Maria Suarez ’19 has created a book scholarship to support Latinx students in pursuit of their dreams and legal education. Buying textbooks is often a worry for low-income and minority students who often lack financial support. A book scholarship helps a student focus on studying without the stress of needing money to buy textbooks. This scholarship is granted to one student per year. The student receives a cash amount at the beginning of each semester to assist with textbooks expenses.
This academic year’s scholarship was afforded to Yury Amaya, a first-generation college and law student.
Suarez explained why she created the scholarship. “My family immigrated to the United States when I was eleven years old. Today, I am the first in my family to become a lawyer. During my 1L year at UDC Law, I was the recipient of a book scholarship myself. It made a significant contribution in my life, as I did not have to worry about affording textbooks or waiting for financial aid to kick in to buy my books. Receiving the scholarship also showed me that there is more than one way to make a small contribution to someone’s future. After graduation, I wanted to help others like me achieve their dreams of becoming a lawyer. Creating this scholarship was the result of all that.”
Suarez hopes the scholarship will grow in subsequent years and encourages UDC Law alumni and members of the community to “make a small contribution to the book scholarship and sponsor another law student’s legal education and dreams,” she said, “Any small gift will go a long way.”
To make a donation to the Suarez book scholarship, email Adeshola Akintobi at adeshola.akintobi@udc.edu or visit supportudclaw.com.