18 Southeast Latino Youths Win $1,000 Scholarships

Eighteen Southeast area Latino high school students have received $1,000 scholarships each toward their college education from the Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources, a nonprofit organization.

The students were presented the awards during a luncheon Wednesday at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The event was sponsored by the McDonald’s Operators’ Assn. of Southern California.

All of the recipients are seniors and rank in the top five percentile of their graduating classes.

The scholarship program was started in 1989 by a group of McDonald’s franchise holders concerned about the low enrollment of Latino youths in colleges and universities. Last year the group awarded 35 scholarships. This year 40 scholarships were given to students attending schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

This year’s recipients from the Southeast area include Aurelio Alba, Roger Martinez and Daniel Romero from Paramount High School; Sandra Chaves, Jack Guerrero, Peggy Laramie and Bertha Medrano from Bell High; Diana Gonzalez and Lucia Navar from Bell Gardens High; Eva De La Rosa, Javier Favela and Magda Jimenez of Huntington Park High; Robin Garay, Marisol Martinez and Richard Morales from South Gate High; Lena Delgado and Luz Herrera of Pioneer High in Whittier and Jacqueline Sandoval from Lynwood High.