San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association holds an award ceremony for achieving law advocates in the Latinx community.
On Tuesday night, the association awarded over $35,000 in scholarship funds to students of Latin background, for their hard work and commitment to the law industry.
The SDLRLA, a non-partisan organization, is an association formed to strengthen Latinx attorneys throughout the city, with the help of sponsors willing to empower the most vulnerable in the community.
One of those sponsors supporting the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association is Pepsi, who a year ago partnered with the association to become a platinum sponsor for the organization.
Pepsi Ambassador Jonathan Arthur spoke at the gala Tuesday night, and expressed Pepsi’s devotion to the diversity growth in San Diego.
“At Pepsi, we have special groups dedicated to the promotion of diversity, and the involvement of our surrounding communities,” Arthur said.
“We partnered Pepsi and La Raza lawyers together, and one of our main focus is to create an annual scholarship that we are very proud of, focusing not only on the professional background of the candidates and their commitment to their education, but most importantly, the level of the community involvement and impact of their service.” Arthur added.
Over a dozen students received their scholarships Tuesday night, one of them being Mayra Romero, a second year student at California Western School of Law.
Romero, a Chula Vista native, says this was a big night for her young law career, but nonetheless, an experience she valued alongside her family.
The 24 year old law student credits her parents for the position she finds herself in today, expressing gratitude for her mother’s unconditional support, and her father’s guidance in the law industry.
“My mom has taught me to be a strong woman, to pursue anything I want in life, giving me all her support even when I’ve been wrong,” Romero said.
“He understands what law school is like, he understands what I need at what point in my life, telling me that I can do exactly what he has done and even better, helping me become a strong Latina woman in our community,” she added.
For the main award of the night, Maria Nuñez was recognized Attorney of the Year by the association, for her relentless effort to empower the Latinx community in her profession.
Attorney Nuñez says she is honored to be part of the history of this association, and credits her family and the many leaders she looks up to within the industry, for contributing to her passion of helping the Latinx community in the county.
“Thanks to the collaboration of these extraordinary leaders, we have been able to help thousands of indiginous and hard working people throughout San Diego County,” Nuñez says.
“Let’s continue working together, because there is so much work to be done in our community, as the fight for justice continues,” she added.
