Latinos Count is inviting the public to a lunch celebrating a record number of college scholarships given to local Latino youth.
The organization handed out more than $50,000 to 26 students, chosen from 50 applicants, attending college this fall.
Lisbet Diaz is a freshman at the University of St. Francis studying radiologic technology and one of the Latinos Count scholarship recipients. She said the importance of higher education was expressed to her by her father, who wasn’t able to go to college.
“Seeing how hard it was for, how the lack of resources and everything for like my family and for a lot of Hispanics and everything really kind of encouraged me to continue that and to use the opportunities available to me,” Diaz said.
Genesis Villalobos was fifth in her class at Northside High School and also received one of the scholarships. She says anyone considering applying for the scholarship should just go for it.
“Because you never know what life will throw at you and you never know where opportunities can take you," Villalobos said. "Do it even if you think you can’t do it, because you never know, you might do it.”
The celebratory lunch is on September 21 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. The deadline to reserve a seat is September 14. Reserve a seat through the eventbrite page.
