Meet Our Scholars
Carlos Ibarra
LaGuardia Community College
Human Services/Mental Health
He/Him/His
Community College
Jerry & Diane Cunningham Scholarship
Carlos Ibarra was born in Colombia and migrated to the United States when he was 6 years old. He faced many personal challenges since a very young age. His father was an abusive alcoholic that would fall asleep at the apartment door, forcing Carlos to have to sleep at diners on a school night. Carlos buried himself in books and his studies to get away from the reality of life. Unfortunately, he struggled with mental illness for many years without receiving any help from family or friends. He began to self-medicate, and his academic life went downhill. It took him a number of years to finally get a hold of his illness through psychopharmacology, exercise, a balanced diet, and a great therapist. Today he is working hard to achieve his academic, personal and professional goals. He achieved Dean’s List and became a member of Phi Theta Kappa as well as Delta Alpha Pi, the honor society for Students with Disabilities. Finally, now in his fourth decade of life, Carlos can say he is living a dream he never thought possible.