By Surella Rodriguez - Monsignor Edward Pace HS
Photographer: COURTESY
From left, the five recipients of this year's Jorge Luis Lopez Esq. Scholarship at Msgr. Edward Pace High School: Madison Sofo, Heidi Alonso, Alexander M. Ferradas, Gaelle Aristide, and Adrian Jordan Fleitas.
MIAMI GARDENS | The fourth annual Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq. Scholarship, geared towards helping need-based students with tuition assistance, were presented Oct. 25 at Msgr. Edward Pace High School.
The total scholarship award of $10,000 was divided among five students in grades 9 through 11. Receiving $2,000 each in scholarship money were: Heidi Alonso, Adrian Jordan Fleitas, Alexander M. Ferradas, Madison Sofo, and Gaelle Aristide.
Criteria for receiving the scholarship included a GPA of 3.0 or higher, sports team involvement and a written essay on the importance of a Catholic education and why the student needs tuition assistance. All 38 applicants were invited to attend the presentation ceremony. The families of the 14 finalists and the five scholarship winners also were recognized at the breakfast, which followed a 7 a.m. Mass celebrated by Father Richard Vigoa at the Chapel Dante Navarro Religious Education Center.
Attorney Jorge Luis Lopez understands the critical role tuition assistance plays in the lives of children and their future. He attended Pace alongside many low-income students from Opa-Locka whose parents worked very hard to provide a Catholic education for their children. Lopez is now a successful attorney, philanthropist, leader, husband and father of five children who knows the sacrifices his parents made to provide him with the foundation of a Catholic education that has been instrumental in his success.
Lopez practices his Catholic faith and firmly believes that “to whom much is given, much is expected.” That is why he created the scholarship in 2016 — one of the cornerstone philanthropic programs of the Marile & Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq. Family Foundation. Since the scholarship's inception, the funds have helped 15 Pace High School students get the quality education they deserve.
Today, approximately 60 percent of the students who attend Pace High need financial assistance. Notwithstanding, Pace was awarded the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education in 2002.
Photographer: COURTESY
The five recipients of this year's Jorge Luis Lopez Esq. Scholarship at Msgr. Edward Pace High School pose with Jorge Luis Lopez, his wife and one of their sons (center), Pace Principal Ana Garcia (far left), Father Richard Vigoa, and Celia Rouco, director of Development at Pace.
