ROSALIA CABRERA MUNOZ LEDO DE TAPIA - NOW AND THEN
by Donna Walton October 2015
Rosalia Cabrera is the gifted coordinator of the Father Joseph O'Looney Scholarship Program. She is the person who recruits, interviews, and guides all of the scholarship recipients. Her previous position as an administrator in a Mexican public middle school provided her access to students who were academically talented, hard working , and in great financial need. Now that she is retired, she devotes even more time to the students. She works with each one individually to help them plan their academic program and prepare their budget, and then meets with them throughout the year as they need guidance and financial help. In addition, to help the group coalesce and learn from one another, she gathers them together once a month to celebrate birthdays, discuss challenges and successes and share ideas on a theme. As the students progress from one level of education to another, Rosalia helps them choose a path that fits their skills and interests.
Rosalia is no stranger to Amigos Anonymous. She was one of the original young women recruited and trained by the all-women's 1963 Amigos project in Apaseo El Grande that worked in nearby La Villita. Along with Vivi Frias, Margarita Oliveros, and Marielena Mendoza, Rosalia became one of the founding teachers of a school in La Villita.
In a letter to Jack and me, Rosalia shared some of her history. She writes that in 1962 when she began studying rural social work with a desire to serve her community's rural villages, she had no clear plan. But in 1963 when Amigos Anonymous, under Fr. Joe's inspiration, started the first school in La Villita, she found her focus as she experienced "the true meaning of education as a service."
"Dealing with children and teens who could not read and write and working alongside them in the search for a better quality of life - it was wonderful."
"Later, in the seventies, and with better academic preparation on my part, I had a reunion with Father Joe and Daniel and Alice Onorato and that was when I began to experience the great and ture friendship and generousity from AMIGOS, which is still vital to this day. It was then that Father O'Looney asked me to oversee the scholarship program, and working alongside the AMIGOS, I realized that education is the key to freedom and a better quality of life for our society."
"Now, every time I have an encounter with our scholarship students, they encourage me to continue updating myself in all the educational and socio-economic aspects of my city and area and of my country in this globalized world."
"In our interaction and sharing between my experience and their goals, realities, and efforts, we're all students in many ways."
Thank you, Rosalia, for your wonderful dedication and service to the young people of Apaseo. You are what helps Amigos fulfill our desire to be a part of building the future of Mexico.
by Donna Walton October 2015
Rosalia Cabrera is the gifted coordinator of the Father Joseph O'Looney Scholarship Program. She is the person who recruits, interviews, and guides all of the scholarship recipients. Her previous position as an administrator in a Mexican public middle school provided her access to students who were academically talented, hard working , and in great financial need. Now that she is retired, she devotes even more time to the students. She works with each one individually to help them plan their academic program and prepare their budget, and then meets with them throughout the year as they need guidance and financial help. In addition, to help the group coalesce and learn from one another, she gathers them together once a month to celebrate birthdays, discuss challenges and successes and share ideas on a theme. As the students progress from one level of education to another, Rosalia helps them choose a path that fits their skills and interests.
Rosalia is no stranger to Amigos Anonymous. She was one of the original young women recruited and trained by the all-women's 1963 Amigos project in Apaseo El Grande that worked in nearby La Villita. Along with Vivi Frias, Margarita Oliveros, and Marielena Mendoza, Rosalia became one of the founding teachers of a school in La Villita.
In a letter to Jack and me, Rosalia shared some of her history. She writes that in 1962 when she began studying rural social work with a desire to serve her community's rural villages, she had no clear plan. But in 1963 when Amigos Anonymous, under Fr. Joe's inspiration, started the first school in La Villita, she found her focus as she experienced "the true meaning of education as a service."
"Dealing with children and teens who could not read and write and working alongside them in the search for a better quality of life - it was wonderful."
"Later, in the seventies, and with better academic preparation on my part, I had a reunion with Father Joe and Daniel and Alice Onorato and that was when I began to experience the great and ture friendship and generousity from AMIGOS, which is still vital to this day. It was then that Father O'Looney asked me to oversee the scholarship program, and working alongside the AMIGOS, I realized that education is the key to freedom and a better quality of life for our society."
"Now, every time I have an encounter with our scholarship students, they encourage me to continue updating myself in all the educational and socio-economic aspects of my city and area and of my country in this globalized world."
"In our interaction and sharing between my experience and their goals, realities, and efforts, we're all students in many ways."
Thank you, Rosalia, for your wonderful dedication and service to the young people of Apaseo. You are what helps Amigos fulfill our desire to be a part of building the future of Mexico.
