Latinos Unidos of Iowa awarded scholarships to three Central College students during its annual awards night. Óscar Reynaga, Central senior lecturer of Spanish and class dean for the Class of 2027, volunteers with Latinos Unidos of Iowa. He presented scholarship awards to students in attendance on Saturday, Sept. 16, in Des Moines.
Luka Flores, Class of 2027, is a first-year student from Norwalk, Iowa, who is exploring major options. Flores received a specialty award for environmental studies, sponsored by Chevron Renewable Energy Group.
Jenna-Marie Hernandez, Class of 2024, is a biochemistry and biology major with a minor in Spanish. She grew up in Slater, Iowa. Hernandez as a senior and is currently going through the admission process for dental schools.
Noemi Vega, Class of 2026, is a sociology and communication studies major from Osceola, Iowa. Vega is a first-generation student at Central.
Central is one of the few colleges and universities that established matching scholarship funds. This program doubles a student’s scholarship awarded by Latinos Unidos of Iowa for the academic year.
“It is because of this generosity and support that we are able to address the needs for educational access for the ever-growing Latinx student population of Iowa,” Reynaga says. “This year we had the privilege of reviewing over 100 applications from an extraordinary pool of applicants who aspire to fulfill their dreams of attending associate, undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs in Iowa. It is always extremely humbling to know that we will help play a small part in their educational journey.”
Reynaga currently serves as a Latinos Unidos of Iowa board member and has served as one of the scholarship judges for the past 15 years.
Latinos Unidos of Iowa is a nonprofit organization with the goal of generating leadership and unity within Latin and Hispanic organizations in Iowa. Its focus is to promote educational opportunities for students so they can obtain the knowledge needed to succeed.