SAN MARCOS —— Lirio Balbuena stood beaming with pride outside the banquet hall where she and dozens of other Latino students were about to receive a college scholarship Saturday night from the BECA Foundation.

The recent Fallbrook High School graduate did not wander far from a mural outlining the highlights of her academic career.

She anxiously introduced herself to those around her and explained how she dreams of becoming a doctor. That dream, she said, is one step closer to reality, thanks to the BECA Foundation's $500 scholarship, which will help her pay tuition at Palomar College, where she'll start next month.

And it will do more. The scholarship will make her the first person in her family to go to college, something Balbuena never dreamed of when her family came to this country from the Mexican state of Oaxaca just three years ago.

Since then, the ambitious 18-year-old dedicated herself to learning English and working her way toward higher education.

"I see many Hispanics here," Balbuena said. "And because they're not from here, or they don't speak the language, they think they can't do these things. And they can be something here (in the U.S.)"

That was a common and palpable attitude at BECA's 21st annual awards dinner at the M. Gordon Clarke Field House at Cal State San Marcos.

In all, 43 San Diego County students —— including 23 from North County —— took home a total of $58,000 at the awards dinner. Each of the scholars will receive between $500 and $4,000 every year for the next four years.

Some 200 students applied for the award, and the winners were selected based on their need, grade-point average and community service.

About 90 percent of the students will —— like Balbuena —— be the first in their family to go to college, according to Andres Martin, the foundation's president.

Another BECA recipient, Jose Cruz, a San Marcos High School graduate, said that without the $1,000 scholarship, college may not have been a possibility for him.

Cruz plans to start next semester at Palomar College and then transfer to Cal Poly Pomona, to earn a degree either as a construction engineer or an architect.

Finding financial aid was especially difficult because his residency status in this country does not qualify him for federal student loans, Cruz said.

"It means a lot," said Cruz, 18. "It's going to move my whole family up a level, because nobody in my family has gone to college, or even graduated high school."

Similarly, Maria Christina Romero, Balbuena's mother, said her oldest daughter had set the stage for her two younger siblings, and realized the dreams she had when she brought the family to this country.

"I want the most for them," Romero said. "I never want them to stop studying."

Along with the money, the students will be matched with mentors who can help guide them through the challenging terrain of a college-level education.

Making the most of that experience is a key component to later success, said Sylvia Mendoza, Saturday's keynote speaker and author of "The Book of Latina Women: 150 Vidas of Passion, Strength and Success."

"You already see you're ahead of the game," Mendoza told the scholars and the visibly proud family members who sat next to them, "that your education is important, and it will take you places."

When it was founded in 1984, the Escondido-based nonprofit handed out one $500 scholarship.

Since then, BECA —— which means scholarship in Spanish —— has helped young Latinos attend college. The North County Times is one of a dozen sponsors of the scholarships.

The organization has awarded more than $1.6 million to students, who went on to attend academic institutions ranging from local community colleges to Ivy League universities.

"It has a deep impact on them, both financially and in terms of moral support," said Martin, himself a BECA scholarship recipient in 1994. "They're our investment. The return is, hopefully, they'll come back."

For more information, call (760) 741-8426 or visit www.becafoundation.org.

Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.