Brownwood – A total of 20 Hispanic students received $1,000 scholarships at the Hispanic Alumni Fellowship Breakfast held during Homecoming at Howard Payne University Saturday, October 2.

The Hispanic Alumni Fellowship was officially organized by Dr. Juan Andrade in 1991. For 10 years prior, the group met ad hoc at Homecoming to present the Dr. Jose Rivas Distinguished Service Award and the Dr. Rivas Scholarship. Andrade endowed the Dr Jose Rivas Memorial Scholarship fund in 1975.

Rivas, a Mexican immigrant, enrolled at Howard Payne College in 1956. He earned his Masters from Southwestern Theological Seminary and taught at HPC. He later earned a PhD from Southwestern and became the first Mexican to earn a Doctorate in Religious Education in Texas.

He was a professor of Greek and the only HPC professor to be awarded the Piper Award, the most prestigious honor awarded in higher education.

Since the Dr Rivas Scholarship was created, Hispanic alumni have created scholarships in memory of Deborah Camacho, Earl Gill, Oscar Romo, Josue Grijalva, Joann Zavala Garcia, Petra and Zenaido Camacho, and the Hispanic Alumni Fellowship Scholarship. All recipients were recognized at the breakfast.