GSDM Employee Katia Gomez “Does something!” Ben Affleck Presents Her with $100K

DoSomething-200Katia Gomez, a student employee in the Offices of GSDM Admissions & Student Affairs, and a student at the BU School of Public Health, is the recipient of the $100,000 Do Something Award for her nonprofit organization Educate2Envision (E2E). The Awards were televised on VH1 Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

The website DoSomething.org has presented the Awards since 1996 to young people changing the world through charitable acts. The Awards were a star-studded event, with many celebrities also honored for their charitable work. Katia and the four other finalists met Beyonce and appeared onstage at the Awards. The runners-up received a $10,000 community grant for their organizations—but Katia was the big winner.

Katia’s nonprofit E2E focuses on Honduras, where it is estimated that around 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. E2E’s work focuses on Pajarillos, a town in central Honduras where, according to E2E’s website, most children do not graduate the sixth grade. For those who do, the closest school for seventh and eighth grade is a three-hour walk. According to its website, E2E strives to offer children living in poverty the chance to attain the highest level of education that their individual efforts will allow them.

“This is going to Honduras,” Katia said upon accepting the award, a golden shoe-with-wings trophy. “Things are going to improve for those girls and they’re going to do something big too.”

GSDM staff is excited for Katia to continue her work in Honduras. “Katia is a wonderful, upbeat, talented, caring, bright, articulate individual,” says Director of Admissions Linda Reed. “All of us in Admissions & Student Affairs are thrilled for her, and pleased that Educate2Envision now has more resources to help more people.”

Watch Katia announced as the winner by Ben Affleck and other highlights of the Awards online.