Aiyana Garcia is the 2020 recipient of the Mona Hersh-Cochran Scholarship Award. As a young girl, Aiyana grew up in poverty in the heart of Oak Cliff right here in Dallas. She was inspired to study business from an early age by watching her father juggle a job and take accounting courses at night. She began her undergraduate education studying at Mountain View College, but was a young mother and could not fully focus on her education.
Aiyana was laid off in 2008 when her company downsized. Taking this opportunity to make school a priority, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas in 2014 while continuing to work and raise three children. Currently, she is enrolled in our Master’s program while working full time at Stream Realty Partners and participating in various philanthropic endeavors.
Congratulations to Aiyana on her success and we wish her the best in all of her future endeavors!
The MS in Applied Economics will benefit my career goals, short and long term within business and in non-profit. I have additional interest regarding policy and impacting societal issues that bring change to communities.
— Aiyana Garcia
Unfortunately, the funding stream for the Mona Hersh-Cochran Scholarship Award has now ended. If you’d like to donate please contact SMU Gift Administration at giving@smu.edu or 214-768-3739.