Manuel & Pat Pulido Sanchez Legacy Scholarship Recipients

Alejandra Leos graduated from Whitney M. Young High School after a rigorous four years of honors, AP, and college credit classes. Her accolades include the National Hispanic Recognition Award and being named both an ISAC scholar as well as an Illinois State Scholar. She founded and ran her own Girls Youth group, co–founded and managed Beyond Books donations, and volunteered with Chicago Teen Mentors. Her other extracurriculars include Yearbook, Debate, Femmes of Rock, and Latinos Unidos which hosts events to celebrate Hispanic and Latine students and their culture. Both her experience as a first generation Mexican American and her parents’ immigration story have empowered her to help others in her community. Alejandra will be pursuing a major in Political Science this fall at Boston University. 

Evelyn Nunez attended Westinghouse High School where she finished 4th in her class of 305 and took a heavy courseload of honors, AP, and college credit courses. She was an avid participant in her school’s National Honor Society and Spanish Honor societies, and she volunteered with Connecting Chicago. In addition, Evelyn was an intern under Northwestern’s Medicine Scholars Program and acted as a Scholar Ambassador for Chicago Scholars. She is a recipient of the 2023 Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy and was named an Illinois State Scholar. Her passion for engineering has led her to the medical industry where she hopes to be able to change the field of transportable medical devices. By aiming to improve this field, Evelyn hopes to assist lower income communities and underdeveloped countries in order to prevent unnecessary infant and neonatal deaths. Evelyn plans to double major in Computer Science and Neuroscience in the fall at Duke University where her future graduation will represent her family’s generations of hard work. 

Giovanni Rios graduated from Solorio Academy High School, ranked 7th in his class of 285.  At Solorio, he took both honors, AP, and dual credit courses. He was a dedicated member of the Debate and Math teams, National Honor Society, and a Zero Waste Ambassador. Giovanni has also received numerous awards, such as Chicago Debater of the Year, NSDA Academic All American, both Debate Conference and City Champion, and AP Scholar with Distinction. Despite having many obstacles to overcome in life and in pursuit of education, he has been determined to succeed and take advantage of the opportunities given to him. Even if it means that he must be his biggest supporter, Giovanni will not shy away from a chance to pursue his dreams. Giovanni will attend Georgetown University this fall where he will major in Neuroscience.