Jefferson Davis Hispanic Alumni Association

 Mission Statement

 The mission of the Jefferson Davis Hispanic Alumni Association is to inspire and assist Jeff Davis graduates to seek higher education.

Organization History

The Jefferson Davis Hispanic Alumni Association (JDHAA) was established in 1987 as a Class of ‘50’s reunion and soon evolved into an annual fundraising project benefiting the Jefferson Davis graduating class.

In 1989 the JDHAA was incorporated as a non-profit organization and received its 501 (c) (3) status in 1990.  That year, six $1,000 scholarships were awarded, along with $3,000 in tuition, books and fees to previous recipients.

Since its inception, JDHAA has raised more than $600,000 in scholarship funds impacting the lives of over 700 deserving students from the school.  Annual fundraising projects consist of an annual corporate fund raising campaign culminated with an annual GALA and associated “Our Dreams – Our Future” commemorative booklet.  As an all volunteer organization, we are proud that 100% of mentor and corporate money donated to JDHAA goes to scholarships

Community Impact

The Jefferson Davis students have many unique challenges in reaching their dreams of higher education and our organization is proud to assist them in overcoming these barriers.

As we look over the past ten years, we are extremely gratified that our organization has been able to play a crucial role in the success of students such as those mentioned in our “Success Stories”.  Without the increased support from our major donors and generous alumni we would not have been able to assist these graduates. These increased donations allowed us to budget funds to continue assisting students through their four-year quest to obtain a degree.

Success Stories

Angel Mendoza, Class of 2000, was awarded a JDHAA scholarship and financial assistance in his successful quest to obtain his degree in business and education at Lamar College.  He is currently employed with Pasadena ISD as a third grade bi-lingual teacher and is working on a master’s degree in Education and Business Administration.  He has returned to Davis as guest speaker at several of our scholarship banquets.

Meghan Loera, Class of 2004, was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in Social Work.  Meghan had to overcome many difficulties and reached her goals while in high school and completed her undergraduate studies at UT one semester early.  She returned to Houston to work for Harris County Protective Services.  She is dedicated to serving her community and challenges young people she meets to reach for academic excellence.  In 2009 Meghan enrolled at the University of Houston pursing her Master’s Degree in Social Work.  As part of her studies, she and fellow UH classmates conducted a needs assessment and developed a community project targeting her “Northside” neighborhood.  Meghan has received her Master’s Degree and is currently Project Manager for Communities in Schools at Burrus Elementary.

Armando Gomez, Class of 2008, was a Cornell Summer Program (2007) scholar whose experience in this program provided the impetus to pursue his dreams and goals.  Armando graduated in the top ten percent of his class, received several scholarships, and is currently attending the University of Houston and majoring in computer engineering.

Krystal Perales, Class of 2008, was a Cornell Summer Program (2007) scholar and a 2008 “Jerald Redmon Scholar”.  Krystal is currently attending UT at Austin majoring in Business Administration.

Miguel Tapia, Class of 2008, was a Cornell Summer Program (2007) scholar whose participation and visit to Cornell was rewarded with a full four year scholarship to Cornell; value placed at $190,000.00.

Edgardo Lima, Class of 2007, Valedictorian and “Jerald Redmon Scholar”, is pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Houston.

Celia Sosa, Class of 2006, Valedictorian and “Jerald Redmon Scholar”, is attending Texas A&M and pursuing a degree in Animal Science.

Illiana Calderon, Class of 2004, attended The University of Texas at Austin where she majored in Human Development and Family Sciences.  She attended U.T. for 4 years and graduated with a BS in the Spring of 2008.  Currently she is employed full time as a Health Educator at People’s Community Clinic, a non-profit community clinic in Austin that serves uninsured patients.  Illiana has been working at People’s Clinic since September of 2007 and plans to return to school this Fall to pursue a nursing degree in Houston.  Her future plans are to become a certified nurse midwife. She is currently enrolled at the College of the Midland in Texas City working on her nursing degree.

Jerry Cruz, Class of 2004, was once a drop-out who came back to high school and graduated.  With the help of JDHAA, he entered the University of Houston Downtown and was subsequently admitted to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.  Last year Texas Tech offered him an opportunity to study in Paris, France, for one semester.  JDHAA was pleased to assist Jerry, and his semester in France opened new horizons.  With an ultimate goal of someday working with the United Nations, Jerry is now planning to enter law school.

Pete Nunez, Jr., Class of 2004 is attending Sam Houston State and is due to receive his Bachelor’s degree in 2009.  He plans to continue at Sam Houston to pursue his Masters of Arts in Sociology.

Jesus A. Sanchez, Class of 2003, is a student who received many scholarships for his achievements in mathematics. In 2007 Jesus participated in designing and implementing water purification projects in Guatemala, under the guidance of the Tufts University engineering department.  His degrees in Environmental and Water Resource Engineering will be used to bring potable water to communities in developing countries. After receiving his Bachelors Degree at Tufts University in Boston he was invited to pursue his Masters Degree.  The expenses at Tufts were such that he came to JDHAA for help.  Knowing of his situation, we doubled his request. Jesus is currently at Tufts pursuing his Masters of Science degree and hopes to return to Houston in the near future.