From Bucaramanga to The Burg: Meet Maria Camila
News
SUMMARY: Restrepo Chavez, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Colombia, continues to benefit from her mother's deep conviction that education is paramount to achieving opportunities in life.
James Madison University Honors student Maria Camila Restrepo Chavez’s path has taken her from Bucaramanga, Colombia, to Ashburn, Virginia, to JMU, where she “pictured herself as a college student here.”
Restrepo Chavez, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Colombia, continues to benefit from her mother’s deep conviction that education is paramount to achieving opportunities in life. Restrepo Chavez has embraced learning and service at JMU. She has volunteered with SafeRides and peer mentoring and served as a First Year Orientation Guide.
Through JMU’s Honors Program, Chavez completed a practicum with the Gus Bus, helping children learn to read, and served as a teaching assistant in the Honors Program’s freshman experience course.
For Restrepo Chavez, such involvement is natural: “Shouldn’t everyone be this engaged?” she asks.
JMU’s Honors Program is on the cusp of becoming the Honors College, pending approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The JMU Board of Visitors approved the designation in recognition of the program’s strength and capacity for improved national visibility and future growth. Approximately 900 students are currently enrolled in the Honors Program.
Read more about Restrepo Chavez.
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Feb. 23, 2016
