7 / YOUR STORIES, YOUR IMPACT
Not being able to afford college as a young adult, Lopez went straight to work at a variety of places, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). Later, Lopez joined Southern California Edison (SCE), where he still works today. After more than a decade in the workforce, Lopez felt ready to take on managerial and leadership roles. He found that the University of La Verne offered a flexible adult learning program, so he took the plunge, completing his degree at the university’s Burbank, California campus while continuing to work. “I had a great academic experience, and the professors really knew what they were doing,” he raves. After receiving his BA however, Lopez wanted to go further and returned to the university to pursue an MBA. In 2018, he completed his second degree, and today he is proud to call himself a Project Manager at SCE.
I know the value of these scholarships. > Luis R. Lopez ’16, MBA ’18
Luis R. Lopez: Getting Ahead While Paying It Forward L uis R. Lopez ’16, MBA ’18, has a unique way of supporting the University of La Verne: in addition to other gifts, he gives exactly $20.16 each month in honor of his graduation year. He is excited to increase his donations in the future, but for now, this is a meaningful way for him to give back to an institution that has played a critical role in advancing his career.
Lopez was inspired by conversations he had with his fellow students, many of whom were much younger than he was, and many of whom were able to attend the university thanks to generous scholarship packages. In those students, he saw the real impact that university scholarship funds have, and he wanted to support the effort any way he could. Lopez is now an active member of our Alumni Advisory Board (AAB), and his monthly donation is matched by his employer, SCE. “Although I was able to pay my tuition myself, I know the value of these scholarships,” Lopez explains. “Many people in my own family don’t have access to these resources. As an immigrant and a first-generation Latino college graduate, I am excited to help other students go to college!”
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