color.
Email: julie@scholarshipjunkies.org
