Meet Esmeralda

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Esmeralda graduated Dominican University with a 3.4 GPA.  She was inducted into Pi Gamm Mu, Alpha Chi and the Mazzuchelli Scholars Honors Program.  Esmeralda was also President of Commuter Student Association and Mazzuchelli Honors Student Advisory Board.  To Esmeralda, Public service is about empowering and helping others...through conversations and personal connections.  Esmeralda's aspirations are to continue her education, obtain a Masters in Social Work and work her way towards becoming a Public Defender for Juvenile Courts.  

Esmeralda has displayed all the characteristics of a hard working, passionate, and giving person that this scholarship was modeled after in Maria L. Tejada. The Loving Lily Forever Committee is honored and humbled to have been able to provide such a great opportunity to someone as deserving as Esmeralda.  

We wish her luck!

To the Loving Lily Forever family,

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for having chosen me as the recipient of the Spring 2019 Maria L. Tejada Scholarship. I am incredibly humbled to get to honor the great legacy that Maria left not only on the department, but also on the lives of so many youths in Chicago. My internship with the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department has been nothing short of amazing. I have learned so much and I plan to honor her legacy by putting all that learning into action through my chosen career-path in human services and a possible future application to the department. I will always aim to serve as passionately and lovingly as Maria has served in order to honor her and show my thanks to you for the blessing you have given me. 

Thank you so much to everyone that works to keep this scholarship running. I am incredibly grateful to get to honor such a great person like Maria through this scholarship and the work I plan to do with youth in the justice system. I honestly could not thank you enough for the opportunities you have awarded me.

With great gratitude,

Esmeralda