---
title: New Support for Immigrant Students
date: 2024-09-20T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/new-support-for-immigrant-families"
section: Articles
---
# New Support for Immigrant Students

*September 20, 2024* — by [Annie Krakower](/author/annie-krakower)


> Alumna’s Bequest Establishes Scholarship for Terps With, Without Documentation

*1856 Society Presidents Weekend 11032023 JC 2389 1920x1080 — University leaders including Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo (at left holding microphone) and President Darryll J. Pines (far right) honor Anna Karavangelos ’56 at an 1856 Society event last fall. A gift from Karavangelos established a new scholarship to support both documented and undocumented immigrants and children of immigrants.*

Brought to the U.S. from Peru at age 4, Carlos ’25\* later qualified for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. But he remains ineligible for federal financial aid. In his first semesters at the University of Maryland, Carlos balanced his mechanical engineering classes with a full-time job at a Tesla dealership to pay for them.

Now, he can focus more on his studies as the first recipient of the Eva and Anastasios Karavangelos Scholarship, established through a gift from Anna Karavangelos ’56. Named in honor of her parents, who emigrated from Greece, the scholarship is the first in the Big Ten to support both documented and undocumented immigrants and children of immigrants.

“It’s a cohort that is not well served,” said Karavangelos, who bequeathed her estate in addition to giving current-use funds. “I’m very happy to have graduated from a land-grant college. I would just hope to make it available to other children of immigrants as well.”

A member of the first graduating class of Suitland High School in Prince George’s County, Karavangelos recalled the difficulty of finding a scholarship despite her good grades. As immigrants, her parents “weren’t that savvy about the system,” she said. But they allowed her to live at home for free over the summers as she, like Carlos, worked her way through school, and she credits them for guiding her and supporting her dream of attending college.


*group shot from yearbook — Anna Karavangelos ’56 (top row, second from left) was a member of the Associated Women Students during her time on campus.*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community), [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Immigration](https://today.umd.edu/topic/immigration), [Philanthropy](https://today.umd.edu/topic/philanthropy), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience), [Multicultural Community](https://today.umd.edu/topic/multicultural-community)


**Units:** [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs)