Why was it important to you to establish a scholarship in honor of your mother at Colorado Law?
My mother, Phyllis Estrella Lucero, was and always will be my guiding star and ultimate mentor. Her commitment to making the world a better place, community service, and giving back to the community are qualities that she instilled in her children鈥攁ll 11 of us! I established a scholarship in my mother鈥檚 name to honor those life tenets. She would tell me time and time again, 鈥淗ita, when you make it (whatever that means), it鈥檚 your responsibility to pull someone up with you. It is all of our obligation to give back to the community that raised us.鈥� The need to support Latino/Latina law students is so important. I was blessed to earn and receive scholarships along my educational journey. It is now my time to give back.
What do you hope to accomplish with this scholarship?
I hope to honor my mother and her life鈥檚 work. Secondly, I hope to help in any way possible to assist with fulfilling a dream to attend law school, by supporting Latinos/Latinas along that path, or a woman like my mom who had to struggle and work very hard with an eighth grade education to earn her GED and ultimately earn a college degree in her 50s. Finally, it鈥檚 to honor those who are contributing to the Hispanic/Latino community. I would like to bring together all the recipients of my scholarships here at Colorado Law and other organizations annually to build a community and share the story of the amazing woman, my mother, whom the scholarship is named after.
What does giving back to your alma mater mean to you?
I was blessed to receive an amazing law school education at the University of Colorado Boulder and establish lifelong friendships. This scholarship is a nod to say 鈥渢hank you鈥� and to pay forward some of the good I received.
What impact do you want this scholarship to have at Colorado Law?
Assistance of any amount helps. I hope to grow the endowment for this scholarship to the point that it provides an annual full scholarship. Until then, I figure any amount helps. I truly hope to help someone鈥檚 dream of earning their law degree come true, to show that all the hard work has paid off, and to show the amazing Latino/Hispanic students that someone believes in them.