EDWARD SIFUENTES

Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO -- The Beca Foundation will award more than $60,000 in scholarships to some of the county's top Latino students, including 16 from North County, at its 17th annual awards banquet Saturday 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 an Ivy League school far from home, said Bob Guerrero, president of the foundation.

"For students like these, the scholarships can make all the difference," Guerrero said.

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 $711,290 and 384 scholarships over 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 Saturday is Alfredo Nunez of Ramona, a graduate of San Pasqual High School who is headed to Stanford University to study human biology with an eye on becoming a physician.

Nunez said his parents, a farm worker and a homemaker who immigrated from Mexico in the mid-1970s, have been his inspiration to succeed.

"I have a desire to succeed in life just so that I can give some of that back and thank them for the sacrifices that they have had to make for me and my brother," Nunez said.

His brother, Jesus, is a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in political science.

Among his many accomplishments, Nunez, 18, was the top student in his class with a 4.58 grade point average, class valedictorian, a star in his school's cross country team, senior homecoming king and received numerous scholarships and awards.

This year's guest speaker at the banquet will be Alex Gonzalez, president of Cal State University San Marcos. Gonzalez said his message to the students will be to give back to their community.

"The Beca foundation has been around for a long time, but it's there because people who have benefited from an education have come back to help those others who need the help," Gonzalez said. "That's what I'm telling the students: we need to give back."

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 2 p.m. Saturday

There are 31 Beca scholarship recipients this year; 21 are high school graduates, 10 are continuing students in colleges and universities. North County scholarship recipients are:

Claudia Arellano, San Marcos High School

Liliana Avila, San Dieguito Academy

Adriana Gomez, Oceanside High School

Ariana Lopez, Fallbrook High School

Cynthia Lopez, San Marcos High School

Emilena Lopez, San Pasqual High School

Alfredo Nunez, San Pasqual High School

Rebecca Ramirez, Vista High School

Marcelina Rodriguez, Fallbrook High School

Adriana Rojas, Fallbrook High School

Anny Tobora, San Pasqual High School

Continuing university students are:

Rosario Benitez, Cal State San Marcos

Claudia Ignacio, Cal State San Marcos

Cristina Lugo-Rocha, Cal State San Marcos

Izabel Solis, Cal State San Marcos

Iseel Lotz, Cal State San Marcos

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

7/27/01