On Monday May 24, 2021, ten scholarship recipients from the Promise Scholars program presented their final year-long projects to UCSB alumna, Elizabeth Gabler. Projects ran the gamut, from creative writing endeavors exploring identity and family to building websites to aid language learning through song. One student designed a budgeting platform for fellow students, another collected oral histories from Filipina students, and others wrote poetry, short stories, and a short memoir.

 

The Gabler Promise Scholars Writing Program is designed to help students from historically under-resourced communities and underrepresented minority students succeed at UC Santa Barbara. The students, working over the course of a full year in small groups with a Writing Program mentor, develop strategies for writing effectively in personal/creative, academic, and civic contexts. This mentoring supports the students’ development as writers and enhance their opportunities for success at UC Santa Barbara and beyond.

 

Visit the program website to read about other projects including an innovative translation website, an explanation of the Chinese political economy, and more. Instructors Vickie Vértiz and Madeleine Sorapure could not be more proud of these talented, creative students. We're also grateful to the two peer mentors in the program, Abigail Morales and Bryan Zuniga, who shared their insights, guidance, and support. To read more about the program visit:  http://gablerpromisescholars.com/.

 

The program is funded by a generous gift from Elizabeth and Lee Gabler, who live in Santa Barbara with their daughter. Ms. Gabler is a UCSB alumna with a degree in English literature. She is President of 3000 Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures that focuses on motion picture and television development with a specialty in literary based content. Formerly President of Fox 2000 and Executive Vice President at Twentieth Century Fox, Ms. Gabler has overseen such high profile films as Life of Pi, The Devil Wears Prada, Walk the Line, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Waiting to Exhale, among many others.