Scholarship recipient Valentina Diaz reads the names of the Pulse 49 during UCF’s remembrance event. (Screen grab from YouTube)
ORLANDO | In honor of the 49 individuals who were tragically killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting, the onePULSE Foundation announced the second class of the 49 Legacy Scholarship in which recipients were awarded $236,300 in scholarships.
University of Central Florida students Valentina Diaz, an international and global studies major, and Jonathan Beltran Torres, an environmental studies major, were among the 49 recipients for the 2020-21 academic school year.
“It was mostly for my parents. They immigrated to this country in 1997 from Venezuela and to watch them grow up and succeed is the American dream,” Diaz said. “To be able to tell them ‘Hey, don’t worry about the rest of the school year, I got this’ means everything. It’s for them.”
onePULSE worked with the families of each of those who were killed in the Pulse tragedy to establish the scholarships based on the respective victims’ interests, careers or aspirations. The 49 scholarships cover a wide range of careers including healthcare, business, cosmetology, social science, communications and the arts. Several of the scholarships are open to any field of study. Diaz’s scholarship is connected with Mercedez Marisol Flores and Beltran Torres with Darryl Roman Burt II.
Diaz was also the student representative selected to read out the names of the 49 Angels at the UCF Remembers Pulse Vigil on campus.
“Just to be considered is great and it feels like more than an honor at this point,” Diaz said.
The recipients went through a review process conducted by 17 members of the community that score the individuals in three phases according to a rubric they are given. They then move them forward to the next phase before having a final interview with the owner of Pulse and CEO of the onePULSE Foundation, Barbara Poma.
The factors that are considered when reviewing applicants include the applicant’s personal story, financial need or independence, strong academic or self-improvement interest and proven track record of leadership, community involvement and/or work experience, according to the onePULSE Foundation’s website.
Beltran Torres, whose partner is a Pulse shooting survivor, said the foundation really wanted to make sure the recipients of the award well represented their ideas and goals.
“During my first interview, I actually cried because some of the questions were so impactful and made me take a look at myself,” Beltran Torres said. “The whole interview process was very aligning to me.”
Over 150 applicants were received by the foundation with the 49 recipients sharing a common service of “leadership and advocacy.”
With its second consecutive year of the 49 Legacy Scholarship, the foundation’s mission to “create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, education programs that open eyes and legacy scholarships that open doors,” is sure to make a lasting impact on the lives of so many students.
