It’s the little foundation that could.
The Victoria Teresa Arias (VTA) Memorial Foundation will celebrate its seventh annual fundraiser with “A Weekend to Remember” ¡Viva Victoria! on Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21 at Casino Del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Rd.
The two-day event will feature a Scholarship Gala with a dinner and dancing at 6 p.m on Friday followed by a mariachi concert by Mariachi Cobre at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Significantly, 2025 also marks the gifting of four $40,000 scholarships —$10,000 per student per year. The 2025 Tori Scholars include Mireya Ysaguirre of Sahuarita High School; Prashast Sharma of Sunnyside High School; Miranda Morando of San Miguel High School and Ailyn Gamez of Pueblo High School.
“It is a very big year for us,” said Mike Arias, president of the Victoria Teresa Arias Memorial Foundation.
People are also reading…
“It has been our goal all along to be able to give scholarships that would create a life-changing feeling for these students and their families and that was the exact definition of this. It was a life-changing moment for them,” he said.
Arias and his family became determined to create that moment for other families after their daughter, Victoria, experienced it as the recipient of a full-ride scholarship to St. Mary’s University in Minnesota in 2017. Victoria’s life was cut short in a swimming accident prior to leaving for college. Although she was unable to realize her dream of becoming a first-generation college graduate, the Arias family has been on a mission ever since to make college a reality for other Tucson kids.
Over the years, it has awarded $388,000 in scholarships and partnered with the Catholic University of America to provide additional scholarship funding. Additionally, it has provided 18 students with laptops.
The cause has resonated with many in the community, according to City of South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela. She has supported a proclamation honoring the Victoria Teresa Arias Memorial Foundation for “empowering students and fostering education, creativity, and social mobility in Southern Arizona.”
“We think about the great service Victoria’s parents are doing for the community and the scholarships they have awarded to these young people and we really want to be involved. I think this is just the beginning of a bigger collaboration,” Valenzuela said.
After experiencing firsthand the financial struggles associated with attaining higher education, Valenzuela is gratified that the Arias family is making college dreams come true for local students — particularly women.
“Especially in communities that are disadvantaged, it is harder for Latina women, and when the community comes together to help us move forward and thrive, we all have better opportunities for success. We need more programs like this to empower our community for sure,” Valenzuela said.
The Arias family is an inspiration to many youth and their families, according to Morando, who plans to use her $40,000 scholarship to study nursing at the University of Arizona and eventually become a nurse anesthetist.
“When I won the scholarship I was in shock. It didn’t feel real and when I called my mom and dad, I burst into tears and so did they. It has changed my life. From the perspective of my parents, they have worked really hard and sacrificed so much for my education and I feel like this helps them accomplish what they wanted after all that they had to sacrifice,” Morando said.
Morando said that the Arias Foundation has made the scholarship process, which can be very intimidating, very welcoming.
“They are such nice people and after getting to know them and the other scholarship recipients, you can tell they are very community-based and the environment around them is so positive ... with their help we make lots of connections,” Morando said.
Ultimately, Arias believes that the scholarships have been made possible due to intergenerational connections that extend throughout the community and beyond. He cited Mariachi Cobre, who are considered mariachi ambassadors and perform at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, as an example.
“Mariachi Cobre were the original members of Los Changuitos Feos de Tucson and Victoria was the connection. She played with Los Changuitos when she was with us ... and since most of the members of Mariachi Cobre are Tucsonans, when we reached out to them and asked if it would be possible to do a concert, they were 100 percent in,” he said.
Arias said the support of so many caring individuals, businesses and sponsors is a triumph.
“The community has embraced us. We want everyone to take ownership in giving these scholarships to students and making college possible for them,” he said.
