onePULSE Foundation, the nonprofit established following the June 12, 2016 terrorist attack in Orlando to honor and preserve the legacy of those killed and to create a sanctuary of hope, recently announced its third class of 49 Legacy Scholarship recipients who were awarded $328,000 in scholarships to be used during the 2022-2023 academic year. Since 2020, a total of $897,300 has been awarded through three classes of recipients.
Working with the families and loved ones of those killed, onePULSE Foundation established the scholarships based on the respective victims’ interests, careers or aspirations. As an extension of their impact on our world, the scholarships will inspire and empower students who share similar dreams, ambitions and goals.
Preference was given to applicants who are immediate family members of the 49 victims, as well as the survivors of the tragedy and first responders on the scene. Three family members, two survivors, two first responders, and 15 legacy scholars from the two previous classes were awarded scholarships.
The third class of 49 Legacy Scholarship recipients and their Angel designation include:
Luis Moros – Angel designation: Akyra Monet Murray
Ceschley Denis – Angel designation: Alejandro Barrios-Martinez
Ernesto Vergne Rodriguez – Angel designation: Amanda Lizzette Alvear
Neila Mathurin – Angel designation: Angel Candelario-Padro
Jacob Dikenson – Angel designation: Angel of Acceptance
Grace Sullivan – Angel designation: Angel of Hope
Alexandra Lobelo – Angel designation: Angel of Strength
Jack Jordan – Angel designation: Angel of Unity
Jessica Mazon – Angel designation: Anthony Luis Laureano Disla
Ruthnie Denais – Angel designation: Antonio “Tony” Brown
Tara Ansty – Angel designation: Brenda Marquez McCool
Sage Croft – Angel designation: Christopher Joseph SanFeliz
Alyssa Pisano – Angel designation: Cory James Connell
Rosie Ziarnik – Angel designation: Darryl Roman Burt II
Shepherd Drayton – Angel designation: Deonka “Dee Dee” Drayton
Mackenzie Loudermilk – Angel designation: Eddie Jamal Droy Justice
Gayatri Chopra – Angel designation: Eddie Sotomayer Jr.
Imanni Wright – Angel designation: Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera
Annie Xu – Angel designation: Frank Hernandez
Amanda Santiago – Angel designation: Frankie Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez
Savannah Brown – Angel designation: Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez
Kate Aldinger – Angel designation: Gilberto R Silva Menendez
Myreanna Bebe – Angel designation: Jason Benjamin Josaphat
Yanker Alvarez – Angel designation: Jean C. Mendez Perez
Franziska Martinez – Angel designation: Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez
Adeline Hart – Angel designation: Jerry Wright
Patricia Cadestin – Angel designation: Joel Paniagua
Amelia Leon – Angel designation: Jonathan A Camuy Vega
Derek Edwards – Angel designation: Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez
Evan Lorenzana – Angel designation: Juan Ramon Guerrer
Julia Jamieson – Angel designation: Kimberly Jean Morris
Logan Alvarez – Angel designation: Luis D. Conde
Alondra Gittelson – Angel designation: Luis Jimmy Wilson-Leon
Jose Gamboa Gil – Angel designation: Luis Omar Ocasio Capo
Kimberly Vielma – Angel designation: Luis Sergio Vielma
Jaime G. Guzman – Angel designation: Martin Benitez Torres
Molly Lavoie – Angel designation: Mercedez Marisol Flores
Tyre Hill – Angel designation: Miguel Angel Honorato
Nicky Macias – Angel designation: Oscar A. Aracena Montero
Christi Wallace-Clarke – Angel designation: Paul Terrell Henry
Victoria Humphrey – PULSE Legacy Scholarship
Carter Ford – Angel designation: Roldolfo Ayala Ayala
Mekhi Phillips-Johnson – Angel designation: Shane Evan Tomlinson
Eriyan Barrett – Angel designation: Stanley Almodovar III
Thuy-Thuong Nguyen – Angel designation: Tevin Eugene Crosby
Gavin Wiltshire – Angel designation: Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado
Sarah Ortiz-Polanco – Angel designation: Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan
“As a Latina queer trans person, I am humbly honored to carry the legacy of the 49 Angels as a recipient of the onePULSE Foundation Legacy Scholarship Award,” said Nicky Macias. “This scholarship will support me with completing my Masters in Linguistics at Gallaudet University, the premier university for ASL and English bilingual education in Washington, D.C. I am overwhelmed with emotion and deeply fortunate to join the onePULSE scholar community. This honor goes beyond making higher education accessible for me; it fuels me to work to my fullest potential in representation of our community: past, present and future. I am deeply impassioned to continue my life’s work, every day, in tribute to these victims.”
“I am beyond grateful to be selected as a recipient for a onePULSE Foundation 49 Legacy Scholarship,” said Jaime G. Guzman, who plans to study architecture. “Coming from an unstable home, as well as facing numerous challenges in my life, I am here to tell everyone that the impossible is very much possible. When things get difficult, remember that nothing good comes easy.”
A scholarship committee comprised of 14 community members scored three phases of the review process using a rubric scoring tool and made final recipient selections. Applicants meeting the minimum scores at each phase were forwarded to the next phase and their names were not known to the committee until the final interview stage.
onePULSE considered many factors when assessing scholarship applicants, including 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.
More than 200 completed applications were received, and the third class represented incoming freshman majoring in business, communications, and the performing arts, as well as cosmetology, nursing, medical and master’s students. The 49 recipients come from all over the United States and have a common thread of community service, leadership and advocacy.
The onePULSE Foundation will award 49 scholarships annually, each up to $10,000 for use at an accredited institution of higher learning, including career and technical schools.
Advent Health University, Foundation for Seminole State College and Valencia College Foundation are the program’s academic institution partners.
The Legacy Scholarships are funded in part by the generosity of major donors, including: AdventHealth, AlixPartners, The Brumback Family, CITY Furniture, The Earl and Bettie Fields Automotive Group Foundation, GUCCI, L’Oréal, Orlando Health, OUTFRONT Media, Parable Foundation, PVH Foundation, and Wendy Tramell.
The scholarship program is one of four pillars of 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.
For more information about the onePULSE Legacy Scholarship Campaign, contact onePULSE Foundation.
