“Everybody that wins a scholarship becomes part of our LUCES family and we do follow up with all of our former scholarship recipients,” Sayra Jayo, the vice president of Latinos United for College Education Scholarships (LUCES) and the LUCES Gala Coordinator, tells Madison365. “We have a mentoring program and we are able to follow up with students if they need school or career or job advice. We are always there for them.”
That “LUCES family” is going to get a little bigger on Friday, Aug. 6, 6-8 p.m. when five outstanding Madison-area Latino students will be honored at the LUCES Annual Scholarship Gala. This year’s event will be held virtually on Zoom.
One of the speakers at the annual LUCES Scholarship Gala this year will be a former LUCES scholarship recipient, Ana Rodriguez, who is a 2021 Edgewood College graduate.
“Ana is part of that LUCES family and she recently got a job at Madison College and she said, ‘Sayra, thank you to LUCES because it was not only the scholarship that was important, but it was also my first time being exposed to the community at a large event and I got an opportunity to meet a person from Madison College and now I got a job there because I met them at the event.’
“So we’re not only providing scholarships but an opportunity for the students to network,” she adds. “That’s why the event is important.”
Jayo is the wife of Pedro Albiter, the founder of LUCES who stepped down as president over a year ago but still is involved with the organization, helping LUCES with the Scholarship Committee this year. LUCES first began when Albiter started a small group in September of 2005 called Club Mexiquense and worked with small issues involving the Latino community in south-central Wisconsin. In 2011, Albiter applied for federal nonprofit status and changed the name to Latinos United for College Education Scholarships, or LUCES.
LUCES is a nonprofit organization that works to ensure bright futures for young Latinos in Wisconsin by providing several merit and need-based scholarships. 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.
“I am so happy for our sponsors who helped to make this event possible. It just shows that they believe in us and believe in the mission of LUCES,” Jayo says.
The annual event is usually a fun and inspiring in-person event with music and food, but has gone virtual for both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Master of Ceremonies for this year’s annual LUCES Gala will be Rebeca Lopez, an attorney for Godfrey and Kahn. The welcome will be made by Steve Goldberg of Steve Goldberg Consulting.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Sergio M. González, an assistant professor of Latinx Studies in the Departments of History and Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Marquette University. As a historian of 20th-century U.S. immigration, labor, and religion, his scholarship focuses on the development of Latino communities in the U.S. Midwest. His first book, “Mexicans in Wisconsin,” offered a concise introductory history of Mexican settlement and community formation across the state.
Five local students will be honored with LUCES scholarships for their academic achievement and community service.
“We are thankful during these difficult times that we are still receiving support from our sponsors who help us honor these great students,” Jayo says. “Thanks to the sponsors, we are able to provide these scholarships for these students who apply each year.”
The five students who will be honored are: Adriana Vasquez-Rodriguez, Litzy Gomez, Luis Martinez Cruz, Adriel Mendoza and Cristian Yanzapanta.
Closing remarks at the event will be made by Tera Cobb, the new president of LUCES board of directors.
“This is an event that always makes me feel very emotional because I am a mom and I can feel like I can be in the parents’ shoes,” Jayo says. “This is an event that will always bring some tears because I am a mom and I imagine how I would feel if my daughter was up on this stage.
“It is really inspirational for me to see these students get these scholarships and continue moving forward with their goals and their achievements — especially now during these difficult times,” she adds. “I always say to them, ‘education is the key to success.'”
The LUCES annual Gala will be held on Friday, Aug. 6, 6-8 p.m. For more information, click here.
