Greenville Avenue Area Business Association (GAABA) merchants this week presented $15,000 in scholarships to nine seniors from North Dallas, Conrad and Woodrow Wilson high schools.
Former GAABA president Jorge Levy, owner of Desperado’s Restaurant on Greenville Avenue, spoke proudly of the association’s decision seven years ago to fund student scholarships with proceeds from its two annual fundraisers.
“To me, education is very, very important,” Levy said. “I barely finished high school, but because of economic problems, I couldn’t continue. One of the most important things in life is education. I suggested supporting it when I was association president, and here we are seven years later.”
Levy’s son Jake said the scholarships are small, but he hopes they give the students some financial breathing room. He remembers lean times from his own college days.
“Sometimes a little help goes a long way,” he said.
Isael Longoria, a North Dallas High School senior who received a $1,500 GAABA scholarship, agreed with Jake.
“Getting a scholarship means a lot to me because unfortunately I wasn’t able to receive any support through the FAFSA process, and that has a huge impact on me going to school,” Longoria said. “I’ll be attending UT Austin, which is a huge financial burden on me, so receiving a scholarship is just great and helps me a lot.”
Longoria plans to studying finance and marketing.
