On Saturday, December 3rd, the Bolívar Network held its annual Awards Brunch at the Manning Pavilion at Alumni Hall where we honored the recipients of the annual Book Scholarship Award, the annual Pablo J. Davis Award, and the annual First-Year Scholarship! It was a great morning coming together in person this year as we got to celebrate the tremendous accomplishments of our awardees.
The morning’s Awards Brunch was kicked off with remarks by Claudia Quintero, the Bolívar Network’s Board Chair followed by presentations by Mariana Brazão, Vice-Chair for Social Media & Communications; Claudia Bonilla, Vice-Chair for Alumni Community Engagement; Alejandro Nava Moncada, Vice-Chair for Professional Development; and Gina M. Flores Stumpf, Vice-Chair for Fundraising & Development. Professor Ricardo Padrón from the University of Virginia’s Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese gave a talk on the history of Fernando Bolívar and the Bolívar legacy at the University.
Vice-Chair for Scholarship & Awards, Hannah “Mel” Borja, opened the Awards portion of the evening by thanking her Scholarships & Awards Committee and presented the Pablo J. Davis Award. Previous Bolívar Network Board Chair, seed funder of the First-Year Scholarship, and current Scholarship & Awards Committee member, Hernando Herrera ’89, presented both the Graduate and Undergraduate Book Scholarships. Long-time supporter of the Bolívar Network and seed funder of the First Year-Scholarship, Jenny Willier Murphy ’89, presented the First-Year Scholarship Award.
Prior to the Awards Brunch, the Bolívar Network’s Board met in Alumni Hall’s Board Room to strategize for the upcoming year.
The Bolívar Network is excited to announce that this year, four Latinx students – three undergraduate students, and one graduate student – received the Bolívar Network Book Scholarship for the 2022-2023 cycle. Congratulations to our Undergraduate Book Scholarship Recipients: María José Corvalán Cabañas ʼ23; Anthony Guevara ʼ23; and Paola Linares ʼ23. Congratulations to our Graduate Book Scholarship Recipient: Fernando Casarotti, Darden ʼ24.
The 2022-2023 Recipient of the Pablo J. Davis Award is Frank Valdez ʼ21.
We are also pleased to announce the second recipient of The Bolívar Network First-Year Scholarship, Zachary Rios ʼ26.