FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2003
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication
210.921.5077
LULAC REY FEO SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE, INC. PRESENTS
$1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS TO 25 FUTURE ACCD STUDENTS
Thanks to a unique scholarship program, 25 pre-school children took their first steps toward a college education at an award ceremony today. The young recipients, mostly children of single mothers, each received a $1,000 scholarship to attend any of the four colleges of the Alamo Community College District.
As part of the event, El Rey Feo Leonel Reyes, presented an oversized "check" for $25,000 to ACCD Trustee Luz Maria Prieto. The funds, donated by the LULAC Rey Feo Scholarship Committee, Inc., will be held in trust until the recipients graduate from high school. Their parents, many of whom are first generation college-goers, will receive support services and assistance in securing financial aid to allow them to complete their college educations.
"This one-of-a-kind scholarship program not only benefits the children who are the recipients by giving them an incentive to go to college, but also provides an incentive for their parents to continue their education," said Prieto. "We are grateful to Rey Feo Leonel Reyes and the the LULAC Rey Feo Scholarship Committee, Inc. for making this outstanding program possible," she added.
Former San Antonio College student Ingrid Quintero was the featured speaker at the event. Her son, Anthony, who will graduate from high school in 2016, is a previous recipient of a Parent-Child Scholarship. Quintero dropped out of high school when she became pregnant in her senior year. She was married briefly and then lived at the Guadalupe Home for pregnant women. While there, she enrolled in high school again and graduated in June 1998, several months after her son was born.
Quintero was awarded a Young Women’s/Young Men’s Conference Scholarship to attend SAC and, shortly after enrolling, she learned about the LULAC Parent-Child scholarships, applied and was awarded one for Anthony. Quintero credits both scholarships for providing "major motivation" to complete her college education. She is currently attending Our Lady of the Lake University and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s in social work in May 2004 and earn her master’s in social work by May 2005. Quintero’s goal is to work with abused and disadvantaged children.
One of this year’s scholarship recipients is six-year-old Samuel Formby. His mother, Debra, dropped out of high school at 15, left home at 16, eventually married briefly and gave birth to her son. In order to set an example for him, she enrolled at San Antonio College in 2002, more than 28 years after dropping out of high school. For her, this scholarship means that "there’s no question about whether my son is going to college or not. He just expects that he will." Formby plans to complete her associate degree at SAC and transfer to the UT Health Science Center to study clinical laboratory science. She has already earned 28 hours of college credit and has a 4.0 GPA.
Sara Gunn is also a parent of one of this year’s scholarship recipients. Sara, who lost her mother to breast cancer when she was just 16, was used to fending for herself at an early age. After giving birth to her now six-month-old daughter, Divinity, she became convinced that she needed to return to school. "Divinity was God’s way of stepping in to alter my future," says Sara. "Divinity is my motivation for change." Sara attends San Antonio College, where she maintains a 3.7 GPA. She plans to transfer to UTSA and major in business management.
Roxanne Sanchez, the parent of another of this year’s recipients, gave birth to her daughter Persephone on the same night she was scheduled to receive her diploma from Southside High School. She had been encouraged earlier to pursue a nursing career by her grandmother, who she cared for while she was recovering from a stroke. When she lost her grandmother in 2001, Sanchez also lost some of her motivation for continuing her education. But the birth of her daughter gave her renewed determination to complete her nursing degree at San Antonio College.
The LULAC Rey Feo Parent-Child scholarship program began in 1997. The Women’s Center at San Antonio College, directed by Dr. Helen Vera, coordinates the selection of the recipients and provides assistance to the parents. The first recipient of the scholarships to graduate from high school will do so in 2011.