Centro Hispano of Dane County hosted the inaugural Becas Program Scholarship Awards Luncheon on Saturday, November 10, awarding over $45,000 worth of scholarships to eight students.
“It’s the first luncheon we have done that way,” Centro Hispano Executive Director Karen Menendez Coller said. She said Centro used to give out the scholarship as part of an annual celebration gala event but the scholarship program has grown within the last four years.
“It made sense for it to kind of be a standalone event and recognize the achievements of the kids and the families, and more of a personalized celebration,” she said. “We were able to ramp up the fundraising for this year so we were able to give out more meaningful awards to the kids. The goal is to keep going and do even more. My dream is to give out full rides to our students.”
Through the Becas Program, Centro offers annual scholarships to students who have been involved with the agency or enrolled in one of Centro’s youth programs to help further their educational goals and help cover the cost of higher education.
Coller said the staff at Centro worked on planning the event for about a year, hoping to create a warm environment for the families of the award recipients. Food Fight, a sponsor for the event, even catered the meal for free.
“I always love coming to these because not only is it inspirational but a reminder of why we need stuff like this,” award recipient Karen Perez-Wilson said.
Perez-Wilson, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is pursuing a degree in legal studies and Chicanx/Latinx studies in hopes of becoming an immigration attorney. She, like other award recipients, actively participated in Centro’s programming throughout middle school and high school.
Centro Hispano usually gives four $2,000 high school scholarships and two or three $5,000 college scholarship awards, amounting to about $20,000 in scholarships each year. Coller said the additional financial support helps students who are not able to receive in-state tuition or additional aid.
“Unlike a lot of scholarships that are just academics, we really try to support leadership and community connection. Those are key things that we value when we’re giving out awards,” she said.
Perez-Wilson and others represent the type of leaders Centro encourages. She participates in numerous campus and community initiatives fighting for social justice for LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities. Madison West High School Senior Jennifer Ceaca Tecalero hopes to study medicine and one day become a doctor.
“One of the biggest barriers for kids, regardless of immigration status, is the financial peice, so we want to be there to focus on that thing that’s such a barrier for them,” Coller said. “There’s a lot of work to be done here in the state because our community here feels very much isolated and there’s only room to grow.”
She said she would like Centro to give students full rides and develop a pipeline in education for students to succeed. Coller said she’s a big believer that the best partners are teachers because if they see the value, then they can encourage families to seek support for their youth. She also said the awards luncheon is a great way for organizations to get involved with the Latino community.
“Next year we’re going to have it again. People can come. It’s a really beautiful way of supporting the next generation,” Coller said.
