By Barbara Melendez
TAMPA, Fla. (Aug. 26, 2013) – Pride
and love filled the USF College of Music Concert Hall as the Latino Scholarship
Awards ceremony celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the scholarship
program, with the concept of family as its theme.
A
crowd of more than 500 made up of scholarship recipients, their families,
scholarship donors and members of the USF community made up the audience.
First out on stage to set the tone of the evening was Latino Scholarship Program alumnus Steven Bardales who opened the program with heartfelt thanks for the support he received as he shared the news that he had just graduated from law school. He concluded with, “I still persist; I still climb; I still dream. Thanks for making my dream a reality.”
Bardales
introduced USF President Judy Genshaft who spoke fondly of having never missed
an awards program in her 15-year tenure. She told the incoming students that
she looked forward to shaking their hands at commencement four years from now
before introducing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
Noting
his connection to USF through his wife, USF Health faculty member Dr. Catherine
Lynch, Buckhorn praised the program and encouraged current program participants
to stay and work in Tampa and continue to help those who come after them. “Stay
here and help us compete,” he said, and pointing to his heart, “You now have a
sacred contract, not on paper, but right here.”
The other
speakers and award presenters who continued the program’s welcoming and
family-focused atmosphere included: Latin Community Advisory Chair and
scholarship sponsor Jose Valiente; his daughter, scholarship donor
and USF Latin Community Advisory Committee member Lauren Valiente; scholarship donor and member
of the USF Latin Community Advisory Committee; Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Director and Latino Scholarship Program Director Patsy Feliciano; former
scholarship sponsor Gil Hernandez and his
son Martin Hernandez, Scholarship sponsor and former member of the Latin
Community Advisory committee; USF Latino
Scholarship graduates, brothers Ernesto Barnat and Jorge Soriano; and, USF
alumna and Univision Reporter Sarykarmen Maldonado and Univision Vice President of
Integrated Marketing Solutions Orlando Nieves.
“The program is uplifting entire families and this year, particularly, we wanted to highlight how over the years one family’s gift has fulfilled another’s dream, one by one,” said Feliciano who has been part of it for 14 years.
Over
the past 23 years, the Latino Scholarship has awarded approximately $2.7
million dollars to talented students who are from the first generation in their
families to attend college. More than
$4.7 million dollars in endowed funds have been raised after matching funds
from the State of Florida which will continue to generate scholarships in
perpetuity. This year a total of $217,000 in scholarships will be awarded.
With 21 students graduating this past May, Latino Scholarship recipient alumni now number 380.
“We are so proud to have our alumni serving our community as professionals in fields such as education, nursing, medicine, law, engineering and accounting,” Feliciano said. “This year we welcome a cohort of 30 new students to USF bringing us to 102 students receiving scholarships.”
One of the hallmarks of the program is that each Latino Scholar is paired with a mentor “to provide guidance, encouragement and networking opportunities,” Feliciano said.
Nothing illustrates this better than when the names of the mentors and their mentees are called to the stage following a tradition started with the first awards ceremony.
“You see the established business person or professional and you see the young person just starting college, you hear each student’s background story and it is very moving, because you see how much each student has excelled and how much each one has overcome, Feliciano said.
“None
of this would have been possible without the vision of a Latin Community
Advisory Committee,” Feliciano said. The
group of professionals who established the Latino Scholarship in 1992 was established
by President Borkowski in 1988. “It was their vision that gave birth to this
program which has from its inception focused on student success creating
life-changing opportunities for our students and their families.”
To learn more about the scholarship's criteria, application process and deadline, please click here or visit http://www.usf.edu/ua/scholarships.
Barbara Melendez can be reached at 813-974-4563