Several years ago, a Reno pediatrician noticed some of his underprivileged patients did not have the resources to do their best in school. So, Dr. Ron Ayrel's medical practice bought laptops for the kids and encouraged the teens to start thinking about higher education.
Aryel soon realized the young students would need a lot more than scholarships - he created a non-profit foundation which now provides ongoing financial assistance, career guidance and mentoring for students from high school to grad school.
We caught up with Ron Aryel and the fellows of the Albee Aryel Foundation. We find them in the Health Sciences building on the University of Nevada campus. It's a rare moment away from the rigors of school work for these three UNR students.
"I'm a third year, studying kinesiology," shares a Mariana Lopez Baez, kinesiology student.
For Lizbeth Vega, it’s postgrad work. "Second year master’s student in the Behavior Analysis Graduate Program."
"Third semester nursing student,” Claudia Sanchez tells us. She’s a studying at Orvis School of Nursing.
The three young women, all first-generation college students, are fellows of the Albee Aryel Foundation.
Ron Aryel, the founder and Executive Director of the Foundation explains. "I will follow them throughout their careers until they pick up their college diplomas." Aryel, who named the Foundation after his mom, is adamant about helping students overcome the challenges of poverty.
"Students who come from wealthy families have that kind of support, all the time. They have people watching them and helping them throughout their college careers, and so that's what we do at the foundation. That's what we do for them."
"Being in the Foundation,” shares Claudia, “Now I know who to turn to, who to ask for advice."
The three students - all bilingual Latinas - tell us they're focused on giving back to their communities.
"Once I get my master’s degree, I'll be able to apply to be a board-certified behavior analyst, and after that, hopefully my Ph.D. is next,” Lizbeth tells us.
Claudia will be a nurse. "I love talking to patients, I love getting to know about people."
For Mariana, it’s personal. Both she and her brother were born with hemophilia. "To be an advocate, especially for bleeding disorders and have the knowledge.”
The three young women say without the Foundation, they may have never made it to college at all.
"I don't know where I would be without his help,” admits Mariana. "I've learned so much that I would have never known,” enthuses Claudia. Lizbeth is equally passionate. "It truly is one of the biggest reasons why I'm here today."
While all three of these fellows are studying health sciences, Dr. Aryel says fellowships are available to study any major. "If you like nuclear engineering, we'll entertain that and if you want to be a television producer, we'll entertain that, too."
### The fellowships pay for tuition, books, fees, health insurance and more. It costs anywhere from $8,000-$10,000 to support a fellow - per year.
The non-profit foundation is seeking donations to support more students.
To help or learn more about The Albee Aryel Foundation, click link here –
