UCI Celebrates Latino Excellence and Achievement at Second Annual Dinner Gala

On April 4, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members gathered in UCI's Pacific Ballroom for the second annual Latino Excellence and Achievement Dinner (LEAD). LEAD was initiated a year ago by a UCI School of Education alumna, Veronica Ahumada Newhart, who recognized that the campus needed an event to recognize the achievements and contributions of California's largest community.

On April 4, the Ballet Folklórica de UCI started the evening with a set of historical dances. Chancellor Howard Gillman welcomed attendees and provided an introduction for the evening's keynote speaker, the Honorable Salvador Sarmiento, Orange County Superior Court Judge and a UCI alumnus.

​As the evening's invited speaker, Dr. Veronica Newhart explained the three goals that underlay the event:

• celebrate research excellence and achievement
• recognize faculty, staff, and alumni who facilitate success in our community
• build institutional memory of academic and professional achievement

and she shared the experiences that had encouraged her to work to establish LEAD on the UCI campus (text of Veronica Newhart address).

All UCI Schools and departments attended the 2019 LEAD event, with attendance exceeding 350.

During the evening, outstanding student achievers from each unit were recognized for their contributions. PhD student Wendy Ochoa was the honoree for UCI's School of Education. Additionally, LEAD recognized four UCI campus-wide awardees.  

• Outstanding Community Builder Award - Jose Rea
• Distinguished Staff Leadership Award - Jessica Ortega
• Distinguished Alumna - Magdalena Villaba
• Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Awards - Anita Casavantes Bradford and Laura E. Enriquez

The next Latino event for the campus will be Nuestra Graduación 2019, UCI's official Latino Commencement ceremony.