The First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted its fourth annual Achieving the Dream Scholarship Awards and Hispanic Heritage Gala in October at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The event celebrated Hispanic Heritage month and the 25th anniversary of the Jacksonville Jaguars, making the night “A Black and Teal Affair.”
"Hispanic Heritage month takes place every year from September 15 to October 15," said FCHCC President Monica Hernandez. “It’s a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures and histories of the American-Latino community.”
The celebration included live entertainment from musical group, Baba Caiman, dinner, a cash bar and fun photo opportunities with Chic Booth photo booth.
The emcee of the night was Action Jax News reporter Lorena Inclan. The featured speaker, Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, spoke of what it means to be Hispanic and recognized the FCHCC as the number one Hispanic chamber of the year.
“Being Hispanic is a state of mind,” Cavazos said. “It’s a culture. We welcome everyone.”
He also congratulated the chamber for being the top chamber out of the 250 in the country.
“We’re very proud,” he said. “You all networked hard and put Jacksonville on the map and that’s going to pay off for many years to come.”
The gala also spotlighted 10 Hispanic students who worked hard in school to "achieve the dream" and won the "Achieve The Dream" scholarship that will provide them with financial assistance to further their education. The Jacksonville Jaguars franchise also surprised the award winners with custom Jaguars jerseys and sideline access to a home game.
“Being Latina, it wasn’t as easy getting into universities as it was for the majority of my friends coming from Nease High School,” said a scholarship winner, Katherine Rodriguez, a former student.
Rodriguez’s scholarship will help fund her studies at the University of Rochester in New York, where she is majoring in biology with a minor in neuroscience, with her eye on attending medical school.
“Both of my parents are Cuban, but I lived in a single-parent, low-income household,” she said. “To be one of the few Latinas to graduate in the International Baccalaureate program, it was difficult, but I'm so thankful and grateful for this scholarship to pursue my academic goals.”
Hernandez said she could relate to the students. She moved to the United States about 20 years ago and said she remembers going through the same struggle of finding financial assistance for her education.
Through the FCHCC, she hopes to continue helping students and opening new opportunities to the next generation of Hispanic-Americans.
“I just want to be able to pay it forward,” she said, “and continue to encourage our students to remain focused on their aspirations regardless of what society and others tell them. Only they can set their own limits and their own goals.”
