Three former Ysleta Independent School District students were awarded a $1,000 college scholarship by the FirstLight Community Foundation.  The foundation recently announced that 26 community scholarships and nine FirstLight Federal Credit Union dependent scholarships were given for a total of 35 scholarships awards.

“We are proud to support students from our region and are inspired by their excellence,” said FirstLight Federal Credit Union President and CEO, Margie Salazar. “As they embark on their next chapter of education, I have no doubt that they will continue to shine brightly and make a significant impact in our community.”

The application process for the scholarship program is not a traditional written essay format. Instead, applicants showcased their passion and potential through a video submission.

The Ysleta ISD recipients are:
Adamari Flores, a 2023 graduate of Del Valle High School is attending the University of Texas at El Paso to major in Mechanical Engineering.  “This scholarship means a lot to me because it represents all the hard work that I put in for the past four years of high school,” Adamari said.

Michelle Diaz, a 2023 graduate of J. M. Hanks High School is attending El Paso Community College to major in Cyber Security. “I will be furthering my college education in Cyber Security at El Paso Community College where I will also be playing softball at the collegiate level,” Michelle said.

Aitiana Sanchez-Garciaguirre is a 2015 graduate of Eastwood High School. She received her BS in Psychology in 3 years from Texas State University in 2018 thanks to her dual credit classes at Eastwood. In addition, she has received her Masters degree. She currently is a Ph.D. student at University of Texas at El Paso. Since she is a dependent of a FirstLight employee, she is eligible for the scholarship as long as she’s enrolled full time in college.  “My educational goal is to finish my dissertation which will look at the stigma surrounding mental illness, especially in the Hispanic community,” Aitana said.

Videos of the recipients and other students can be accessed by clicking on the names.