Phoenix, Ariz., January 21, 2009.  ‘Si se puede’ is a powerful phrase to Hispanic youth: ‘it can be done.’  For five Arizona college students, that ‘it’ is being the first in their family to graduate from college – and AAA Arizona is awarding the efforts with five individual $1,000 scholarships toward their goals.

AAA Arizona awarded a total of $5,000 to five Hispanic students for the second consecutive year of the annual scholarship program. Each scholar was awarded a $1,000 one-time scholarship through the company’s employee affinity group, Los Embajadores (The Ambassadors), to assist with the costs of tuition and textbooks.

Each of the students has a personal story of the pursuit of individual excellence. Jesus Espinoza from San Luis, Arizona, now a 19-year-old freshman at University of Arizona, is majoring in civil engineering and furthering a personal and family dream. “Since I was in junior high…I wanted to become a civil engineer,” he said.  “My dad was not able to finish due to financial and personal reasons.  School, getting an education, is the only way to succeed in life.”

Natalie Nevarez joined her sister in a quest to be the first in their family to graduate from college, and in fact earned her associate’s degree as she graduated from high school.  Now 18, she’s already a junior, studying communications at the University of Arizona.  “We saw our parents struggle a lot,” she said. “My father only went to third grade, and my mother got to sixth grade.  They had a pretty tough life because of it.”

The remaining three recipients of the $1,000 scholarships are:

        Steven Gonzalez, enrolled at Northern Arizona University

        Isai Pacheco, enrolled at Pima Community College

        Magdalena Hines, enrolled at Glendale Community College

AAA is seeking applicants for 2009 scholarships. The scholarship is open to entering freshmen students living in Arizona and attending an accredited college or university in Arizona. Scholarship applications for the 2009-2010 academic year are currently available online. The deadline to submit an application is March 31, 2009. Interested students can go to www.AAAaz.com/scholarships to download the application.

Los Embajadores is a group of AAA Arizona employees whose mission is to promote an understanding of Arizona’s Hispanic population among AAA employees and be the bridge that connects AAA with the Hispanic community.

AAA Arizona, the Arizona affiliate of AAA, provides automotive, insurance and auto travel services to nearly 800,000 Arizona members.  Annually, AAA’s Emergency Road Service responds to more than 450,000 calls for help on the streets and highways of the state as well as providing insurance, travel, and financial services to AAA members and motorists.  Since its founding in 1927, AAA Arizona has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.  AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.AAAAZ.com.

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Editor’s Note:  Students are available for interviews.  Contact AAA Public Affairs to schedule.