A Scholarship Success Story

06.27.09 | By DFP in: Press Releases , The La Luz Family

The Cinco de Mayo Fiesta for Education held each May is an opportunity to bring Sonoma’s two cultures together to celebrate in Mexican style and to raise funds for scholarships to local High School Students who go on to higher education.  

One of our great success scholarship stories is Yaqui  Magana  who tells La Luz, “I was the first in my family to attend college and it would have been impossible to do so with out money to pay for tuition, buy books etc. Like many Latino students, I didn’t have a college fund or parents who could write out a check each month. For me, my scholarship meant I could attend SSU with peace of mind knowing I had the financial support I needed to be successful. I graduated from Sonoma State University in May of 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

I have worked at the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce since 2002, my Junior Year in High School, and all through college.  When I graduated from SSU, I was promoted to Membership Manager. I serve as a board member of the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center and am very passionate about helping others in our community. I married the man of my dreams in September and we just bought our first home in Petaluma. If there is one thing I’d like anyone to know about me it is that I would not be where I am today if it had not been for my teachers, professors, and mentors at La Luz who saw me struggle yet believed in me. You just never know how much you can influence a person.”

Yaqui is just one of the many students that La Luz has helped.  According to Ana Byerly of the La Luz scholarship committee, “Last year we had 13 of the most awesome young people apply (all first in the family to go on to higher education) some accepted at Sac State, Dominican, Berkeley, SFU, SSU, USF, Chico, SRJC. These young men and women are such role models to so many kids on campus, Latino and Anglo.”