San Nicolas Education Foundation Blog

Welcome to Four New Students!

Congratulations to our newest scholarship students! All Saturday students, these four will receive a partial scholarship of $30 per month to cover their school supplies, bus fare to and from university, and food on the Saturdays that they attend university. (Attending Saturday school seems to be a trend among our scholarship applicants).

All four students started school this month; we wish them all well in their first weeks of university!

Marcela Rizo Lazo

Marcela is our 2024 Idalia Lopez Camas scholarship awardee. In memory of the late San Nicolas high school principal who died in 2021, this scholarship is given to students like Idalia who have a passion for education or who are from remote communities.

Marcela has both qualities, along with a glowing academic record. From the small community of La Pacaya, Marcela is studying Language & Literature Education at the FAREM University in Esteli. “Since I was a little girl,” she says, “I always liked helping younger students, and my teachers told me that I had a lot of love and patience in doing it.”

Marcela has five siblings, but she just lives with her grandmother and her father, who is a farmer. In her free time she likes reading.

Fatima Rivera Martinez

Fatima also wants to become a teacher; she is studying English Education at the UNAN-Managua University in Esteli.

Fatima is from the extremely remote community of Guingajapa, and she is rightfully proud of the fact that living so far away from school didn’t hinder her from getting her high school diploma. If all goes according to plan, it won’t prevent her from getting a college degree either!

Fatima’s father is a farmer and she has three siblings. She enjoys going to church, reading, and traveling, and she says she’d like to learn to play soccer.

Ismary Martinez Davila

Ismary is from San Nicolas and she plans to study Business Administration at the UNAM University of Managua (Santa Cruz campus).

She says she has always liked math and hopes that passion will serve her well in her studies. In fact, she’s already in the business world; a few days a week she works at a small business in town.

Ismary has an older sister and a younger brother. Her father is a construction worker and her mother works at the Mayor’s Office in San Nicolas. Ismary is very grateful to receive this scholarship; without it, she says she couldn’t afford to attend university.

Hellen Davila Centeno

Hellen is studying Nursing at the private university, Padre Gaspar Garcia Laviana, in Esteli.

“I want to study Nursing because it’s a career in which I can help other people, and also there is a lot of demand for nurses,” she says.

Hellen is from the community of Potrerillos and lives with her parents, three siblings, and her grandmother. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a primary school teacher. In her free time, Hellen likes reading and listening to music. In addition to studying Nursing, she has a personal goal of learning English.

We can’t wait to watch all of these students grow professionally and meet their academic goals in the years ahead!

Students Wrap Up 2023 School Year

In December, the Nicaraguan academic year ended and saw all our SNEF-sponsored students wrapping up a successful year of hands-on learning.

Erick Alexander, who was the first student the Foundation ever sponsored (starting in 2019), will complete his degree in March. More to come on that! In the mean time, we’ll share some photos of other SNEF students, all of whom will continue their studies in 2024.

Marling Lopez, who is studying Clinical Bioanalysis at the UNAN

Congratulations to all our SNEF scholarship students on a successful year at university! We’ll be sharing more soon on the incoming students awarded scholarships to begin in 2024.

Introducing Our New 2023 Scholarship Students

The San Nicolas Education Foundation will support three impressive new full-time public university students starting in 2023! These three students were selected from a competitive pool of 16 applicants this year.

A SNEF scholarship helps make up for lost income from studying instead of working and pays for students’ school supplies, food, and transportation to and from university every day. (Public university itself is free in Nicaragua.) You can get to know our three new students below!

Norlan Mendoza Lopez

From the small community of La Tejera a few miles outside of San Nicolas, Norlan was accepted into his first-choice option of studying pharmacy at the UNAN university in the city of Leon.

In high school, Norlan played chess and did well in his science classes. In his free time, he likes reading and listening to music. He also loves nature (particularly animals) and participated in an extracurricular called “green school.” “I always want to respect and preserve nature,” Norlan says.

He says he wants to use his interest in chemistry and pharmacy to help and support his community. Congratulations and good luck to Norlan as he starts his first year of university!

Elieth Blandon Gutierrez

Elieth also got into her first choice program; she will be studying accounting and finance at the FAREM university in Esteli.

Elieth is an only child and is from the community of Hato Viejo. Her father is a farmer and her mother takes care of the house. In her free time, she reads, watches educational videos, and spends time with her family.

Elieth says that she is interested in studying accounting because she has always liked working with numbers and calculations. She also hopes that a career in accounting will connect her with lots of people, as she considers herself a people person. We are so excited to see where Elieth’s degree will take her!

Yelba Martinez Salgado

Yelba will be studying accounting and finance (also her first choice!) right alongside Elieth at the FAREM university in Esteli.

Our only student this year from the town of San Nicolas, Yelba lives with her parents and her brother. Her father is a farmer and her mother takes care of the house. Yelba is a soccer player, but she says her favorite hobby is just spending time with family and friends.

Since she was young, Yelba always wanted to study and have a professional career. Her dream is that with a degree in accounting, she will be able to support her family and her community. We’re cheering for you, Yelba!

SNEF Student Graduates with Nursing Degree

Congratulations to Birmania Rocha, who finished her nursing degree this month! Birmania, who started her degree in 2020, is the first SNEF scholarship recipient to graduate since we began awarding scholarships in 2019. Birmania studied on Saturdays at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Managua.

“I want to thank God for allowing me to study nursing, which will enable me to serve the sick and have empathy for them,” says Birmania. “I feel very grateful to the people who supported me through the San Nicolas Education Foundation. That they were able to support me in my studies was a huge help for me throughout my program.”

Birmania is currently in the process of getting her license finalized, but once everything is official, she’ll look for a nursing position at a hospital. She says that in the long term, she’d like to continue her studies.

We are incredibly proud of Birmania and can’t wait to see the impact she will have on the world with her shiny new degree!

If you’re interested in funding higher education for students like Birmania, please consider donating to the San Nicolas Education Foundation!

Student Check-In: Walkiria Lopez

Here is an update from Walkiria, who is finishing her third year of medical school:

My name is Walkiria Belen Lopez Rocha. I’m originally from La Tejera, a community that is about 5 kilometers from San Nicolas. I live with my parents and my sister, and we have 2 beautiful pets. I’m proud of my family and my community.

When I was 17 years old and finishing high school, it was time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I was sure of one thing: I wanted to study for a profession. But there was a big problem – my family couldn’t cover my university costs. God put in my path an amazing person, professor Idalia Lopez, who advised me and inspired me to take the opportunity to open up new worlds through a university education. Her wise advice was critical for me.

I applied for the medical program at the UNAN university in Leon. I decided I wanted to go into medicine in my third year of high school because I liked the idea of offering medical services to my community. The help of the San Nicolas Education Foundation has been essential. The main barrier to me getting more education was the cost, and the Foundation gave me everything I needed for my studies. Without their support it would have been very difficult to study.

Without a doubt starting university has been important to my life. I have to admit that it hasn’t been easy to adapt, and I’ve had to drastically change my studying habits. But I have overcome these difficult experiences and in some ways become stronger as I learn from my mistakes.

One of my goals is to publish medical articles. I know that I will have to work hard to accomplish this, and sometimes I doubt myself, but later I remember that I have to fight for it.

I’m happy with my studies, and while sometimes I don’t have time to sleep, I never regret studying medicine. I have tried to leave time to do things I enjoy like playing chess, reading, going to Zumba, and visiting my family. In 4 years I’ll finish my studies, and my goal is to work hard and keep studying. I’m interested in lots of areas of medicine, but my favorite is investigation.

My family, my community, and I are all grateful to the San Nicolas Education Foundation for their support. It is a great opportunity for all of us young people who want to study.

Read Walkiria’s blog in Spanish and see photos by downloading the document below.

walkiria-l.r Download

Student Check-In: Erick Alexander

We’ll be posting regular blogs written by each of our scholarship students sharing about what they’ve been up to in class, what internships or projects they are working on, and how the scholarship has impacted their lives.

Our first blog is written by Erick Alexander Lopez, who was also our very first scholarship recipient. Erick started university in 2019, and if all goes according to plan, he’ll get his degree next year!

Mi nombre es Erick Alexander López Rayo, soy originario de la comunidad El Sesteo del municipio San Nicolás, soy el mayor de tres hermanos, mi núcleo familiar este compuesto por mis dos hermanos y mi mamá.

Actualmente soy estudiante de ingeniería civil, decidí estudiar esta carrera, porque me apasionan las ciencias de la construcción y porque es una carrera con un amplio campo laboral, inicié contando con el apoyo de San Nicolás Education Fundation, de manera que se me facilitó solventar diferentes gastos, lo cual ha sido de mucho próvecho para mi y para mi familia, hoy en día estoy cursando cuarto año de la carrera y he tenido mucho éxito.

He participado en ferias científicas, proyectos de fin de curso, prácticas de profesionalización, cursos complementarios, he logrado participar en proyectos de beneficio social como: construcción de viviendas, reparación y mejoramiento de caminos, proyectos de agua potable entre otros.

Me emociona alcanzar la meta de tener mi título de ingeniero y seguir complementando mis conocimientos con especialización en áreas afines a mi carrera, de manera pueda ser un profesional competente y seguir aportando al desarrollo de mi municipio a trases de mis conocimientos.

Además de estudiar invierto mi tiempo en otras cosas que me gusta como: ejercitarme, jugar futbol, ver videos tutoriales. Agradezco a SNEF por su apoyo durante todo este tiempo, ha sido de mucha ayuda, sin duda lo compensaré siendo una persona útil para la sociedad.

My name is Erick Alexander López Rayo and I’m originally from the community of El Sesteo, in the municipality of San Nicolás. I’m the oldest of three brothers and my nuclear family consists of my mom, my two brothers and I.

I’m a civil engineering student and I decided on this career because I’m passionate about science and construction. It’s also a career pathway that involves a lot of work in the field, and I began this pathway with the support of the San Nicolás Education Foundation, which was how I was able to cover various educational costs. This has been an incredible advantage for me and my family. Today I am entering my fourth year of study in this career and I have had a lot of success.

I have participated in science fairs, end-of-the-year projects, professional workshops, and courses complementary to my degree of study. I have achieved much in terms of projects that benefit the community, such as constructing homes, repairing and improving roads, and projects that have brought potable water to many.

I am so excited to accomplish the goal of receiving my engineering degree and continue to complement my knowledge with a specialization in the areas similar to my career, in the way I can be a professional and continue to support my community and city with the knowledge I have learned.

Also, I have invested my time in other things that I enjoy, such as exercise, playing football and watching informational videos. I’m so grateful to SNEF for their support during this time. It has been an incredible help and without a doubt has allowed me to be a contributing member of our society.

Meet our 2022 Scholarship Recipients!

From a very competitive pool of applicants, four new students were awarded scholarships this year. Our local committee helped to select these students, all of whom got into their top choice university programs and are already underway with the 2022 school year. Read on to learn more about them!

Marling Lopez Lopez

From the small community of La Tejera, Marling Lopez has moved to Leon to study Clinical Bioanalysis at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN).

Marling is interested in lab work and investigating samples under a microscope. She says, “Helping people who need help makes me feel incredible – knowing that I’m doing something that could help save lives is one of the most marvelous feelings.” After completing her studies, she hopes to have her own lab where she will help diagnose patients.

Marling and her two siblings were raised by a single mother in the mountains near San Nicolas. In her free time, Marling draws, dances, reads, goes for walks, and hangs out with her family. In high school, she was one of the best students in her class and helped raise money to build a church for her community. Someday she wants to learn how to play the piano.

Cristell Herrera Lopez

Cristell Lopez is also from La Tejera. She got into her top choice program and will be studying Architecture at the FAREM (the public university in Esteli).

Cristell first became interested in studying Architecture when she was in 10th grade. She says she is drawn to a career in Architecture because “it pays well, it will allow me to help in my home and with other projects, and it allows me to use my creativity to help people.” She is not sure yet what she will do when she finishes university.

Marling and her older brother (who is also studying at the university) live with their mother, who works at the mayor’s office in San Nicolas. She says that in her free time she listens to music, draws, and hangs out with friends.

Cristel Navas Zamora

The second Cristel to receive a SNEF scholarship this year, Cristel Zamora, is from San Nicolas. Cristel Zamora will be receiving a partial scholarship to study just on Saturdays. She is studying Education, with a focus on Physics and Math, at the UNAN in Esteli.

Cristel was inspired to pursue a career in Education in 8th grade when the former director, Idalia Lopez Camas, told Cristel that she had the spirit of a teacher. She says she has always loved math, helping others, and sharing her knowledge with others, so a career as a teacher just makes sense.

Cristel lives with her mother and two younger siblings. She is studying part-time because she works at a restaurant and helps teach math during the week so she can help support her family. She says she likes reading and is interested in learning foreign languages.

Angelica Rayo Larios

The first recipient of the Idalia Lopez Camas scholarship, Angelica is studying Education, with a focus on Language and Literature, at the FAREM in Esteli. The Idalia Lopez Camas scholarship honors the late principal of the high school in San Nicolas and is designated to support female students who are studying education. Angelica fits this bill perfectly.

Angelica is a nontraditional university student; she is older and has been working at the Ministry of Education in San Nicolas. She lives in San Nicolas and supports her elderly mother and 10-year-old son. Because of her situation, she is unable to attend university full time–instead, she will receive a partial scholarship to study on Saturdays.

Angelica has already been working in the field of education for a while, so she has some ideas about what she wants to do with her degree. She says, “I hope to contribute to the development of my community, and I have an especial desire to support students with learning disabilities.”

A Few Updates

We recently learned that one of our scholarship students, Birmania, is taking a break from her studies to start a family in Nueva Segovia. While of course we would love to see Birmania complete her studies, we also want to wish her well as she starts this exciting new life stage!

Birmania had been receiving a partial SNEF scholarship to attend nursing school on the weekends. She has been very successful, doing an internship in Esteli in January and getting good grades throughout her academic career.

Though she is unable to finish her nursing degree now, we want to keep open the possibility for Birmania to re-apply for a scholarship in a year or two if she feels able to return to her studies at that point. In the mean time, we wish her the best!

In other news, our two new scholarship students, Kenex and Guadalupe, have received laptops from the Foundation. These computers will be key in connecting them to their studies, especially at a time when so much of school is being conducted online due to the pandemic. Here they are showing off their new computers.

Meet Our 2 New Scholarship Students!

As the word gets out about the San Nicolas Education Foundation scholarship, more and more students are applying. This year, we had more applications than ever before. From this impressive group of applicants, the SNEF board and local committee selected two students to receive scholarship support throughout their university studies.

Jennifer Guadalupe Avilez Castillo

Jennifer, or “Guadalupe” as she is known, started her first university classes last Monday. Since she was little, Guadalupe has always wanted to study law, and now she is living out her dream, studying law at the UNAN university in Leon.

Guadalupe is from the remote community of Limay, about 5 miles on dirt roads from San Nicolas. Her dad is a farmer and her mom is an “ama de casa,” caring for Guadalupe and her two siblings. Guadalupe enjoys reading and learning new things.

Guadalupe is an idealist with an altruistic vision for her future. She says she wants to study law because of all the social injustices she has witnessed in employment, and to help people in need. After finishing her studies, she hopes to one day find a job that will fulfill this dream.

Guadalupe will be studying at the same university as another SNEF student, Walkiria, who is now in her second year of medical school. Knowing how daunting it can be to move to a new city and find somewhere to live, Walkiria recently took Guadalupe under her wing and helped her find university housing. It’s amazing to see our scholarship students supporting each other!

Kenex Davila Martinez

Our second scholarship this year was awarded to Kenex Davila Martinez, who secured a spot to study banking and finance at the FAREM university in Esteli.

Growing up in a San Nicolas family that highly values education, Kenex has always known that he wanted to go to university. His mother works for the Ministry of Education in San Nicolas, and his father has been working on a university degree in recent years too. Kenex has a 6-year-old brother, Frander.

Kenex says that he first got interested in banking and finances in 10th grade. He wants to learn about accounting and keeping track of business income, and ultimately he hopes to work towards economic development in Nicaragua. He says that as he plans for a career in banking and finances, his values and knowledge will go hand in hand for him in finding his vocation.

In his free time, Kenex enjoys all kinds of sports – he plays soccer, basketball, and volleyball – and also enjoys reading, listening to music, and playing chess.

While he studies, Kenex will be living at home in San Nicolas and making the hour-long bus commute to Esteli for his classes. Because of Covid, for now he has classes in person 3 days per week and online 2 days per week.

The best universities in Nicaragua are the public ones, where tuition is free. One requirement of the SNEF scholarship is that students attend public universities to ensure that they are getting a quality education. Kenex and Guadalupe were both able to get into public universities, so the SNEF scholarship will buy these students a laptop and pay them a monthly stipend that will help cover transportation, food, textbooks, and other expenses over the course of their 4- or 5-year university educations.

Honoring the Legacy of Idalia Lopez Camas

By Kristin Byrnes

“Our calling is to journey on faithfully and as we do that, God grows. God gets bigger until our definitions are no longer big enough for a divine presence that we can’t even begin to understand.”
Edwina Gateley, Founder of Volunteer Missionary Movement

A week ago, we were gushing over the joy of new life. Two San Nicolas Education Foundation Board members had just given birth to their second daughter and our group text thread was rife with “congrats” and heart emojis. What seemed like just moments later, the mood changed as the message came in and we learned the tragic news that Idalia Lopez Camas, the principal at the San Nicolás high school and a key member of our local scholarship committee, had suffered a massive and unexpected stroke. Tragically, she died later that day. As a community of faith, many of us questioned, “Why, God?”

As Board members, when we think back to our time living and working in Nicaragua, there were many important and influential people who shaped our experiences. However, Idalia stands apart – not only for the daily interactions that we had with her, but for the way she cared for us both as a mentor and as a mother. Idalia Lopez dedicated her entire career to the education system in Nicaragua. For more than the last decade, she served as the Director of the San Nicolás high school, a job from which she had planned to retire after this year. When we decided to start a scholarship fund for students in San Nicolás, Idalia was the first person we spoke to about the idea, and she has continued to be instrumental in getting scholarships to students.

Idalia with her daughter Jamaly, SNEF’s local coordinator

Back in 2012 when we first arrived in San Nicolás, Idalia and her family immediately took us under their wing. She helped us adjust to the new culture, teaching us how to cook typical Nicaraguan dishes and introducing us to people in town and the surrounding communities. She seemed to know everyone. The students demonstrated a level of respect for her that few other teachers shared. When she walked into a classroom, they would immediately fall silent. Her deep devotion to educating the youth of San Nicolás was quite apparent, and the students knew and respected this about her.

Idalia carefully and easily supported us, nurtured us, and provided not only a place to work where we could grow and learn, but also a welcoming and inviting home for us and our families who visited. Every time family and friends visited us from the U.S., she would organize a meal, inviting other family and teachers from the school to partake and to share their lives with us. We fondly remember being gathered around her table with delicious dishes of food, stories being told of Nicaraguan history, and one teacher playing his guitar while everyone sang beautiful Nicaraguan folk songs.

Flowers from the community fill the front room of Idalia’s family’s house.

Idalia and her husband Marlon were successful models for everyone in San Nicolas. They valued education, family, and faith. Their daughters each went on to study in college and Idalia made many sacrifices for them to have the best education possible. When we called Marlon and her daughters to offer our condolences, Marlon commented about how much she loved flowers. It was clear the community knew this about her, as they sent dozens of floral arrangements that filled the front room of their house. He remarked that Idalia, in many ways, planted a seed in each of the students that she interacted with through the years, and the community was richer for it, as they will see how these seeds take root and grow in the years to come.

As Idalia said often, “Education is like a tree. Plant it, and many fruits will be born.”

Idalia certainly planted the seed of education in the community of San Nicolás. In addition to directing the high school, she has also been highly involved in helping us start and run the San Nicolas Education Foundation. Her deep knowledge of each of her students and their families has been an enormous asset to the Foundation. Only two weeks before she died, we met with her via videocall so she could give us her insights into the academics and financial situations of the students we were considering awarding in 2021.

Words cannot quite describe the impact that Idalia had on the lives of her students, and on us. We will miss her easy laugh, her fierce but loving stares at students who were out of line, and her inspiration to continue to live our dreams, despite adversity and sacrifice. She has indeed planted seeds in each of us as well. She was, and will continue to be, a mentor and friend forever. The day we left San Nicolás to return to the United States after two years of working and living alongside our community, Idalia was the last person we said goodbye to. She said, “I don’t say ‘goodbye’, I say ‘until next time.’” This time we don’t say goodbye, we say, “until next time.” Thank you, Idalia, may you rest in the loving embrace of our God.