Eighteen high school seniors were honored with Scholars Latino Initiative graduation stoles this spring during unique SLI ceremonies in Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Winchester.
The honorees, who participated in SLI’s out-of-school, college access programming throughout high school, have been accepted into colleges and universities including Bridgewater, Eastern Mennonite, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Radford, Randolph-Macon, Shenandoah, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, and Blue Ridge and Laurel Ridge Community Colleges.
They are now eligible to apply for SLI college scholarships and technology grants made possible by SLI’s community of support, awards that will enable them to pursue studies in architectural engineering, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, business, nursing, and other fields.
SLI’s mission is to support Latino/a/x high school students with college access through rigorous academic challenge, leadership development, scholarships, and supportive mentorships. A collaboration with high school and university faculty, staff, and students, since 2012 SLI has served 223 scholars (67 current and 156 alumni) and awarded students more than $917,000. This year is “SLI’s Million Dollar Año,” when the organization anticipates passing the $1 million mark in total awards to students. SLI alumni have attended 29 colleges and universities.
The ceremonies this spring showcased students at each of SLI’s three program locations.
Harrisonburg
During the Harrisonburg SLI graduation celebration, eight graduating scholars received stoles from their mentors, and gave stoles to their mentors.
The ceremony and potluck was organized by student leaders of SLI Mentors at JMU and facilitated by SLI program directors Carlos Alemán, professor of communication studies at JMU and the SLI board vice chair, Dulce Alonso, a SLI alum and ESL teacher at Harrisonburg High School, and Hannah Bowman Hrasky, an AVID teacher at Rocktown High School. SLI board member Brook Vazquez, a business services advisor at Park View Federal Credit Union who acted as event interpreter, and board chair Fawn-Amber Montoya, professor of history at JMU, were also part of the planning team.
“The seniors have worked so hard over the last three years to reach their academic goals, and today we see that their efforts have paid off,” said presenter and SLI Mentors president Katheryn Zacatenco, a senior at JMU. “Of course, all this would not have been possible without the support and sacrifice of their families, who stood by them all these years.”
Zacatenco, who joined SLI Mentors the same year that the graduating high school seniors joined SLI, said they are “incredible” people.
“I was privileged to listen to their aspirations, witness their determination, and learn what it truly means to be a scholar,” she said: “to face challenges head-on, even when it feels impossible; to persevere, even when the odds are stacked against you; to ask for help and help others; to strive for excellence in all that you do. Thank you for letting me be part of that journey.”
Zacatenco also thanked her fellow graduating SLI mentors: Camren Aslam, Brenda Ayala, Mairany Munoz, Alyssa Posey, and Sofia Salinas. They each received a SLI mug as a token of gratitude for their service to SLI scholars.
Richmond
In Richmond, six graduating scholars and their families were welcomed to the SLI ceremony and luncheon by board chair Fawn-Amber Montoya, professor of history at James Madison University, and then addressed by SLI alum Lorena Burcher.
The seniors include the Huguenot High School 2026 salutatorian, who is featured in the “We the People: The World in Our Commonwealth” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
Burcher spoke (below photo) about being the first of her three siblings to go to college. After her family moved to the United States from El Salvador when she was age 13, she learned to adapt to a new way of life. While her parents always dreamed of college for their children, they did not know how to guide them through the system.
“In SLI I learned something very important: the importance of going beyond my comfort zone, and asking for help, without fear,” Burcher said. “The future is going to change, and your goals might change, but if you are ready and use those resources that are available to us, I don’t believe there is an obstacle you cannot overcome.”
The celebration was organized by SLI mentors led by University of Richmond senior Denis Velazquez Mondragon and facilitated by SLI program directors Ester Orellana, the LIEP/MLS department chair at Huguenot High School, and SLI founder Peter Iver Kaufman, who holds the George Matthews & Virginia Brinkley Modlin Chair in Leadership Studies, Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond.
The honored seniors and their fellow SLI scholars have shown “incredible initiative,” said Orellana. They organized the Latino Union/Corazón Latino at their school, and taken on “strong leadership roles” in their communities including facilitating parent workshops, organizing educational field trips, advocating for students’ and families’ rights through outreach and information sharing, supporting and volunteering at elementary schools at special events, and meeting with the school principal monthly to discuss and advocate for diversity and a safe school environment.
Burcher, who is now a senior technical editor with Red Hat and was accompanied by her husband Jackson and their two children, earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in Spanish and French with a minor in linguistics from the University of Richmond, and master of arts degrees in French linguistics at Middlebury College and Spanish literature at the University of Michigan.
“SLI helped me achieve my dreams to study and go to college, which later allowed me to achieve so many other dreams I couldn’t have imagined,” she said. “I’m so excited to think about everything you’re going to achieve, including things that you might not imagine right now.”
Graduating SLI mentors at the University of Richmond include executive Velazquez Mondragon, Amber Castañeda Estrada, and Rafael Cruz, each of whom received a SLI mug as a token of gratitude for their service to SLI scholars.
Winchester
At John Handley High School in Winchester, four graduating SLI scholars shared their own words of encouragement for family members and the SLI scholars following in their footsteps.
Their speeches were part of an afternoon ceremony organized by SLI program directors Sara Shoemaker and Elizabeth Cranford, both counselors at the school. Also during the event, new SLI scholars were inducted, and Cranford and Shoemaker recognized the student board that will serve as the program’s voice for the upcoming academic year as membership and culture co-chairs, service project co-chairs, historian, and public relations officer.
Quoting Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Cranford spoke to all gathered: “‘If you have an education, you have everything you need to rise.’ It is important to remember that Justice Sotomayor, like many of you, was a first generation college student. She sat where you are sitting and proved that our backgrounds are the foundations for greatness.”
The program included speeches by the graduating scholars:
“It feels kind of strange being at this point already,” said one whose older sister is a SLI alum. “The days have been feeling normal one after another but looking back, it’s crazy how much has really changed… The things I thought were just ‘getting through the day’ were actually the things that shaped me the most. The small routines, the stressful moments, the random conversations, and everything in between ended up meaning more than I realized at the time.”
She continued: “If there’s anything I’ve taken away from all these years, it’s that you don’t need to have it all figured out right now. You don’t need a perfect plan or to feel 100 percent ready all the time. Just keep going, even when it’s difficult to do some things, because you’re growing way more than you notice in the moment. I want you guys to keep being scholars and to enjoy your years in high school while you can. Don’t give up, show your families that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”
Another shared about expanding options: “Throughout my last four years here I have learned to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. I’m grateful for the friends and experiences I was able to gain from exploring different things.”
She continued: “Through SLI, I was able to explore and open myself up to more career paths, especially as someone who was unsure of what path I wanted to take despite being sure I wanted to attend college. I have had fun learning about college and what the future will have for me. I hope that SLI scholars continue to have aspiring futures and are able to expand their horizons through the effort and knowledge SLI has to offer at John Handley. I also hope that SLI students are able to receive as much support and fulfillment as I was able to receive.”
At the event a SLI inductee was joined by his mother and two siblings, both SLI alumni.
“Our family has prioritized SLI because it has allowed for a whole generation of siblings to be introduced to opportunities that were once thought of as unattainable,” said Daniel ’21. “It has allowed for us to not only achieve our academic dreams, but to fulfill the dreams of our parents – to see their kids succeed.”
