The Lucía Núñez Becas Program will open doors to higher education for Latine, immigrant, and under-resourced students.
Centro Hispano’s Becas Program, which offers financial and wrap-around support to students who have participated in Centro’s programs to achieve their post-secondary dreams, will be named after the late beloved Latina community leader Lucía Núñez, who passed away on Sept. 30 in Madison at the age of 64.
“One of the greatest barriers young people face when it comes to accessing and staying enrolled in college is the cost of higher education. Education has the power to break barriers and transform lives,” Centro Hispano said in a statement announcing the scholarship in Nunez’s name. “The Lucía Núñez Becas Program will open doors to higher education for Latine, immigrant, and under-resourced students, ensuring that financial obstacles do not stand in the way of dreams.
Centro Hispano of Dane County is the leading non-profit organization working with the Latine population in Dane County now supporting over 7,500 individuals annually with more than 20,000 hours of programming. Centro Hispano’s Becas (Scholarship) Program, now the Lucía Núñez Becas Program, is one of the non-profit’s popular programs and has been in existence for more than 20 years.
“Given the divisive national political climate, it only makes sense to make this announcement now, an announcement that centers hope and optimism. Lucía was a mentor, a friend, and someone who inspired women, girls, kids, to shine bright. I miss her. So many of us do.,” says Centro Hispano Executive Director Karen Menendez Coller, “My hope is every time someone gives to Becas, they will reflect, connect, and think of Lucía. My hope is to always keep her memory alive, and I will promise her that educational equity and dreams will be vibrant at Centro and in our community,”
Originally from Cuba, Nunez relocated her family to Madison where she became the executive director of Centro Hispano of Dane County from 1999 to 2003. She would later become the deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and administrator of the Equal Rights Division for the state of Wisconsin. Nunez also became the first director of the Department of Civil Rights for the city of Madison in 2006 and would later serve as the vice president for Madison College’s Office of Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.
“Lucia Nunez was the consummate community leader. Visionary, fearless, graceful and an excellent communicator during challenging circumstances,” Oscar Mireles, a longtime Latino community leader and friend of Nunez, tells Madison365. Mireles, the founder and director of Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development, will soon be retiring from being executive director of Omega School. “Lucia was a mentor, always willing to listen and would offer timely advice when necessary.
“She probably impacted the Latinx community more than most people realize and I had a front-row seat to seeing her work her magic the past several decades,” Mireles adds.
Through the Becas Scholarship Program, Centro annually awards approximately $100,000 to high school students and students enrolled in two-year, four-year, and tech/trade schools. In 2022, Centro selected the organization’s first Becas “graduate school” scholar.
“We were blessed to have Lucía’s dreams in this community for so many years and for important formative years at Centro. Her dreams helped shape the narrative of what Madison and Wisconsin could be, because Lucía always knew we all had the potential, and she uplifted us,” Centro Hispano said. “Today we announce that with the support and blessing from [wife] Heidi, [son] Mateo, and [daughter] Carina, Lucía’s beloved immediate family, the Becas Program will now carry Lucía’s name, and moving forward will be known as the Lucía Núñez Becas (Scholarship) Program.”
The community is invited to support Lucía Nunez’s legacy and the power of Becas, by making donations here.