Howard Payne University Hispanic alumni and students gathered over breakfast to launch Hispanic Heritage Month on September 16 by awarding scholarships and recognizing two alumni who will receive special recognition at HPU’s 2023 Homecoming activities on October 13 and 14.

Twenty students were selected to receive endowed scholarships created by Hispanic alumni in memory of Debra Renee Camacho, Dr. Jose Rivas, Joann Zavala Garcia, and Earl Gil. Other endowed funds created by Hispanic alumni include the Oscar Romo, Josue Grijalva, and Hispanic Alumni Fellowship scholarships.

Hispanic alumni to be honored at Homecoming include Dr. Micaela Camacho (’56), Coming Home Queen, and Reverend Ruben Hernandez will receive the prestigious Dr. Jose Rivas Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Camacho is a retired Fort Worth ISD elementary school principal, and Rev. Hernandez is the lead evangelist with the Rudy Hernandez Evangelism International, founded by his late father in 1973.

The late Dr. Rivas was a beloved and accomplished professor of Greek at Howard Payne and the only faculty member in history to receive the highly acclaimed Piper Award, presented by the Piper Foundation to professors for their dedication to the teaching profession and for their outstanding academic, scientific, and scholarly achievements.

The Andrade family, including HPU graduates Jane, Daniel, Bennie, and Dr. Juan, started the annual scholarships breakfast in the early 1980s, which formally organized itself as the Hispanic Alumni Fellowship in 1990.