The CLS Program is delighted to congratulate Raquel Tapia-Orozco and Daniela Loera-Rivera, the winners of the 2020 Jesus Salas Academic Activist Scholarship. This award is conferred annually on a Chican@ and Latin@ Studies Program Undergraduate Certificate student who has excelled academically and made outstanding service contributions to the Chican@ and Latin@ Community. Administered by the CLS Program, the award is made possible by donations from alumni and community supporters, including former UW System Regent Jesus Salas. The award honors Regent Salas for his continuous commitment and dedication to the advancement and well-being of the Chican@ and Latin@ community.
Raquel Tapia-Orozco (above) is currently a junior from Madison, Wisconsin, majoring in Social Work. In addition to her paid work as a University House Fellow and Office Assistant for the PEOPLE
Program, she serves as the President of the Latinx Student Union. She has been Co-Chair of the Latinx Heritage Month Planning Committee, and Outreach/Marketing Chair for the Dreamers of UW. Raquel’s leadership contributed greatly to the creation of the UW Latinx Cultural Center. After graduating, Raquel hopes to become a Social Worker for immigrant children. Daniela Loera (right) is a sophomore from Madison, WI majoring in Rehabilitation Psychology. Daniela performed an internship at the Infant Learning Lab at the Waisman Center. She was also a Juventud coordinator at Centro Hispano, where she tutored, mentored and created workshops for Latinx youth. Right now, Daniela is a Student Research and Technology Assistant for CLS Director Armando Ibarra. Her goals after graduation Daniela’s include graduate training in counseling psychology and work within the Latinx community to de-stigmatize mental health. ¡Felicidades Raquel y Daniela!