By Marcus Camacho
The East Los Angeles College Students for Political Awareness club (ESPA) has a new scholarship that will benefit students.
The Geeta Chowdhry Scholarship is named after a professor who died in January at the age of 56.
The scholarship was named after Chowdhry because she was the adviser of Political Science Professor Natalina Monteiro. Chowdhry was a professor at Northern Arizona University.
The scholarship will have two winners determined by Monteiro.
Each scholarship is worth $500 and covered by money the club earns through fundraisers.
The scholarships are available to all students that are enrolled at ELAC.
Monteiro will decide who wins the scholarship based on who contributed to ESPA the most.
Monteiro will keep track of students who volunteer to help fundraise and attend meetings or any other events held by the club.
The Geeta Chowdhry Scholarship will be disbursed during the spring semester.
This scholarship is meant for all students, not just political science majors.
Students are also not required to be a political science major to join the club.
The club’s purpose is to unite students and increase awareness regarding social and political matters throughout the campus.
Its goal is to influence educational policies and give students the power to voice their opinion.
The club’s mission consists of improving ELAC and the community through civic engagement and promoting stable access to a higher education.
“We hope that the scholarship will entice current members as well as bring in new faces that have never heard of the club,” ESPA Communication Director Christopher Cruz said.
The idea of offering a scholarship to members was brought to the club’s attention by an ESPA member.
The advisers are working to make the scholarship available annually during the spring.
There is no paperwork involved in order to enter the scholarship. The students who win have to be active members of the club.
For a student to be considered “active,” they must be involved in one of the committees within the club.
The winner of the first scholarship is the student who is most active, and club cabinet members will not qualify for this scholarship.
It is possible that the winners of the scholarship may not be a cabinet member.
The second scholarship is based on the same requirements as the first scholarship, but any student with active participation is allowed for this, including the cabinet members.
The club has existed at ELAC for a few years. The club was started by Monteiro and some of her students. ESPA members welcome anyone to join.
The advisers make it clear to the members that they want students that hold political views from all sides of the political spectrum. The club meets every Thursday in the F-7 building in room 217.