For Immediate Release: June 5, 2019
Media Contact: Nicky Vogt at 610-389-1314 or [email protected]
TheDream.US Scholar Graduate Cesia Bulnes Joins Microsoft for Nasdaq Opening Bell
NEW YORK – Today, in celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month, Cesia Bulnes, a Scholar graduate of TheDream.US,rang the Opening Bell for Nasdaq, alongside Microsoft’s managing director for U.S. public policy Portia Wu. Checkout Nasaq’s Instagram Story to see an interview with Cesia. The following is a reaction from Gaby Pacheco, Director of Advocacy, Development, and Communications at TheDream.US:
We were proud to witness one of our amazing Scholars – Cesia – help ring the bell at Nasdaq as part of the celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month and to highlight the innumerable contributions of immigrants.
Last month, Cesia graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science. At her graduation ceremony, she sang the national anthem for the assembled families and fellow graduates.
She is one of more than 330 TheDream.US Scholars who graduated this spring – our largest-yet semester of graduates.
As DREAMers increasingly graduate with stellar records of achievement and incredible potential, they are a benefit to companies like Microsoft, where Cesia will soon start her career as a program manager.
Cesia’s story, and those of her fellow graduates and fellow Scholars, offer reminders about why and how DREAMers strengthen their campuses and communities and, increasingly, workforces throughout America. We are grateful to Microsoft for the opportunity and for recognizing the many contributions of DREAMers.
We join Microsoft and others in celebrating our rich history and our immigrant roots.
According to Cesia Bulnes, “When given the opportunity, DREAMers have a lot to offer, and because of TheDream.US and Microsoft, we can contribute to our hometowns and help others by sharing our stories, as the hardworking Americans we truly are.”
According to Florida International University, “Cesia Bulnes came to the United States from Honduras with her family when she was three. Cesia, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, graduated with a 6.2 GPA from New World School of the Arts and earned TheDream.Us, a full-tuition scholarship. Cesia found her passion in computer science through hackathons. She became the director of Mangohacks, a 36-hour event. During breaks at Mangohacks, the FIU Honors College student led a session where female students would get together to talk about their experiences in the tech world, giving each other advice on how to stand out and feel empowered. Cesia has been hired by Microsoft as a program manager, to supervise a group of engineers working on a new communication product.”
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, having provided more than 5,000 scholarships to students with DACA and TPS at more than 75 partner colleges in 15 states and Washington, DC.
- Read through TheDream.US Scholar story-bank, featuring powerful personal reflections from Scholars about their lives, journeys, and future goals here
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