Scholar Stories
The Reluctant Student
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Cradle-2-Graduation StoriesGraduate
Despite my initial lack of interest in academic studies, BASIC fundamentally changed my perspective on education.
Carlos Garcia
B.A. Business Administration, Finance · CSU San Marcos, December 2023
Most scholarship stories start with a student who always wanted this. Carlos Garcia’s starts with one who did not particularly.
He says so himself, and it is worth quoting exactly because organizations rarely publish it: he had no real interest in academic study. What changed his mind was a foundation in his own town deciding he was worth investing in, which is a different argument from anything a prospectus can make.
- Imagination Library
- Family Literacy
- TK Academy
- Learning Academy
- Scholarship, completed
- Graduate, completed
He reached the fifth station without ever intending to.
What the money was actually spent on
Textbooks and class materials, mostly. It is an unglamorous list, and it is the one that decides outcomes. A required textbook can cost more than a week of part-time wages, and a student who cannot buy it starts every course a step behind. Removing that, Carlos says, is what let him concentrate on the studying itself.
He finished a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance at California State University, San Marcos, in December 2023.
- Degree
- B.A. Business Administration, Finance
- Campus
- CSU San Marcos
- Finished
- December 2023
- What the award covered
- Textbooks and class materials
This financial assistance significantly alleviated stress, allowing me to concentrate on my academic studies.Carlos Garcia
A company, before the degree arrived
During his final semester he was already looking for a way to start something of his own that would also be useful to other people. He founded a business cleaning solar panels — unglamorous again, and straightforwardly practical: panels that are not cleaned generate less power, so the service pays for itself in electricity the customer would otherwise have lost.
The reluctant student finished his finance degree having already put it to work.
In his own words
My family and I are immensely grateful to the BASIC program and its generous donors. Their support plays a crucial role in shaping the futures of students like myself.
I hope that others consider contributing to such a program. They are not only excellent initiatives but also dedicate a lot of time and resources to assist the next generation in their educational and personal development.
I am eager to assist in any way I can, just as BASIC has helped me.
Carlos Garcia
More graduates, in their own words: BASIC Salutes Its Graduates.
Some students need convincing that this is for them
An award from their own town is the argument that works. It arrives before they have proved anything, which is the whole point.