The 2nd Annual Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq. Scholarship, geared towards helping need-based students with tuition assistance, will be presented Friday, September 1, 2017 at Monsignor Edward Pace High School. There will be a 7:00 a.m. mass celebrated by Father Richard Vigoa at the Chapel Dante Navarro Religious Education Center followed by the presentation breakfast.
The 2nd scholarship fund will award a total of $10,000, with $2,000 to be given to five students from grades 9th through 11th. The five winners for the 2017 scholarships are as follow: Leticia Saladrigas, Gaetane Jeudy, Joshua Toledo, David Anthony Barbier, Jr. and Isabella Cardoso.
Criteria for the scholarship included a GPA of 3.0 or higher, sports team involvement and a written essay on the importance of a catholic education and why the student needs tuition assistance. All 38 applicants will be invited to attend the ceremony. The families of the 14 finalists and the five scholarship winners will be announced at the ceremony followed by a light breakfast at the Innovation Center.
Lopez understands the important critical role of tuition assistance, which is the reason he created the Jorge Luis Lopez Esq. Scholarship in 2016. As a child, Lopez attended Pace alongside many low-income students from Opa-Locka whose parents worked very hard to provide a Catholic education for their children. Today, approximately 60 percent of the students that attend Monsignor Edward Pace High School need financial assistance. Still, Pace was awarded the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2002.
Lopez practices his Catholic faith and firmly believes that “to whom much is given, much is expected” – As a successful attorney, philanthropist, leader, husband and father of five children, Lopez knows that the sacrifices his parents made to provide him with the foundation of a Catholic education have been instrumental to his success.
About Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq.
Jorge Luis Lopez, Esq. has been practicing law since 1987 and established his governmental affairs practice in 2007, the Jorge Luis Lopez Law Firm. He is recognized as one of the top governmental affairs lawyers in South Florida and the U.S., an expert in elections, campaigns and administrative law as well as a dedicated philanthropist and leader for charitable organizations nationally and in South Florida. Recognized by the South Florida Legal Guide since 2006 and till present day, Lopez has also been consistently honored by his peers as a Super Lawyer, and has been listed in Legal Elite and Best Lawyers in America. He has been a member of the Florida Bar and the American Bar Association for more than 30 years. Lopez serves on the National Board of American Cancer Society and National Board of American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Board of American Red Cross South Florida Region, and on the Executive Board of the Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade.