SAN ANTONIO (May 22, 2020) – The San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists will be awarding 15 scholarships totaling $52,500, including the first-ever Shea Serrano Scholarship, despite having postponed its 22nd Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala until 2021 due to COVID-19.
“With the financial difficulties caused by COVID-19 to families across the country, the SAAHJ board knew that without a doubt we needed to provide assistance to students studying to be the future of our professions, despite us having to postpone our gala this year” Nora Lopez, SAAHJ’s 2020 president, said. “With fundraising efforts of past years, we were able to continue to help these talented students.”
Scholarship recipients and the respective universities each attends include:
- Liandre De la Uso, Texas A&M-San Antonio
- Karla Bello-Mondragon, University of the Incarnate Word
- Brigid Cooley, Texas A&M-San Antonio
- Samantha Ruvalcaba, St. Mary’s University
- Austin Martinez, The University of Texas at Austin
- Brian Yancelson, Trinity University
- Molly Tilton, The University of Texas at Austin
- Antonio Bocanegra II, University of the Incarnate Word
- David Rojas, Texas A&M-San Antonio
- Kailey Lopez, Trinity University
- Noah Alcala Bach, University of Missouri
- Melanie Salazar, Tarelton State University
- Gabrielle Yanez, University of the Incarnate Word
- Briana Caballero, University of the Incarnate Word
- Cristela Jones, Texas State University
All scholars were chosen by a committee consisting of journalism and communications professionals led by SAAHJ board members and committee co-chairs Tony Quesada, editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Business Journal and Mary Melton, executive news producer and assignments editor at Univision San Antonio.
The scholarship, which awards $5,000 to a student each year for the next four years, is funded by Serrano, a multiple New York Times best-selling author and San Antonio native, and his wife Larami Serrano. Due to timing and the ongoing pandemic, the organization and the author decided to award to someone local, but the following three years will be open to a nationwide pool of scholars.
A rescheduled date for SAAHJ’s 22nd Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala is still to be determined.
