Title:Julian De La Paz (F’15)

Julian De La Paz is the son of a single mother from El Paso, Texas. “I remember the first time I stepped on to campus. I know it sounds quite cliché, but it was love at first sight,” he recalls. Days after he received his acceptance letter, a 1789 scholarship put his dream of attending Georgetown within reach. “I would not be here today without my scholarship and all the support I have received from alumni.”

While earning his degree in culture and politics from the School of Foreign Service, Julian worked on the Georgetown Program Board (GPB), Georgetown Voice, Georgetown Scholarship Program (GSP), Prison Outreach, Alternative Spring Break, and as host of the annual Mr. Georgetown Pageant.

In May 2015, he became the first of his mother’s three children to graduate from college. At his graduation ceremony, he told GSP Director Missy Foy, “Georgetown will never see the end of me. I want the next generation of De La Paz’s to be Hoyas.”

A Bite of the Big Apple

During his time at Georgetown, Julian prepared for a career in the entertainment and media industry by interning with KISS FM, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and BBC News in Washington, D.C. Less than two months after graduating, at home in El Paso, he got a call from NBCUniversal inviting him to join the Page Program and move to New York City in two weeks.

Excited and overwhelmed, he turned to his most dependable source of mentoring—the Georgetown Scholarship Program. GSP put him in touch with an alumnae who welcomed him into her family and Manhattan home, where he lived for two months until he could find housing of his own.

“Some of my co-workers were shocked that anyone would do this for a stranger,” he shares. “But that’s Georgetown, isn’t it? There are no strangers among Hoyas and this family is now part of my family.”

As an NBCUniversal Page, he completed three assignments over the course of his one-year commitment with the company, including an assignment with Telemundo Enterprises in Miami, Florida.

Julian has since graduated from the Page Program, and now works for The Today Show as Billy Bush’s assistant.

Giving Back to Georgetown

Julian is currently serving as co-chair of his alumni class committee and made a gift to the Georgetown Fund this year. As his career and means grow, he plans to do more and more for Georgetown.

His goal is to work within this thriving industry and serve others at the same time. “Part of being a Hoya is being a man or woman for others. Going forward, I want to serve as a mentor and positive role model to future generations of Georgetown students. I could never give enough back to the school that has given me so much. Georgetown will forever remain in my heart.”