Through education, students can change the circumstances of their lives – this remains a grounding principle for the women of the Pan American League who award lifechanging scholarships to students at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Scholarship recipient, Maeanna Miller-Barnard, proves how transformative their support can be.
Maeanna's mother passed away when she was only nine-years-old. Fortunately, her mother's family gave her a place of refuge and provided her with loving support. Other struggles would lead Maeanna to live with her grandparents and later complete high school through the McKenny Vento Act, which helps homeless youth and runaways receive their secondary education. Today, she is a firstgeneration college student paving the way for herself through school and says the The Pan American League Charitable Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund is making it possible for her to graduate without the worry of student debt.
Maeanna, a junior, has ambitious goals for her future. She has her heart set on acceptance into UTSA's accelerated Master of Accountancy (MACY) program and her 3.9 GPA has her on track to receive VIP admission. Beyond her full-course load and stellar academic performance, she also juggles a full-time job.
"My scholarships have been extremely impactful for me. I really couldn't complete my education without them," she said.
Maeanna hopes to apply the knowledge she gains at UTSA to work in data analytics and security information. She looks forward to combining her background in accounting with technology. Maeanna is even looking into forensic accounting jobs with the FBI.
"School has always been the one thing that keeps me grounded...these scholarships I receive play a huge part in me being able to continue doing what I'm doing," she said.
Founded in 1947, the Pan American League has always supported educational initiatives. In 1999, the organization chose to endow their scholarship for underserved students at UTSA.
"They were a group of women who firmly believed that through education, students would be able to change the course of their lives," said Dr. Sylvia Reyna, former president and current member of the Pan American League.
According to Dr. Reyna, this legacy group of women chose UTSA because of its comprehensive range of rich opportunities for students. She has been connected to The Pan American League for several decades. As did many others in the League, she followed in her mother's footsteps who was also a long-time member.
"We believe that education is a great equalizer and that everyone deserves access to attend universities. We strongly encourage other organizations to continue investing in students and education," she said.
