Rochester’s Ibero-American Action League is set to recognize 92 local Hispanic students for their academic achievements later this month.
During Ibero’s annual Gala and Hispanic Scholarship Recognition Awards, the students will receive scholarships that were made possible through donations from area colleges, nonprofit organizations, individuals and businesses. The gala will take place June 29 at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center in Rochester.
To be eligible to receive scholarships, applicants must:
• be of Hispanic origin;
• be a graduating high-school senior;
• demonstrate academic achievement with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0; and
• must be entering college in the fall of the year in which the scholarships are awarded.
Additionally, applicants were asked to submit two letters of recommendation.
“Ibero proudly has 92 scholarship recipients for 2019, the highest number of recipients we’ve ever had,” said Jacob Santos the Marketing & Events Coordinator for Ibero, “This is because a record amount of high school students qualified by having a GPA of 3.0 or higher.”
Scholarships are provided through Ibero’s scholarship program and come from Ibero’s endowment fund, the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, Monroe Community College, and several other organizations, businesses and individuals.
One of the students who will receive a scholarship is Alexis Jones, a senior at Rochester’s School of the Arts. She will be awarded the eighth-annual El Mensajero Católico/Catholic Courier scholarship.
Jones, who has a 4.2 grade-point average, said she plans on using the scholarship toward her tuition at the University of New Mexico, where she will begin her nursing studies in the fall. Originally from New Mexico, Jones moved to Rochester at age 12 with her single mother.
Jones said that at School of the Arts she enjoys photography, drawing and participating in Model UN. Outside of school, she spends up to 20 hours per week working as a patient care technician on a pulmonary ICU stepdown unit at Rochester Regional Health.
Motivated to become a nurse by her time working in the ICU, Jones said she’d like to become a registered nurse, but isn’t sure yet what field in nursing she will eventually like to pursue.
“I enjoy giving quality care to patients and ensuring that they are well taken care of,” said Jones. “ICU units require dedicated, passionate workers who love what they are doing. The nurses around me inspire me to be as great as they are in my future.”
After graduating from School of the Arts, Jones said she will work a full-time job over the summer so she can save up for college.
“My goal is to give back to the community by helping patients and to just be happy,” she said.
