OLLAS Announces New Cohort of Next Generation Leadership Scholars

Since its establishment in 2002, more than 100 students have been able to partially fund their studies at UNO with the Next Generation Leadership Scholarship (NGLS). This scholarship, funded by the Mammel Family Foundation and administered by UNO’s Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS), encourages and rewards academic excellence and community engagement among UNO students with significant financial need.

This year, the Mammel Family Foundation has graciously awarded OLLAS, through the University of Nebraska Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Scholarship fund, additional funds to further support the Next Generation Leadership Scholarship scholars and OLLAS Learning Community for the next three years. Thanks to this additional support, this academic year (2023–2024), OLLAS has been able to award this scholarship to nineteen University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) students. The biggest cohort of students since the inception of the NGLS.

The scholarship is available to students that have graduated from the Omaha, Bellevue, Ralston, Papillion-La Vista, or Millard Public school systems and who plan to enroll or are enrolled in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Education, Health and Human Sciences; Communication, Fine Arts and Media; Public Affairs and Community Service, or the Exploratory Studies program. Students are selected by a committee made up of UNO faculty and staff, as well as community representatives. Selection is based off of demonstrated financial need and commitment to community engagement.

The 2023-2024 NGLS scholarship recipients are:

• Ana Avalos, first-year
• Claire Bingaman, senior
• Jannette Castro-Gomez, sophomore
• Annuarite Chanceline, first-year
• Vankhanh Dao, senior
• Dee-Dee Djon, first-year
• Alondra Escobedo, sophomore
• Carli Harris, first-year
• Arianna Hill, first-year
• Eh-Mo Khaing, senior
• Winnie Ladu, senior
• Schuyler Lambrecht, sophomore
• Ninette Marquez, junior
• Caitlin McGonigal, senior
• Poe Meh, first-year
• Say Meh, junior
• Saw Mo, first-year
• Meli Morales, junior
• Karlee Reyome, junior

“It's close to the end, but even after 4 years of receiving this scholarship, I still do not have enough words to express how grateful I am for the NGLS scholarship’s support during my time at UNO," says Vankhanh Dao, an NGLS Scholar. "From entering college in the middle of a raging pandemic, to changing my major and adding an extra minor, to taking 18 credits and having my first panic attack, to being unable to work for an entire semester because of my hectic school schedule, the NGLS scholarship had been there to relieve many of my financial burdens through all the ups and downs of college.”

Scholarship recipients participate in the OLLAS Learning Community which aims to help students achieve academic excellence by helping them to connect with various on campus and community resources. Also participating in the OLLAS Learning Community are the scholarship recipients of the Anne C. Boyle Scholarship and the MYLPA Somos El Futuro Scholarship. Students are advised by Ana Diaz-Orozco, the OLLAS Community Engagement Coordinator.

“The Next Generation Leadership Scholarship and OLLAS Learning Community have provided students with the needed support to achieve success throughout their undergraduate journey, all while gaining a meaningful support network,” Diaz-Orozco says.

Online applications for the 2024-2025 academic year will be available on MavLINK website. The application deadline for submitting complete applications is June 7, 2024.

Awards are typically announced by late July.

For more information about the scholarship, contact the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS): 402.554.3835 or unoollas@unomaha.edu.