Fall 2009 | 7www.arizonaalumni.com/uaha

graduated with his Bachelor’s degrees in Studio Art and Spanish & Portuguese in 2006. He was awarded as a Master’s student in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Cristina Santamaria is a doctoral student in the department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology and is receiving her degree in learning disabilities with an emphasis in Bilingual/Multicultural Education.

Outstanding Graduates: Cristina Santamaria, W. Patrick Bryan, Zayoni Torres and Nancy Hernandez

Letter from UAHA PresidentIt is my pleasure to address you for our fall issue of the

UAHA Noticias. Many of you are new UAHA members and we welcome you to the growing UAHA familia! We have started the semester with great events such as the UA Hispanic Heritage football weekend and UA Homecoming Pachanga tailgate where many alumni and students celebrated our heritage and the love of our alma mater. Some of you even

marched in the UA Homecoming parade with our “UA Bug” Volkswagen float. These events are great opportunities for friends to gather and to raise funds for our scholarships.

Through generosity from individuals such as you, thousands of awards have been presented by the UAHA during the past 25 years. The UAHA’s scholarship endowment has provided scholarship support to students who may not have otherwise attended college. To date, the UAHA has awarded 1,998 scholarship awards for a total of $4,400,000. For 2009-2010, the UAHA is proud to announce that it has awarded 234 scholarships. To meet the needs of our growing Hispanic communities in Arizona, we intend on growing the number of students the UAHA scholarships and assists annually. To do this, we must increase our scholarship fundraising efforts.

One of our largest fundraisers is the Annual UAHA Scholarship Dinner, “Portraits of Excellence”. This will be our 25th Anniversary and the Dinner will be held Friday, December 4, 2009 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa with a 6:00 p.m. reception, 7:00 p.m. dinner, and end of evening dance. In addition, the UAHA is pleased to honor the accomplishments of Rick Gonzales of The Gonzales Law Firm, P.C. and Marty Cortez of the Leadership & Retention Program for the University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Club (see www.arizonaalumni.com/uaha)

Our scholarship program works closely with the efforts of the Chicano/Hispano Student Center. This year, the Center was set to close and transition into a “Community Center” under new direction. Many Hispanic UA alumni and community advocates came together to discuss and communicate the need for the Center to not only stay in place, but also receive support to grow. This is a nationally recognized center and staff with a graduation rate of 90% for UAHA scholarship recipients. It has culturally competent models such as Success Express and our Leadership & Retention programs that address the needs of our Hispanic students at the UA. The Center was saved and maintained through a collaborative community effort. The UAHA will continue partnering with and supporting the Center to help maintain and grow its vital presence.

Thank you for your support and for the opportunity to attend to the needs and concerns of the UAHA alumni and scholarship students.

Cordialmente,

Humberto Stevens

MembershipREMINDER: TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP. University of Arizona Hispanic Alumni Club memberships are based on the calendar year and are set to expire De-cember 31. Now is the time to sign up for 2010, whether it’s a renewal or if you’re joining for the first time.

Our membership program is strong and as our network expands, we seek to better serve our alumni and touch the lives of more students. We are proud to introduce some exciting changes to UAHA’s membership program and now offer several options for you when you join or renew. Among the new options are Lifetime, Joint, Friendship, and Student memberships along with a General UAHA membership. Each University of Arizona Alumni Association (our umbrella organization) member is eligible for a $10 discount off UAHA dues. We are also working hard to obtain benefits that our members can enjoy.

Please accept our invitation to join UAHA or renew your membership today. Your participation is greatly appreciated and is for a great cause. Simply complete and return the membership form on the back of this newsletter. You can also sign up through our website at http://www.arizonaalumni.com/uaha. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at (520) 626-9327.