Community Foundation awards over $400,000 in scholarships | Coral Gables Community News#
(Photo by Miranda Kruse Bunnell)
The Coral Gables Community Foundation has again expanded its support for college scholarships in 2023, awarding more than $400,000 in total in awards.
The growth is due to generous, dedicated and visionary fund owners joining the Foundation and awarding more grants than ever before.
Eighty-eight high school seniors received 96 scholarships totaling $419,500 from 19 scholarship funds: Coral Gables Community Foundation Scholarship; Coral Gables Culinary Arts Scholarship; Grant and Bridget Daugherty Nursing Fellowship; dr Thomas E. Deal Medical Fellowship; Garcia Perseverance Scholarship; Coral Gables Bar Association grant commemorating Ervin Gonzalez; (new) 1980 Cavaliers Boys Soccer State Championship Scholarship commemorating team captain Bruce Hayes; Kerdyk Family Trust Music Scholarship; Ralph V. Moore Fellowship for Cavalier Excellence; Julian Perez Memorial Scholarship; Dave Ragan Jr. Memorial Golf Scholarship; Grant from the Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables; Shine Bright Grant; Jeannett Slesnick Community Spirit Scholarship; Luke Sturgill Memorial Fellowship; Lady Suzanna P. Tweed Fellowship; (new) Peter and Aymee Zubizarreta First Generation Student Scholarship; Mitchell Zuñiga Fellowship; and (new) Walter & Alma Vogel Memorial Scholarship.
Dignitaries, Board Members, donors and grantees and their families celebrated at the annual grant reception co-hosted with the City of Coral Gables at the Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables.
Education is Coral Gables top priority, as evidenced by the visionary and generous individual funders behind the scholarships. Scholarships created in 2023 include:
1980 Cavaliers Boys Soccer State Championship Scholarship commemorating team captain Bruce Hayes. Commissioner Kirk Menendez created a fund to commemorate Hayes, the actor who passed away in 2022.
First generation Zubizarreta scholar. Foundation Board Member Peter Zubizarreta and his wife Aymee established a scholarship fund to sponsor a student whose family was unable to attend college.
Walter & Alma Vogel Memorial Scholarship and Music Fellowship. Created by Merrick Society donor Lori Thomas in honor of her parents and to encourage the study of technology and music subjects at the college.
Annual awards have been presented through the Coral Gables Community Foundation Scholarship Awards through the generous support of donors. The Batchelor Foundation has supported the grant program for several years and the Kirk Foundation again supported the awards this year.
The Foundation is honored to announce that Coral Gables High School student Gian Carlos Torres is the first R. Kirk Landon Scholar to commemorate the influential Coral Gables businessman and philanthropist who passed away in 2015. Torres received a four-year scholarship from the businessman’s grandson, Kirk Landon Staley. The Coral Gables Community Foundation is fortunate to partner with the Kirk Foundation to provide a special way to commemorate a giant in our community. “Each year, the Coral Gables Community Foundation is privileged to honor students who have excelled academically and have provided outstanding service to their community,” said Venny Torre, the Foundation’s Board Chair and CEO of Torre Construction and Development, adding that he is convinced that the scholarship holders of today will be the ones who will award even larger scholarships in years to come.
“The generosity of our fund owners and donors has enabled us to invest over $1 million in the education of our community in the last three years alone,” said Matthew Meehan, Chair of the Scholarships Committee and a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Meehan ended the ceremony by urging the students to give back to the community they have supported and use their education and skills to make a difference by passing it on to the next generation.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS 2023
Mariam Aguilar Tantilova; Ariana S Alvarez; Gloria Arce; Brianna J Babani; Elise Ballart; William “Trip” Beardslee; Nicole D Bohlmann; Halona Bosca; Isabella Busquets; Mia V. Cabrera; Luciana M. Callegari; Armando Camejo; Marta Camps-Gonzalez; Emmanuel R Cartagena; Juan D Castillo; Gian Castro; Maria J Cestero; Florian Chevalier; Lucia M. Chico; Christy N. Concepcion; Adrial A Cortes; Samuel B. Cruz; Mercedes Del Toro; Marina C Devine Guzman; Brianna Duardo; Maria J Duarte; Joseph Enriquez; Yinelys D Esquivel; Avery I Felix; Cheryl Fife; Brittany L Fuenmayor; Diego Gomez Bello; Kevin A Hernandez; William B Hudson; Nathaniel Leiva; Ana Leon; Fabio A Lerma; Edglhys Junior Lopez; Paola A Lopez Rojas; Joshua P Makeyra; Jorge E Marin; Gabriela A Martinez; Glenis G Mendoza; Ana Menendez; Itzel P. Michel; Gabriella Mohammed; Camila Mojica; Alexa V. Monsalve; James L Montejo; Isabella S Morales; Samantha Morales; Sarai Moro; Genesis Naranjo; Mariana Nieto Reyes; Carla Nunez Baullosa; Yulian D Ochoa; Abril Orejon; Lorenzo A Orellana; Japheth Oluwajuwonlo Oyedepo; Lucas Paez; Camila S Pena; Edgar Perez Vizcaino; Casey J’nae Ramirez; Michelle Raudez; Melissa M. Requeny; Melissa M. Requeny; Francesca Rico; Jacqueline Rodero; Sofia Alexandra Rodriguez; Sofia Angelica Rodriguez; Marcela A Rondon; Marcos Y.Rosello; Arcenio Saballos; Camila V Salazar Bodas; Alejandro Sandelis; Rafael J Sans; Thalia Sautie; Mayolet Sena; Audrey Simon; Jahmyra L. Smile; Samuel B Summers; Ivan Stanovici; Gian C Torres; Ariadne Torres; Grace A Urbita; Alaina Villalonga; Sarah H Whalen and Grace Zaky.
About the scholarship program
The Coral Gables Community Foundation is honored to work with donors to administer several community scholarship funds as well as the Foundation’s own scholarship funds. The foundation and its donors are proud to have awarded more than $1.6 million in grants, including $1 million, in the last three years alone.
About the Coral Gables Community Foundation
Established in 1991, the Coral Gables Community Foundation inspires impactful philanthropy through charitable funds and programs that leverage local knowledge, expertise and trusted relationships. Learn more at www.GablesFoundation.org.
ABOUT US:
For more Miami community news, visit the Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online newspaper group covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers connected. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers are the ideal resource for keeping up with the latest news and events in the area. In addition, the newspaper offers exclusive Miami community podcasts that provide listeners with an in-depth look at Miami culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news or podcasts about the community, you’ve come to the right place at Miami’s Community Newspapers.
Connect with your customers and grow your business
Click here
