The 12^th annual Worcester Latino Dollars for Scholars awards dinner held its largest event to date Saturday night (June 2). More than 400 people showed up at the DCU Convention Center to recognize and congratulate 45 deserving high school and college students.

The students honored will be heading to Becker, Clark, Quinsigamond, WSC, Holy Cross, as well as such national institutions as Brigham Young, Pace University, Vassar and Yale. Scholarships were awarded to students who achieved a grade point average of 2.7 or better.

The Worcester Latino Dollars for Scholars program is an affiliate of the Scholarship America Foundation, which is the largest private sector scholarship organization in the country. Its mission is to provide support and assistance to local scholarship efforts. Since its founding in 1995, Latin Dollars has awarded nearly 400 scholarships and raised more than $180,000.

“I’m very pleased to see more Latino kids graduating from high school,” says Centro Las America’s Arts and Cultural Director Dolly Vasquez. “I know because every year they have to give out more awards and that’s a very good thing.” 

The event attracted a host of celebrities and politicos including the head of Centro Las Americas and former City Councilor Juan Gomez; City Council candidates Maritza Cruz, Sam Rosario and Grace Ross; Gladys Rodriquez-Parker from U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s office; City Councilor Kate Toomey and Mayor Konnie Lukes, who in her speech said to the scholarship recipients, “Someday I hope to see some of you standing up on the stage in the future representing city government.”

Latin Dollars program also presented community service awards. This year’s honorees included Paul Hernandez of the Oak Hill Community Development Corporation, Boys & Girls Club boxing trainer Carlos Garcia, Laurie Krushefsky of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and former world champion boxer Jose Antonio Rivera. The dinner and awards ceremony also featured live music from Pueblo Nuevo and a deejay.