One of this year’s inspiring scholarship
recipients is Diana Mendoza, who was born in Guatemala and immigrated to
the United States with her family in 1984. As a National Urban Fellow,
Diana will graduate in July from Baruch College in New York with a
Masters of Public Administration degree.
As part of her fellowship, Diana directs
a program that provides health and safety training to Spanish-speaking
and bilingual child caregivers at the Committee for Hispanic Children
and Families in New York City. She teaches how nutrition and health fit
into a well-rounded curriculum. With the help of a United Health
Foundation scholarship from the National Hispanic Health Foundation,
Diana was able to continue her education while completing the
assignment.
Diana always has been dedicated to
helping Latina women and immigrants. After graduating from the
University of Wisconsin, Diana returned to her
adopted hometown of Chicago to work
as a coordinator for a women’s HIV and STD prevention program in the
Latino community. She later worked as a congressional staffer on
women’s issues, minority health and immigration and then as a policy
analyst with the
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Diana says, “My strengths lie in helping
others to see their own strengths. I want to give my community tangible
tools
they can use to empower themselves so that that they can be resources
for their own communities.” |