Juana Esther Barajas Vasquez

Esther, a 2006 fellow, is a Summit Scholarship recipient working on her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Mariano Galvez University of Guatemala. She maintains excellent grades while remaining a cast member of Tan Ux’il’s radio drama called La Ruleta, which educates young people about ASRH issues. As the new Director of Advocacy and Public Relations at Tan Ux’il, Esther was instrumental in Tan Ux’il’s collaboration with the National Hospital in San Benito, Petén in the opening of a long-awaited adolescent health clinic on August 12, the International Day of Youth.  The clinic offers specialized mental health, trauma, and psychiatry services for adolescents and Esther volunteers as a clinic counselor. This has been a long-time dream of Esther’s and she is thrilled to have helped it become a reality.  She is also a coordinator for the Yeny Mendoza Leadership Academy, where she is one of the main facilitators for the Academy. She looks forward to her continued work at the Academy and the Tan Ux’il clinic upon her graduation in December of 2012.