SPARKy Picks 1st Recipients of Latina Scholarship Fund

19 Jun SPARKy Picks 1st Recipients of Latina Scholarship Fund

To support SPARK Latina Scholarship Fund, send donations to the Telluride Foundation, the fund manager. Mail to The Telluride Foundation, P.O. Box 4222.

Last July, SPARKy Productions/Telluride Playwrights Festival made an announcement – which was really a promise.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the Telluride Playwrights Festival would mount an original production devised and written by founder-director Jennie Franks. “The Hispanic Women’s Project” would be based on true stories of local Hispanic women who live and work in The Telluride region. The stories told on stage would serve to write new stories for young Latinas, because all funds raised from the Hispanic Women’s Project would go into the SPARKy Latina Scholarship Fund to help a Latina high-school senior from the Telluride/Norwood Region attain in-state higher education. That fund would be supported by partners, the Telluride School District, the Just for Kids Foundation,the Telluride Foundation (fund administrator). Scholarship recipients would be chosen by a committee, including educators.

And now, pay dirt: a promise fulfilled.

SPARKy raised over $170,000 for this scholarship fund. The scholarship committee interviewed the four young women who applied for the opportunity and selected two highly qualified candidates. One young woman is from the Norwood Public High School; the other is from Telluride.

The Norwood student is Nataly Gonzalez.

Nataly will be attending Regis University in the fall to study mental health. She received her $10,000 scholarship award on Sunday, May 21,

The Telluride student is Abril Vazquez Olivas.

Abril Vazquez Olivas and her mother.

Abril received her $10,000 award on Thursday, June 1, at the Telluride High School Award’s night. Like Nataly, Abril wants to go into the medical field at CSU in Fort Collins.

Both girls are first-generation in their families to attend college.

SPARKy Productions is grateful for all the generous donors who have supported the Latina Scholarship Fund fund and hope to see continued support for these girls.