If you want to “let the good times roll,” do it for a good cause at the University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Portraits of Excellence—Crowning Excellence: A Mardi Gras Soirée.
“This year we have a Mardi Gras theme with a parade, a jazz band, Wilbur and Wilma, a photo booth sponsored by Jim Click, dinner, dancing and some great surprises. We want this to be a fun and uplifting event where the crowd interacts and we involve everyone ... and all the funds we raise are going toward scholarships from the UAHA Endowment Scholarship Fund,” Letty Molina-Gutierrez, president of the UA Hispanic Alumni Association, said about the fundraiser.
A highlight of the annual event is the ceremony to honor deserving recipients for their contributions to students, education and the Hispanic community.
Molina-Gutierrez said they are thrilled to honor Czarina Lopez and Dominic Ortega for their prolific and generous philanthropic work in the community.
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“We are so excited to honor Czarina. We honored her husband, Humberto, in 2006 and they are a power couple, but she does so much on her own as well and we are in awe of her. She is a mother and grandmother and serves on boards and is very involved in The Center of Opportunity. We want to honor her for all of the amazing work she does with different organizations,” Molina-Gutierrez said.
She said that Ortega, a past president with the UAHA and avid supporter of UA students, is equally deserving.
“Dominic mentors and supports students at the Guerrero Student Center and through many organizations. He is retired, but he is in the business of promoting causes, connecting people and acknowledging others for their work in the community. With this event, he is working hard to raise $200,000 so we can reach $2 million in our endowment,” Molina-Gutierrez said.
She wants to promote awareness that the UAHA endowment funds $400,000 annually in scholarships to undergrads, graduate students, transfer students and those pursuing a fifth year of studies to complete their undergraduate degrees. UAHA scholarships are open to all UA students.
“These scholarships are not just for Latinx students. Any UA student with a NetID can apply on Scholarship Universe,” Molina-Gutierrez said.
UAHA scholarship recipients can also receive tutoring, mentoring and other assistance, which Molina-Gutierrez believes contribute to high retention and graduation rates. As a UAHA scholarship recipient herself, Molina-Gutierrez understands how important the support is.
“I was a fifth-year senior and didn’t know what I was going to do. They funded my fifth year, and that was when I knew I was going to give back some day,” she said.
