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Alumni annual meeting celebrates new board of directors and $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo

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From left to right, top row: Duane Wiles, Marcel Monnar, Benjamin Sardiñas, Eddie Hondal, Juan Carlos Alexander, Jorge F. Hernandez, Michael A. Hernandez, Howard Limpan. Bottom row: Frank Pena, Miguel Larrea, Sharon Fine, Gina Duarte-Romero, Maria D. Garcia, Ana L. Martinez, Enrique Piñeiro, Erick Valderrama.

From left to right, top row: Duane Wiles, Marcel Monnar, Benjamin Sardiñas, Eddie Hondal, Juan Carlos Alexander, Jorge F. Hernandez, Michael A. Hernandez, Howard Limpan. Bottom row: Frank Pena, Miguel Larrea, Sharon Fine, Gina Duarte-Romero, Maria D. Garcia, Ana L. Martinez, Enrique Piñeiro, Erick Valderrama.
From left to right, top row: Duane Wiles, Marcel Monnar, Benjamin Sardiñas, Eddie Hondal, Juan Carlos Alexander, Jorge F. Hernandez, Michael A. Hernandez, Howard Limpan. Bottom row: Frank Pena, Miguel Larrea, Sharon Fine, Gina Duarte-Romero, Maria D. Garcia, Ana L. Martinez, Enrique Piñeiro, Erick Valderrama.

On Wednesday, May 4, the FIU Alumni Association held its Annual Meeting & Cocktail Reception, a spirited event designed to get alumni and donors excited for the year ahead.
Before the cocktail reception kicked off, an intimate group of volunteers gathered to be inducted into the 2016-2017 Alumni Association Board of Directors. The group was inducted by Duane Wiles, executive director of the FIU Alumni Association, and Howard Lipman, senior vice president and CEO of the FIU Foundation.
New board President Eddie Hondal ’88, MS ’00 shared inspiring remarks with more than 200 alumni during the cocktail reception. Hondal said that as his first order of business as the new president, he was appointing every alumnus to the role of brand ambassador so that Panthers would be encouraged to share their FIU experience far and wide.

“We as FIU graduates have an inspiring story to tell. In FIU’s brief history, we have attained unprecedented levels of achievement that have made FIU a benchmark for younger institutions of higher learning. These impressive accomplishments need to be known by all,” said Hondal. “As Panther alumni ‘brand managers,’ it behooves us to tell everyone about this special place we call FIU.”

Hiram Hernandez (left) presents the Young Alumni Council Graduate Scholarship to recipient Ella Pulido (right).
Hiram Hernandez (left) presents the Young Alumni Council Graduate Scholarship to recipient Ella Pulido (right).

Later in the evening, FIU Young Alumni Council President Hiram Hernandez ’03 awarded the first Young Alumni Council Graduate Scholarship to recipient Ella Pulido, who is working on her master’s in speech language pathology. The $2,500 scholarship is awarded to an exceptional FIU alumnus who continues his or her studies as a graduate student at FIU.
Rounding out the evening, Jorge Villacampa, Foundation board of director and area president, Miami-Dade Wells Fargo Bank, presented a $50,000 check to the First Generation Scholarship Fund, which will be matched 100 percent by the State of Florida, resulting in $100,000 in scholarship dollars.
Thanks to the generous support of alumni and donors, the FIU Alumni Association was able to celebrate a memorable evening and provide thousands of dollars in scholarship support to FIU students.
To view photos from the event, click here.
Tags: Alumni × Alumni Association × First Generation Scholarship Fund
This post “Alumni annual meeting celebrates new board of directors and $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo” was originally published on FIU News.