Elena Cobian Memorial Scholarship

We are starting a scholarship fund to honor our one-of-a-kind sister, daughter, auntie, and best friend, Elena Cobian.

1 of 1, authentic, unapologetic, ahead of her time, accepting, inspiring, badass, chingona. These are the words that come to mind when I think about my sister.

Anybody who knew Elena would tell you she was a true original. To her family, my sister was the archetypal eccentric young woman who did what she wanted and marched to the beat of her own drum. Like the great author Erika Sánchez, my sister was "not your perfect Mexican daughter" and did not want to be. Constantly pushing back against tradition and adamantly refusing to be put into any sort of box, Len was fun, fierce, and fearless. A true trailblazer, she was ahead of her time in so many ways, from a very young age preaching to friends and family about topics like body and sex positivity, love for the LGBT community, feminism, anti-racism, and general tolerance for people that may be different than us. My sister believed these things to her core and really lived her values of love and tolerance every day, the one exception being mean-spirited people: Len had very little patience for jerks :D

In addition to being loving and extremely loyal, my sister was an exceptionally persistent and determined woman. After 10 years, with plenty of gumption but very little guidance, she put herself through community college at Rio Hondo, and would then go on to transfer to Cal State Fullerton and graduate with degrees in Communications and Kinesiology. A lifelong learner, she would also go on to earn her teaching credential from the University of San Diego, her certified massage therapist license, and a variety of other certifications I'm sure I'll discover she had as time passes. In adulthood, she'd grow up to become a fully formed boss babe, working as a full-time instructor at the East LA Occupational Center, buying her own condo, starting her own massage therapy business, and traveling the world, all with a big smile and even bigger laugh.

In thinking of ways to honor her and keep her memory alive, we can think of no better way than to pay it forward and help the next Elena along her higher education journey. The scholarship details will be updated on this page; our goal is to raise as many funds as we can to ensure this scholarship fund lives on beyond our lifetime, making a difference in the lives of so many young women and keeping Elena's legacy alive.