2016 Andrus Opportunity Award Winner: Adriana Meza Gonzalez

Picasa

On Monday, June 13, 2016, Abraham Lincoln High School graduate, Adriana Meza Gonzalez, was selected as the recipient of this year’s Andrus Opportunity Award along with $5,000 to help her pay for her education. The award is named after AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, who served as principal of Lincoln High from 1916 to 1944.

At the end of the summer of 2013, at a gala event marking the 100 ^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln High School, AARP officially announced the funding of the Andrus Opportunity Award, a scholarship that would be awarded to a college-bound Lincoln High student each year for the next ten years since it was first established. AARP pledged $50,000 to support the scholarship fund.

To be considered for this year’s award, graduating seniors had to submit an essay and meet specific criteria. After the essays were independently reviewed and scored by the Essay Committee, one student was selected.

This year’s winner, Adriana Meza Gonzalez is the first member of her family to attend college, and she has been accepted to U.C. Santa Barbara where she will attend the College of Letters and Science. In her personal biography, Adriana shares that as a child, she would tell everyone that she wanted to fight for people’s rights and become a lawyer -- or the first woman president.

 

Adriana has been involved in numerous activities during her high school career. Most notably with InnerCity Struggle where for 3 and half years she has been one of the most committed leaders of its youth program, rallying at the state capitol to voice the concerns that she has witnessed in her school and community and securing student input on funding decisions for public schools. She plans to continue working with others with similar struggles as herself. Her vision is very much aligned with Dr. Andrus who lived her life by the motto, “To serve, not to be served,” which remains AARP’s motto.

She will be the first in her family to attend college and sees higher education as her opportunity for a better future.

 

AARP has a unique and powerful connection to the Lincoln High: Our founder,  Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, served as principal from 1916 to 1944 when it was known as East Los Angeles High School. Located in a transitional immigrant community, the school served a diverse, multicultural population. Dr. Andrus decided to rename the school after Abraham Lincoln to remind students of a man who overcame humble beginnings to become president. She established service programs and school activities to foster leadership and community. Perhaps most presciently, she added a wrought iron gateway into the school, with one word arching above: “Opportunity.”

The Andrus Opportunity Award was presented by Patricia Perez, AARP California’s State President, who told the crowd of graduates and their families, “This evening, 72 years after Dr. Andrus retired from this amazing school and today we honor a Lincoln High scholar in her memory. Dr. Andrus was a woman who, although warm and caring, was an activist and organizer who got things done and inspired others to do more – especially her beloved students here at Lincoln High. She firmly believed in the selfless act of giving and caring for those in need- good ideals for you to follow even as you continue your education, search for careers, and plan your future.”

Congratulations Adriana. We all are so proud of you!

###

Want to be the first to know about upcoming AARP events like this in your community? Join us on  Facebook and  Twitter to stay informed!