Beca to award $51,600 to top Latino students

| Wednesday, July 10, 2002 10:00 PM PDT ∞

EDWARD SIFUENTES
Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO ---- The Beca Foundation will award $51,600 in scholarships to some of the county's top Latino students, including 18 from North County, at its 18th annual awards banquet July 27 in Escondido.

For the students, many of whom come from low-income families, the $1,000 to $2,000 scholarships will make a big difference in paying for their education, whether they are headed to a local college or a school far from home, said Joseph Madrigal, president of the foundation.

"For these students, this could be a make-or-break situation for attending or not attending college," said Madrigal, who is also vice president of student services at Palomar College.

The foundation, which started by handing out a single $1,000 scholarship, is now one of the top Latino scholarship foundations in the county, giving out more than $750,000 and more than 400 scholarships during the years.

Beca is Spanish for scholarship. The awards, which started as a way to promote Latino students headed for careers in medicine, are given in two categories: medical and general.

Students are selected on the basis of their service to the community, willingness to give back, grade point average and financial need.

One of the students who will receive an award this year is Veronica Cesena, of Cardiff, a graduate of San Dieguito Academy who is headed to the University of San Diego to study communications and business.

"I feel great to have received this scholarship from Hispanics who have been successful and are now giving back to their community, and I hope to do the same," Cesena said.

Cesena, 17, said she would like to become an events coordinator for a major league baseball team. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister, who is now attending the University of Southern California majoring in communications.

"Growing up with a single mother, I've just been very fortunate to have people around me who support me and help me," she said.

This year's guest speaker at the banquet will be Lorena Gonzalez, senior adviser to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. She is a Vista native and a former Beca scholarship recipient.

The scholarship helped Gonzalez pay for books and other school materials when she was attending Stanford University, where she graduated in 1993, she said. Gonzalez went on to receive a master's degree from Georgetown University, and a law degree from UC Los Angeles in 1998.

Now, Gonzalez says she wants to be a role model to other North County Latino students.

"I want to tell them that it's all right to be a trailblazer, even if you feel a little bit isolated," Gonzalez said.

At the ceremony, North County Times publisher Dick High will be presented with the Padrino Award, which is given to organizations that contribute to Beca's goal of providing financial awards to promising Latino students.

Beca was founded in 1984 by a group of mostly North County Latino professionals to provide not only scholarship money but to give students moral support and guidance.

The banquet will be held at the Resurrection Parish Center in Escondido, beginning at 6 p.m., July 27. For reservations, call (760) 741-8246.

There are 35 Beca scholarship recipients this year; 23 are high school graduates, 12 are continuing students in colleges and universities. North County scholarship recipients are:

Esther Aguilar, Escondido High School; Jeannean Ayala, Fallbrook High School; Isidro Bucio, Jr., San Marcos High School; Carmen Cardenas, Torrey Pines High School; Veronica Cesena, San Dieguito Academy; Sabrina Dence, Fallbrook High School; Gricel Escobedo, San Marcos High School; Luis Flores, Carlsbad High School; Mayela Hernandez, Vista High School; Jose Llamas, San Pasqual High School; Amy Martinez, Escondido High School; Jennifer Mejia, La Costa Canyon High School; Danielle Munoz, Oceanside High School; Monique Pasqual, El Camino High School; Arturo Pineda, Orange Glen High School; Nancy Reyes, San Dieguito Academy; Monica Morris, Cal State University San Marcos; and Aracely Schulte, Cal State University San Marcos.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-5426 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

7/11/02