Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
educators, school nurses, school counselors or school therapists, and promotes professional growth for ethnic minority teachers and ESP members. An applicant must be an active CTA member, a dependent child of an active, CTA/NEA-Retired, or deceased CTA member, or a Student CTA (SCTA) member. Award amount: up to $6,000. 3. CTA Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Education Awards Program This awards program provides rec- ognition for teams of students and their teachers who demonstrate an understanding of the vision and guiding principles by which Cesar Chavez lived his life. Work by the recipients, both students and sponsoring CTA mem- bers, is recognized by posting visual art and written essays online and in various CTA publications. Award amount: up to $550. 4. GLBT Safety in Schools Grant and Scholarship Program in Honor of Guy DeRosa The grant program supports projects and presentations that promote under- standing of and respect for LGBTQ+ persons. The scholarship program sup- ports self-identified LGBTQ+ members enrolled in a teacher/counseling cre- dential or graduate program who are pursuing a career in public education and who understand the importance of LGBTQ+ educators as role models in public schools. The program is named after DeRosa, a CTA member and life- long LGBTQ+ activist. Award amount: up to $2,500. 59 J U N E / J U L Y 2 018 C W H E N I L I A N N A D E L G A D O was a sophomore in high school, she felt compelled to help the young women in her community. As she noted in her essay, Tulare County has one of the lowest levels of education and one of the highest unemploy- ment rates and highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. She came up with a plan to teach a girls' self-esteem group called GEMS (Girls Empowered and Motivated for Success) at her local middle school. With support from her own school, she wrote up a curriculum, and weekly for the next two years taught several groups of at-risk girls how to feel confident and empowered, set goals, and make good decisions. It wasn't easy at first. "Initially, I searched for different programs, like the Dove Real Beauty campaign [which championed females of all sizes and shapes], to apply that vision to my curriculum," Delgado says. "I developed certain activities. But I was shocked because the young women were so shy, and I had to work to get them out of their shells. My curriculum took a more flexible shape." Now a first-year student at UC Berkeley, she is studying media and market- ing and working at the Gender Equity Resource Center. She also has a job as "Wonder Woman Weekly " coordinator, where among other things she leads community dinners that focus on significant issues facing women and creating safe spaces for conversation. Both of her parents are high school teachers, and she knows that's a possi- ble path. "When I think of everything, I realize I really love the work that comes with teaching," she says. She is also passionate about writing. And of course, there is GEMS, which is continuing in other students' hands. "I really would love to take the concept where we help underprivileged, shy women with self-confidence, and turn it into a nonprofit." " When I think of everything, I realize I really love the work that comes with teaching." — Ilianna Delgado, daughter of Steve Delgado, Visalia Unified Teachers Association, won a 2017-18 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $6,000. Winners' Snapshots