2023 Romero Scholarship awarded to Kevin 洛佩兹 and Jonathan Mora

For the first time in its 31-year history, 电子游戏软件’s Saint Oscar A. Romero Scholarship has been awarded to two students.

Class of 2024 members Kevin 洛佩兹 and Jonathan Mora will each receive approximately 75 percent of their senior-year tuition in acknowledgement of their superior academic achievement, 课外的领导, 社区服务, and involvement with the Hispanic/Latino community and Hispanic/Latino issues both on and off campus.

The pair were officially recognized at the recent Romero Scholarship Ceremony held in the Yawkey Center Murray Room.

Human 资源 Senior Employee Relations Officer Marcela V. 诺顿, 奖学金委员会联合主席, characterized their shared achievement as “a great accomplishment” that “demonstrates the commitment of service and values of Saint Oscar Romero.”

萨尔瓦多的大主教, shot and killed by an assassin while celebrating Mass in 1980, spoke passionately about the need for Christians to strive for justice and remains a source of strength and hope for the poor and oppressed of his country.  

伍斯特市., native Mora is the son of immigrants from Pueblo, 墨西哥, a life experience that has motivated him to plan to apply to law school with the goal of becoming an immigration attorney serving undocumented Latino immigrants. 麦克奈尔学者, Mora conducted a nationwide study analyzing the particular circumstances that forced some Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students out of college, 而其他人坚持并毕业了.  作为大一新生, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development student co-founded Free Tax Prep, 公司., a no-cost tax preparation and translation service for non-English-speaking communities in Greater Boston.  

“To recognize my hard work to serve the Latino community is to acknowledge the countless sacrifices my parents made to nurture my sisters and me,莫拉说. “I memorize the sacrifices my parents made for me, and cherish them every day because they believed that I could create generational change. I listened to their requests to do better in my academic life, because I was always reminded that many members of my community do not have the same access and opportunities to thrive in school as I did. 我妈妈会说:“太好了。, 帮助我, 我不知道该怎么做, 请做作业。,’ while my dad would say ‘Echale ganas (给 it your all).’

“I am on track to become the second person in my family to receive a college degree. Continuing my educational journey in law school is essential to receive the credentials I need to advocate for the Latino community, especially for undocumented immigrants during the naturalization process. As someone who has the privilege of being a United States citizen, I want to utilize my skills to uplift immigrants who want a better future for themselves and their families.”

洛佩兹, a first-generation college student from Los Angeles, worked in the Thea Bowman AHANA Intercultural Center for the express purpose of mentoring incoming students like himself. 他的座右铭, 分享爱,” reflects his dream of forming a non-profit organization that would pair high school seniors with mentors to guide them through the college application process and during their college experience.  A sociology major in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, 洛佩兹 plans to become a physical therapist.

“我向家乡的社区证明了这一点, 特别是Pico-Union社区, 像我们这样的人,他在系统上处于不利地位, can thrive in a predominately white institution like BC,洛佩兹说。. “I will continue to give back to my community and to prevent my peers from dropping out of college. 最后, 世界上有太多人觉得自己被遗忘了, 孤独的, 在痛苦中, and I will continue to bring awareness to these global issues.”

塞巴斯蒂安•科, a first-generation student in the Morrissey College with a deep commitment to medical care for the underserved, 另一个罗梅罗奖学金的入围者是谁.