The Sigma Lambda Beta Education Foundation is proud to announce Brother Miguel Baeza Aguilera from the Zeta Gamma Chapter at the University of Nebraska, Kearney as a recipient of the 2022 Opportunity for Wisdom scholarship. Brother Miguel will be able to apply this $1000 scholarship towards his college expenses. Please read his letter and view his message below.
Dear Brothers and Donors of the Sigma Lambda Beta Education Foundation,
First and foremost, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU! Thank you for selecting me as
a recipient of this prestigious scholarship recognition that is the Opportunity for Wisdom Scholarship to aid in my continuous educational journey. To be a brother’s keeper did not end after I completed my undergraduate degree, but it is a role I will carry forever. To give back my time, talent, and treasure when available to serve our brotherhood of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. is an honor of mine. Sigma Lambda Beta has done and continues to bless my life in many aspects, and for that I am grateful.
I am Brother Miguel “Bendición” Baeza Aguilera. I was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska. I am a proud son of two hardworking, inspiring parents and a brother to three beautiful siblings. I am very passionate about working with others and making a positive impact in their lives. I am ambitious for education, and I am fueled by watching others succeed in their goals, passions, and dreams. I am the first in my entire family to break the generational cycle of no postsecondary education. In 2017 I was the first to graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and now the first to pursue a master’s degree too, concentrating in higher education and student affairs. My final educational goal is to one day attain a PhD or Doctoral Degree. My life hasn’t been an easy one, it’s been quite difficult, but it’s the growth I have endured from such adversities that has grounded me humble, keeps me authentic and allows me to inspire others to do the same. I aspire to be the mentor I needed and didn’t have for over fourteen years of my life growing up. I compare my life’s highs and lows to that of a butterfly’s life and its process of metamorphosis. I live by my personal motto in life, “I am an inspirational touch to life. I am inspired by many, and I inspire the rest. I am one of a kind, always have been and always will be.” I like to describe who I am in three words, humble, authentic, and blessed. This is who I was before my letters and continue to be with them now.
Today, I continue to do as much as I can to impact my communities. I serve voluntarily on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Nebraska and have the honor to serve the four high schools and community of Grand Island, Nebraska as an Assistant Director of Admissions for Wayne State College. Just recently I was recognized and the recipient of the For The Love of Children Award here in Grand Island, and most recently awarded as a 2022 Board Member of the Year for Big Brothers Big Sisters despite only being on the board almost a year. I continue to be blessed as I have community organizations asking of me to present my Inspirational Wings Workshop and share with them my story. I share all this with you, because I want you, who have chosen me as a recipient, to know that your financial investment will not be in vain. By investing in my education, you are investing in those whose lives I impact.
To the Sigma Lambda Beta Education Foundation, thank you for creating opportunities not just for our undergraduate, graduate and alumni brothers across the world, but for creating funds and opportunities to impact and serve all mankind. Since crossing into our brotherhood there are two things, I will always do my best to uphold. To be my brother’s keeper, and to nurture and further a dynamic, value-based environment which utilizes our historically Latino based fraternity as a catalyst to better serve the needs and wants of all people. With that being said, I am absolutely honored to be one of the recipients for the 2022 Opportunity for Wisdom Scholarships provided by the Sigma Lambda Beta Education Foundation, thank you.
In Brotherhood,
#63 Miguel “Bendición” Baeza Aguilera
Fall 2014- Ship Los Admirables
Zeta Gamma Chapter
University of Nebraska at Kearney