Each year, the Brenna Ilana Berger Memorial Scholarship awards $40,000 to two undergraduate students in one of twelve majors in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences who have overcome significant hardships in their educational journey.
The scholarship was established in 2013 to honor Brenna, a U of A communication alumna who passed away in 2010 at 41. Created by her sister Melany and parents Esther and Bob Berger, the scholarship celebrates Brenna’s dedication to the university and her work as a counselor for at-risk middle school students. Applications for the Brenna Ilana Berger Memorial Scholarship are now open.
Nicolas (Nico) Ramon Nieves-Quiroz, a senior majoring in pre-law with a criminology minor, received the scholarship this year. It has allowed him to work one job instead of two while caring for his father and making ends meet. He works as a legal processor for the Pima County prosecutor and hopes to go to law school.
Nico said the scholarship relieved him from the pressure of paying for school entirely on his own and allowed him to avoid relying on his dad, whose health had worsened to the point where he could no longer provide support.
“It allowed me to take control of my path,” Nico said. “I was able to take a step back from my second job, reevaluate my skills, and focus on my academics.”
Melany and her parents are proud that the Brenna Ilana Berger Memorial Scholarship can make a difference in the lives of students who are persevering to complete their college education.
“It’s important to us that people don’t forget about Brenna,” Melany said. “There’s never a day that goes by that we don’t think about my sister. With this scholarship, we are trying to celebrate her life and who she was as a person and as an educator. She helped a lot of people. I’m happy that she can continue to help more students now in her passing.”
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The application deadline for the Brenna Ilana Berger Memorial Scholarship is April 15, 2025. Learn more and apply here.
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