In 1998, his twin brother, friends and family established the Sebastián Deliz Foundation Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Puerto Rico (FCPR) to help dozens of students continue their studies at the educational institution where he had studied.
In the midst of the pain that Sebastian's sudden departure inflicted on them - due to a car accident - his twin brother, Giovannie Deliz, along with family and friends, created a scholarship fund to honor his memory, and 25 years later it has made an impact on the lives of 41 students. The Sebastián Deliz Foundation Scholarship Fund has made it possible for talented young people of limited economic resources to remain in the school. Among this group of students is the school's graduate, Akari Rossi Sustache.
“It's incredible how a family in the midst of pain decides to turn it into something bigger than their own circumstances, and now to see the transcendence of that, years later,” shared Akari, a sophomore at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Rio Piedras Campus.
In appreciation of that loving, supportive and momentous gesture, Akari created an acrylic painting on canvas with the image of the twin brothers, Sebastian and Giovanni. “I tried to do my best by painting them. That's my interpretation of that picture of them,” noted the psychology major and second concentration in Fine Arts.
The painting becomes the palpable expression of the gratitude that both she and her family feel for the support received during those three years of study at Rosa Bell.
Akari explained that “through what I received from you, it made it much easier for my family to pay for school and be able to manage there. What we did at home is that my parents paid for some of it and my grandparents paid for others, so we split the cost a little bit. So the scholarship helped a lot.
The Sebastián Deliz Foundation Scholarship Fund was established on July 2, 1998, at the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR) to perpetuate and keep alive the memory of Sebastian, a young man who passed away on August 25, 1994 due to a car accident. A few years later, the permanent fund was established, from which $228,999 has been awarded in scholarships.
“Now I'm seeing how much it helped me to receive an education at Rosa Bell, from tenth through fourth grade. At that time I kind of didn't understand it, I was like, ‘Oh, these teachers.’ But now when I take my classes, I'm surprised to realize what an excellent foundation I have in science, English, things that I didn't appreciate back then,” he said.
Akari aspires to become a psychologist and, at the same time, to integrate the arts into her discipline of study, for example, by practicing art therapy. “Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved painting,” she stressed. “I discovered that I had a passion for psychology, but I didn't want to give up art, so I started to find out about minor concentrations, and that's why I applied for Fine Arts,” she added.
The Sebastian Deliz Foundation Scholarship Fund provides supplemental financial support for studies at Rosa-Bell College in Guaynabo and supports talented young people who demonstrate financial need, satisfactory academic achievement, leadership and interest in community development.
To learn more about philanthropic fundraising visit Establishes a fund or write to FCPR@fcpr.org.