2021 Guerrier Fellows with Natalie Holdren from TEP

The 2021 Guerrier Fellows with Natalie Holdren (bottom left), TEP faculty member: Eleni Hollinshead (top left), Vanessa Balcazar (top right), and Stephanie Vo (bottom right)

Vanessa Balcazar, Eleni Hollinshead, and Stephanie Vo were named the recipients of the 2021 Guerrier “Hope” Fellowships. The “Hope” Fellowships are awarded to Teacher Education Program credential students who demonstrate the sense of personal courage and hope that Vivian Guerrier embodied as a stalwart member of the Gevirtz School community. All three are M.Ed. students pursuing Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials.

This endowed scholarship honors longtime Gevirtz School staff member Vivian Guerrier, who died in August 2007 after more than a decade of service to the GGSE and Credential students. Faced with great personal challenges, Guerrier dedicated her life in the GGSE to serving students and exemplified how one person can make a difference in the lives of others. In the ordinary circumstances of her daily work she provided a gracious and welcoming environment for students and was an inspiration for everyone. Through the “Hope” Scholarship the School recognizes and encourages students who, like Guerrier, persevere in spite of hardships to accomplish their vision to become educators, and who inspire others with their courage and integrity.  Guerrier is remembered as a model of hope to all who knew her. In 2004 she was recognized for her achievements and was awarded the “Unsung Heroine Award” sponsored by the UCSB Professional Women’s Association.