Carmina Franchesca Singson Del Mundo

PROFILE: May 15, 2010, was special for Carmina Del Mundo and her family. On that day, she was presented the Mt. San Antonio College’s Service Achievement Award for outstanding academic performance while providing notable volunteer service to the college and local community. It was the latest in a long list of awards and honors Carmina has earned in the nine years since she and her family came to California from her native Philippines. But the journey from Quezon City, the Philippines’ largest city, to West Covina, a suburb of Los Angeles, was filled with many ups and downs that tested the Scholar’s mettle. As her family struggled with financial difficulties, Carmina took it upon herself to learn about the many organizations that provide need-based scholarships. She set her mind on success, earning honors in high school and scholarship money along the way, and was a shining star at Mt. San Antonio College. As one of her community college teachers said of Carmina: “She has accomplished great things and will continue to accomplish great things.”

INSPIRATION: Carmina’s brother, Miguel, has influenced her life the most. Not only did Miguel inspire her to strive for what seemed at the time to be impossible, “he also helped me realize that when bricks are thrown at you in life - when you are continuously hit with obstacles and challenges that try to beat you down - you should never give up.”   Carmina said Miguel told her to use those same bricks to build a foundation and stepping stones to reach her dreams.

ASPIRATION: Transferring to a prestigious university will bring Carmina one step closer in achieving her dreams. “I have so many things planned for the future, like opening my own non-profit organization; I want to do all that I possibly can in attaining the unimaginable for a chance to make a real difference in this world around me.”      

MAKING A DIFFERENCE:   The achievement Carmina is most proud of is graduating from high school with the highest honors. She was one of only four students who was able to successfully complete and graduate with an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, a four-year IB program beginning with over 100 students.

ACCOLADES: Carmina was named First Place Over-all Champion for Extemporaneous Speaking at the Forensics Speech and Debate Tournament at Cal State-Long Beach in 2010. She also won the aforementioned Mt. San Antonio College's Students of Distinction--Service Award prior to her graduation and was honored with the Pepsi Presidential Leadership Award in 2009.

INTERESTING FACT: Carmina’s brother, Miguel Eduardo Del Mundo, was named a 2007 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar and her classmate at Mt. San Antonio, Isaac Powell, also was named a 2010 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar.