Ten outstanding young scholars were honored at the annual LUCES Banquet on July 21 at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club as Latinos United for College Education Scholarships, Inc. (LUCES) celebrated their 12th year of making a difference in the lives of young, Madison-area Latino students.

The LUCES Scholarship recognizes outstanding Latino high school students in their senior year and college students or adult returning students that have completed their GED/HSED who have shown previous involvement in volunteer/leadership or community activities. The LUCES banquet was a chance to honor the 2017 LUCES Scholarship honorees that included Brenda Aranda Sanchez, Araceli Zuniga, Cristina Tabeira, Frida Sanchez, Harriet Nahomi, Briones Rodriguez, Karen Perez-Wilson, Liliana Teniente, Rosa Ruiz Perez, Nayeli Govantes, and Cuauhtli Esparza.

“Despite the fact that it was pouring rain, we had almost 250 people come to the event. And that was just fantastic,” LUCES President and founder Pedro Albiter tells Madison365. “The theme for this year’s banquet was ‘Inspiring the Leaders for Tomorrow’ and that’s exactly what happened. It’s hard to believe that it has been 12 years already since we first started LUCES.”

Husband-and-wife team of Pedro Albiter and Sayra Jayo (fourth and fifth from left) celebrate with LUCES supporters and board members at the LUCES Annual Banquet July 21.  (Photo by Marcus Miles)
Husband-and-wife team of Pedro Albiter and Sayra Jayo (fourth and fifth from left) celebrate with LUCES supporters and board members at the LUCES Annual Banquet July 21.
(Photo by Marcus Miles)

In September of 2005, Albiter started a small group called Club Mexiquense and worked with small issues involving the Latino community in the South Central Wisconsin. In 2011, Albiter applied for federal nonprofit status and changed the name to Latinos United for College Education Scholarships, or LUCES. The LUCES program has continued to grow every year, as well as the number of scholarships and the amount of money they are able to award scholars.

“This year the scholarship amount was increased from $750 to $1,000 for each of the ten recipients,” Albiter says. “So, we were very excited about that. It shows that more and more people are supporting LUCES.”

Eight-year-old Isabella Albiter introduces her father, LUCES President Pedro Albiter,
Eight-year-old Isabella Albiter introduces her father, LUCES President Pedro Albiter,

The master of ceremonies for the event was Rebeca Lopez, an attorney for Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. Steve Goldberg, the former executive director of CUNA Mutual Group Foundation, gave the welcome at the event.

In what was probably the most adorable part of the event, eight-year-old Isabella Albiter got up in front of the crowd and introduced her father. “I’m proud to be here tonight to introduce the next person. He is amazing. He’s a hard worker, a wonderful parent and he’s my mentor and role model,” the third-grader said. “He inspires me every day and he motivates me to achieve my dreams. When I grow up, I would like to give back to the community like my dad. Please help me welcome the founder and president of LUCES, Mr. Pedro Albiter.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Ramón Ortiz (Photo by Marcus Miles)
Keynote speaker Dr. Ramón Ortiz
(Photo by Marcus Miles)

The keynote speaker was Dr. Ramón Ortiz, interim assistant vice chancellor of UW-Whitewater.

“His message was really powerful and really inspiring,” Albiter says. “In 2020, the demographics show that Latinos are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, so I think it’s about time to have these kids really inspired and I think that Dr. Ramon Ortiz was the perfect role model to have those kids inspired that night.”

Edgewood College President Scott Flanagan presented the LUCES Educator of the Year Award went to Tony Garcia, director of diversity and inclusion at Edgewood College.

“Every day, Tony strives to make a positive difference in the lives of Latino students and families through advocacy, mentoring, advising and coaching. Tony developed academic student achievement program, ASAP, to address educational needs of Latinos and other students of color pursuing higher education,” the nominators for the LUCES Educator of the Year Award stated.

Rey Cruz takes a selfie with the LUCES Scholarship award winners.
Rey Cruz takes a selfie with the LUCES Scholarship award winners.

The LUCES Scholarship awards were presented by Kevin Foley, administrative manager of School of Academic Advancement at Madison College. Following the presentation, DJ Latin Fresh got people out on the dance floor for the rest of the night.

Albiter tells Madison365 that he is very excited about the way that LUCES is growing in a way that is touching students’ lives. “The families came to the rehearsals the day before and I was really happy to see the big families supporting their kids,” Albiter says. “And I’m so happy with all of the work that our board of directors does, too. As you know, we are all volunteers.

“The support that we have gotten from the community has been phenomenal and has given us the energy to keep going,” Albiter adds. “In 12 years, we’ve spent quite a bit of time volunteering, but that’s what makes us so happy. We are not getting paid, but we do get to see our students smiling and our students able to get into college. That is our best payment. We love that.”